Only the Crusaders can stop this Hurricanes juggernaut
OPINION: It’s not quite send-thetrophy-to-the-engravers time, but the Hurricanes might not be a million miles from that mark as they round into some ominous Super Rugby form.
The Rebels having come up woefully short of the mark on Friday night in Melbourne, it’s worth asking is there a team in this competition with the ability to deny the Hurricanes their second Super Rugby title in 2018?
The short answer is no. The Canes have such explosiveness, talent, all-round strength and, most importantly, such depth that it is going to surely take something remarkable to deny them one more crowning glory to end the
Chris Boyd era.
After that false start in Pretoria, which Boyd tagged a ‘‘kick in the pants’’ similar to the first-up 2016 shellacking by the Brumbies, they have rattled off four consecutive victories and rounded into some mighty form.
On Friday night in Melbourne, against a hyped Rebels outfit that had won four of five, the Hurricanes found the going tough for a half-hour, trailing 19-8. Then they rattled off 42 unanswered points to deliver an emphatic message on their title prospects, not to mention premature theories of an Australian rugby revival.
But there might be a longer answer too, and it might just involve a more positive outcome for one team in particular.
The Crusaders, somewhere near their absolute best, with their All Black heavyweights fit and firing, might just have the makeup to unseat these Hurricanes. But even that comes with a fairly hefty qualifier. It’s likely by the time that scenario rolls around – if it does at all - the men from Wellington will have tucked away home advantage for the finals, and we all know what that means come the business end of Super Rugby.
To unseat the Hurricanes you’re going to have to play tough, smart and with uncommon accuracy. You’re going to have to squeeze them at the set piece, knock them over before the advantage line and deny them the steady possession platforms from which they thrive. And do it for 80 minutes.
You’re also going to have to somehow shackle that wealth of talent in their backline, headlined by the fabulous Barrett brothers, and now also starring the biggest mover in New Zealand rugby in Ben Lam – the latest in a long line of good ‘uns the Blues have let slip.
The Canes were very, very impressive in Melbourne as they illustrated the folly of those making too big a thing of the Rebels’ four victories – none of which had come against Kiwi opposition.
Their forwards laid the platform brilliantly and Lam, the Barretts, the splendid Ngani Laumape, Vince Aso and TJ Perenara had a field day. Poor old Julian Savea was the only visiting back not to fill his boots. There’s a feeling of destiny about what we’re seeing from the Canes right now, which Boyd confirmed when he was asked postgame in Melbourne about their early misfire in Pretoria. ‘‘In hindsight that kick in the pants for us was like 2016 when we got spanked by the Brumbies in Canberra, and Phil Kearns very kindly said we were fat, overweight and useless. Maybe a poor performance against the Bulls was the kick in the teeth we needed to get our focus right.’’