Pressure from within
WHEN Chris Boyd walked into the changing rooms following Friday’s 38-28 Super Rugby victory over the Waratahs, the Hurricanes coach was composing in his head some tactful words that would send a clear message about his team’s second-half dropoff.
He needn’t have bothered. One look at his players’ faces told him they’d already worked out they had let themselves down badly when they walked off Westpac Stadium without the bonus point that had been theirs for the taking when they led 33-7, five tries to one, at halftime.
‘‘It was the classic game of two halves,’’ Boyd said yesterday.
‘‘They were seriously grumpy in the changing room. It wasn’t till we said ‘let’s not be too hard on ourselves here, it wasn’t a perfect performance, but this is what we’ve achieved’ . . . even after that they really weren’t happy to not get the bonus point. That hurt.’’
It’s a good sign that these Hurricanes are not content to just rack up the wins, though they’re doing that well enough.
They now have five from six matches in 2017 and are right on the pace in the loaded Kiwi conference, with 24 points. They have also won their last nine at home on the trot.
But they understand the necessity to keep standards high and minds on the job.
The old Hurricanes were seemingly happy to oscillate between the sublime and the ridiculous, often within the same match; but this group, who have made the last two grand finals, and claimed their inaugural title in 2017, have