Job done – forget how
Margin of win flatters
That’s not one that will linger long in the memory.
The main thing is that last night’s 43-15 win over the Sunwolves at Westpac Stadium won’t adversely affect the Hurricanes’ Super Rugby season.
Victory took them to top spot on the ladder, ahead of the these week 11 matches, and with the allimportant bonus point secured.
It wasn’t an especially polished or meritorious performance but it got the job done. Which was about all you could expect in the circumstances.
It was one of those hiding-tonothing affairs for the Hurricanes. They beat the Sunwolves 83-17, in their only previous meeting, and anything that didn’t match or better that was going to be seen as a mediocre effort.
Never mind if that’s a fair expectation or not. It’s just how things are when you’re an elite team playing a wooden spoon candidate.
Inevitably that meant for an unsatisfying spectacle. The Sunwolves tried very hard and were direct and got in behind the Hurricanes a few times and even took a 7-0 lead, thanks to a converted Pieter Lappies Labuschagne try.
The Hurricanes were hurried and inaccurate and lacked authority in their set pieces and generally looked like a team that knew they’d win and preferred to do it the easy way.
There were first-half tries to wing Julian Savea, halfback Finlay Christie (on debut) and No.8 Reed Prinsep; all converted by first five-eighth Beauden Barrett.
Beyond that, the hosts battled to string much together. The linespeed of the Sunwolves was impressive and everything they did just seemed to have more intent than the Hurricanes could muster.
That’s not uncommon when there’s such a disparity in talent between the teams. The Hurricanes just needed to be patient and slightly more physical and their 21-10 halftime lead would quickly turn into the bonus-point win they were after.
They made the perfect secondhalf start, when fullback Jordie Barrett busted the defence on halfway and cantered in to score.
It might have been even better but, for the second time in the match, second five-eighth Vince Aso had tries overturned by TMO Ben Skeen. Listening to the match officials’ feed during the 80 minutes, it was striking how much of the game was officiated by Skeen and not referee Jamie Nutbrown. Referees have to be supported but they also need to be the bloke calling the actual shots.
The net result was that the closest the crowd came to really cheering for something, was Nehe Milner-Skudder coming off the bench for the last 20 minutes. Out with a shoulder injury since October, he slotted onto the right wing with Julian Savea sliding over to take Ben Lam’s spot on the left.
A Kenki Fukuoka try 10 minutes from fulltime, had the potential to make things interesting at 26-15, but Aso eventually ended up with the brace of fivepointers he should’ve. He also found the time to lay one on for Brad Shields, in between,