Hurricanes prove a Super force, Blues continue slide

THE Blues slumped even further, while the Hurricanes confirmed themselves as a force after the latest round of Super Rugby.

A 6340 loss to the Sharks at Eden Park saw the Blues move to four losses from five games.

They trailed 267 at the break, before rallying to score 21 points just after halftime while the Sharks were down to 14men.

That saw them take a two point lead, but it did not hold.

The visitors ran in another four tries on the way to amassing a huge total on the road to claim their second win of the season.

Meanwhile, the Hurricanes moved to within one point of competition leader the Rebels — who have played an extra game — with a 5019 thrashing away against the Melbourne side.

The Rebels had the better start and led 198 when Mat Philip scored on the halfhour mark.

At that point the Hurricanes hit back, first via a Beauden Barrett penalty, then a Ben Lam try.

Lam went on to score four tries as the Hurricane ran away with the match in the second half.

In the weekend’s allAustralia derby, the Waratahs edged the Brumbies 2417 in Canberra.

Taqele Naiyaravoro scored both the Waratahs’ tries, one on either side of halftime, while Bernard Foley’s boot proved reliable to help the side move into second in the Australian conference.

In the South African derby of the weekend, hooker Adriaan Strauss scored three tries as the Bulls beat the Stormers 3323.