Hurricanes make it a magnificent seven
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CLARK Laidlaw’s unbeaten Hurricanes continued to solidify themselves at the top of Super Rugby Pacific with an impressive 3623 victory over Kiwi rivals, the Chiefs.
Captained by former England international Brad Shields, the Hurricanes secured their seventh victory in a row to build a five-point lead on ythe Blues in second place.
TJ Perenara moved level as the most prolific try-scorer in Super Rugby history as the 32-year-old veteran All Black touched down for a brace of tries to take his tally to 62 scores.
It is the same figure as his former Hurricanes team-mate Julian Savea, who scored a try on Friday for the victorious Moana Pasifika against the Queensland Reds.
Wet conditions didn’t slow the home side, going 10-0 up in the first quarter after Perenara bagged his opening try.
Impressive loose forward Brayden Iose crossed to put his team 17-7 ahead but the Chiefs dominated the middle section of the game, scoring 16 unanswered points.
With his team trailing by six, Perenara’s second try sparked a storming Hurricanes finish, including five-pointers to winger Kini Naholo and powerhouse hooker Asafo Aumua.
Hurricanes skipper Shields said his team’s depth swung the contest their way in the closing stages.
“It’s not often you can roll a bench on that changes a game like that,” he said. “Each week now, our impact players are taking our game to another level.”
Cortez Ratima and Emoni Narawa crossed for the Chiefs while flyhalf Damian McKenzie landed 13 points with the boot.
Last year’s beaten finalists suffered their third loss from eight games and skipper Luke Jacobson admitted that they gave the competition leaders too many opportunities. He said: “The Hurricanes played some really good footy and put a lot of pressure on us,” he said.
“There were a few errors in our own half that they ended up scoring from. In the end, that really hurt us.”
Will Harrison kicked a drop goal in the fifth minute of golden point extra time to give the Waratahs a 43-40 triumph over the struggling Crusaders.
Harrison had kicked a penalty after the full time siren to level the match at 40-40 after the Crusaders had taken the lead in the 79th minute with a try to replacement backrower Christian Lio-Willie.
The match unquestionably was the best of the season so far, though it was played out between teams which had only two wins between them and were placed 10th and 11th on the championship ladder.
“It’s a great feeling,” Waratahs captain Jake Gordon said. “I’m especially happy for the crew, for the coaching staff. They’ve been working extra hard in this last period and we’ve been close in a lot of the games but haven’t been lucky at the end.
“It’s special to close out this one tonight.”
Friday’s match began in extraordinary fashion with a try to Crusaders winger Sevu Reece in the first minute. The Waratahs hit back and took the lead with a try to Lachie Swinton, then Reece scored again to put the Crusaders in front, setting the tone for the match.
The lead continued to switch between the teams throughout the first half — seven lead changes in all before halftime when the Waratahs led 23-22.
Riley Hohepa kicked a penalty in the ninth minute which gave the Crusaders the lead again. Then, with a run of four tries between the 59th and 79th minutes — two to each team — the lead ping-ponged from one side to another.
Finally, Harrison brought the teams level for the first time with the last play in normal time. The Waratahs kicked off but reclaimed possession in extra time and manoeuvred into a position from which Harrison kicked the winning dropped goal.
“It hurts,” Crusaders captain Tom Christie said. “We did a lot of good things but we left the door open too many times and they slammed it in our face.”
William Havili converted his own try in the final minute to lift Moana Pasifika to a 17-14 win over the Queensland Reds who lost scrum-half Tate McDermott (swinging arm in a tackle) and back rower Fraser McReight (head contact) to red cards in the second half.
Friday’s win over the sixth-placed Reds marked a startling turnaround for Moana Pasifika who had conceded 175 points in their three previous matches, now have won three matches in a season for the first time.
The match was played in wet conditions and Moana Pasifika led 10-0 at half-time with a try from former All Blacks winger Savea. Reds took the lead with tries to prop Peni Ravai and winger Jordan Petaia before Havili’s late match-winner.
In Melbourne, the Rebels banked only their second win against New Zealand opposition in 17 matches, and their first in two years, when they beat the Highlanders 47-31.
Young winger Darby Lancaster, who turns 21 next week, starred with a hat-trick.
Kevin Foote’s side went to the break with a 26-10 lead and kept their composure in the second half to secure a bonus point win that propelled them up to fourth on the ladder behind the Brumbies.
“Really happy with the guys and really happy to get that win,” said Rebels captain Sam Talakai, who pointed to their fast start with a try in the second minute as giving them momentum. “We’ve been speaking about it for a while now and it really helped us tonight.”