Moorby helps ’Canes stay unbeaten
Former TA Sports rep scores brace as side go clear at top of table
Hamilton Boys’ High School alumnus Josh Moorby scored two first-half tries, while former Chief Kini Naholo also crossed for one and set up another as the Hurricanes beat the Blues 29-21 to stay unbeaten after three rounds in DHL Super Rugby Pacific.
The two wingers profited from being at the ends of a very skilful Hurricanes backline in which halfback Cam Roigard and fullback Ruben Love were outstanding on Saturday night at Sky Stadium in Wellington.
Roigard made several line breaks on the fringe of a strong Hurricanes scrum and in the loose, and Love stretched the Blues defence with kicks and long passes.
Both were also part of a strong ’Canes defensive effort.
Both sides came into the match with two wins and the Hurricanes now move to the top of the table near the end of the third round.
The Blues had beaten Fijian Drua and the Highlanders, while the Hurricanes won matches across the Tasman over the Western Force and Queensland Reds.
“We came back from Australia with two wins under our belt and we went over there trying to accomplish that,” former Te Awamutu Sports rep Moorby said.
“Coming into this New Zealand derby we wanted to continue our good start this season so taking the win was massive.
“They’re a big pack and they battled hard. It was just a massive effort from the boys on defence.”
The Blues suffered a major setback when they simultaneously lost fullback Zarn Sullivan and winger AJ Lam to injuries early in the match.
They had chosen six forwards and two backs for the bench, so after they replaced the injured players, halfback Taufa Funaki played most of the match on the wing.
Hurricanes 29 (Josh Moorby 2, Kini Naholo, Riley Higgins tries; Brett Cameron 3 con, pen).
Blues 21 (Mark Tele’a, Kurt Eklund, Ricky Riccitelli tries; Stephen Perofeta 3 con).