The Canberra Raiders have pulled of a miraculous last minute win to topple the tournament favourites New Zealand by 23-19.
Down 19-4 in the second half, the Raiders scored three tries in three minutes to stun the crowd at Eden Park. Jack Ahearn sealed the win in the dying seconds with a try in the bonus zone.
With Sisa Waqa and Jarrod Croker rested for the game no one gave the Raiders a chance, but the young team showed fighting spirit and class as they ran down a big lead to steal the win.
The Raiders showed plenty of grit in the opening minutes to keep the Warriors at bay early and were rewarded, when Joel Edwards crossed over for the opening try of the match. Josh McCrone missed the conversion but they had an early 4-0 lead.
The Warriors though recovered from the early try, with Shaun Johnson standing up the defence to score a bonus point try to give the home side a 7-4 lead once he converted his own try.
A short restart saw the Warriors get the ball back and they scored again through Maumalo and the Warriors took an 11-4 lead into halftime.
When Lolohea and Matt Allwood crossed for the home team after the break the 19-4 lead looked unassailable, but the never say die attitude of the young Raiders saw them score the next three tries to win.
Tevita Pangai gave the Raiders a sniff when he showed smart footwork at the line to score, with Buttriss converting for the 19-10 score line.
Then a try to Brenko Lee had the home crowd on edge as Sam Williams converted for the 19-16.
The Raiders then got the amazing finish they deserved, when Jack Ahearn scored the match winner to give them the 23-16 win.
