Boyd sure his ‘Canes can go up a level in last four
THE Hurricanes became the first team to qualify for the semi-finals after they got past the Chiefs 32-31 in an epic quarter-final at Wellington’s Westpac Stadium on Friday night.
Led by new England cap Brad Shields, Hurricanes dominated the middle of the match to set up a semifinal with the Crusaders.
Shields said his side’s defence out wide was key. “Our big boys dominating those collisions gives you energy and drive and I think that part of it we did really well,” he said.
But Saints-bound boss Chris Boyd expects a better performance in the semifinal. “We can play better than that,” he said. “We’ve just got to keep bringing higher levels of intent and physicality and accuracy for longer periods and I think we can do that.”
Hurricanes grabbed the perfect start when Julian Savea intercepted a Damian McKenize pass and scored under the posts.
Brad Weber finished off a sweeping move to level for Chiefs but scrum-half TJ Perenara scored from close range for 17-10 at half-time.
Anton Lienert-Brown immediately hit back for Chiefs but Hurricanes would not be denied and Perenara added a second before Ben Lam scored his 15th of the season to push the Hurricanes out to 32-17.
The Chiefs came back in the final minutes with tries from McKenzie and Lachlan Boshier to narrow the margin to a single point, but the Hurricanes came out deserved winners.
Chiefs captain Sam Cane said: “The telling time was ten minutes before halftime and 15 to 20 after. They brought more intensity during that period. Their defence was strong and they held us out for long periods of time to the point where we really ran out of options on attack.”