Canes keep cool to book Canberra trip
On the back foot throughout, somehow the Hurricanes have denied the Crusaders an unbeaten season and booked a favourable quarter-final in Canberra next week.
The Crusaders arrived in Wellington having won 14 straight Super Rugby games and chasing the third unbeaten season in history.
It was not to be. Their forwards did all they could but, in the end, they will blame a horror penalty count (15-7), and lament some touches of class from the Hurricanes.
The Hurricanes’ 31-22 victory has major implications for the overall competition. The defending champions will now meet the Brumbies next week, while the Chiefs are forced to trek to Cape Town and face the Stormers. Just as they did last year.
The Crusaders, meanwhile, would have had to wait to see if the Lions could beat the Sharks in Durban early this morning (New Zealand time). Victory for the Lions would secure them top spot and set up a southern derby between the Highlanders and Crusaders.
The Hurricanes deserve immense credit for overcoming adversity. Prematch they lost Beauden Barrett to a virus which necessitated a major backline reshuffle.
Otere Black handled his call-up with composure, other than one defensive error where Israel Dagg stood him up. Jordie Barrett also impressed at centre.
This was an engrossing end-to-end match, one worthy of a finals stage. It featured contrasting approaches; the Crusaders’ forward dominance versus moments of brilliance from the Hurricanes backs.
Ball in hand, the Hurricanes looked far more dangerous, defying the back foot platform they battled all night.
Fresh off his starting debut for the All Blacks, Ngani Laumape was again influential with his power carries and subtle footwork at the line.
Julian Savea didn’t cover himself in glory on defence but he outleapt Dagg to claim one try, and got involved at other times. And on the other wing, Wes Goosen grabbed every chance that came his way.
Sam Lousi and Ardie Savea stepped up but with their pack largely dominated, it was always going to be a struggle for the Hurricanes to stay in the fight. But they did. Jordie Barrett’s immaculate boot proved influential, knocking over the matchclinching penalty in the 77th minute.
Richie Mo’unga and Dagg were prominent for the Crusaders at the back and Scott Barrett up front. But they couldn’t find enough spark when it mattered most.
One point was the difference heading into the final quarter. Vaea Fifita crashed over out wide to give the Hurricanes a decisive lead but they still had to survive as Mitchell Drummond was penalised for a double movement.
In the face of the Crusaders’ relentless defensive line speed, the Hurricanes’ new backline combinations initially battled to gel as passes frequently hit the deck.
Defensively, the Hurricanes made some poor decisions to chase intercepts, allowing Seta Tamanivalu to waltz in for two easy tries in the first 15 minutes.
From then on, though, the Hurricanes worked their way back.
Remarkably the Crusaders lost nothing by resting their full All Blacks front row, such was their continued scrum dominance.
At the breakdown, the visitors contested everything with vigour, with Matt Todd a standout.
Collectively the Crusaders flooded in numbers and successfully slowed the Hurricanes ruck ball, rattling TJ Perenara at times. The All Black halfback’s option-taking was off on occasions and his frustrations were evident when he was penalised for sniping at referee Glenn Jackson.
Hurricanes 31 (J. Barrett, J. Savea, W. Goosen, V. Fifita tries; J. Barrett 4 cons, pen) Crusaders 22 (S. Tamanivalu 2, I. Dagg try; R. Mo’unga 2 cons, pen). Halftime: 7-12.