Hurricanes storm past Chiefs 25-9 in Super Rugby semifinal

WELLINGTON, New Zealand: Flyhalf Beauden Barrett led the Hurricanes to a 25-9 win over the Chiefs in an allNew Zealand semifinal on Saturday, ensuring the Wellington-based team will host Super Rugby’s final for the second consecutive year.

Barrett created the Hurricanes’ first try, scored their second and kicked two penalties and two conversions to surpass 200 points for the season and outplay his Chiefs opposite and All Blacks teammate Aaron Cruden.

The Hurricanes lost captain Dane Coles to a rib injury — a decision made just before kickoff — but overcame that substantial setback to reach the final as top seeds, as they did last year when they were beaten by the Highlanders.

A repeat of last year’s final remains a possibility as the Highlanders faced the Johannesburg-based Lions in the second semifinal later Saturday.

No. 8 Victor Vito scored one of the Hurricanes’ three tries and scrumhalf T.J. Perenara had an outstanding game and Barrett orchestrated the Hurricanes’ attacking play.

The Hurricanes’ defense remains one of the best aspects of their play, and they have now gone 2 ½ half matches without conceding a try. The Chiefs’ only points came from three penalties to Damien McKenzie.

“The boys were really pumped, defending for a big part of that game, especially for about 15 minutes in that first half,” Hurricanes’ stand-in captain Perenara said. “That set the standard for us. They’re a very good Chiefs team and they threw a lot at us, and for our boys to be able to step up and make some tackles was big for us.”