Rayasi double puts Hurricanes on top
Super Rugby Pacific round-up
THE Hurricanes moved top of the table as winger Salesi Rayasi’s double powered Jason Holland’s side past the Highlanders to a 29-14 win in Dunedin.
The Canes drew first blood as Rayesi crashed over the line carrying two defenders with him before the Highlanders responded through Hugh Renton’s barnstorming run from the back of the scrum.
Jordie Barrett’s penalty gave the Canes a one-point lead to end a cagey first half and the Highlanders melted away in the second half.
James Blackwell’s wellworked try extended the lead before scrum-half Cam Roigard picked off Folau Fakatava’s pass to race away and score.
A piece of individual brilliance from replacement scrum-half Jamie Booth set up Rayesi for his second and secured the bonus point which moves the Canes top of the table on points difference.
“That was challenging and we had to go to the well,” Hurricanes captain Ardie Savea said. “That first half was tough, and I was proud of the boys to come back in the second half, nail the simple things and get it done.”
The Brumbies ended their longstanding Brisbane hoodoo with a 52-24 win over a disappointing Reds side to keep pace with the league leaders.
Despite Matt Faessler’s early score for the hosts, Angus Blyth’s horrifying hit on rookie winger Corey Toole in the eighth minute left the Reds constantly on the back foot.
Blyth, in his first appearance of the season, recklessly hit Toole flush in the jaw in a chargedown attempt gone horribly wrong. The contact was controversially awarded a yellow card on the field, before eventually being upgraded to a 20-minute red card under the newly introduced laws which allast-placed TMO’s eight minutes to review acts of foul play.
Despite being a man down, the Reds were valiant throughout the first half and led by three at the break behind Tate McDermott’s stunning solo score, just a week on from the scrum-half being left out of Eddie Jones’ first Wallabies training squad.
However, the Brumbies were rampant after the break and registered 24 unanswered points with scores from Lachlan Loic nergan, Len Ikitau and Tamati Tua to put the game out of reach.
Two more tries in the final five minutes through Rob Valetini and Nick Frost added to the Reds’ misery as the Brumbies recorded their first win at Suncorp Stadium in eight years and sit just one point adrift of first place.
The Crusaders avoided an almighty scare as a second-half surge saw Scott Robertson’s side overturn a half-time deficit to beat Moana Pasifika 38-21 in Christchurch.
In his 100th appearance for the Crusaders, Richie Mo’unga opened up the scoring with a penalty before the mercurial fly-half turned provider, displaying some wicked footwork prior to offloading for Codie Taylor to score.
That ten-point lead didn’t last long as powerhouse centre Levi Aumua busted through the Kiwi defence twice in three minutes to give the Paciflow Islanders a shock lead. Taylor’s second score wrestled back the advantage, but Timoci Tavatavanawai’s patiently built try on the stroke of halftime gave the visitors a deserved lead at the break.
Whilst Moana Pasifika were unflagging in their efforts in the second half, the Crusaders piled the pressure on and eventually proved too much for Aaron Mauger’s side.
Mo’unga’s delicate crossfield kick led to Dom Gardiner’s lead-regaining try before Dallas McLeod and Willi Heinz added two more tries to seal the deal and move the champions up to fourth place.
The Blues got back to winning ways in resounding fashion as Beauden Barrett inspired a second-half surge to beat the Rebels 54-17 in Melbourne.
The Rebels were steadfast in the opening stages and held a four-point lead inside half an hour after Andrew Kellaway crossed for his second try of the season. Ricky Riccitelli’s burst down the short side from the back of the maul gave the Blues a brief lead before Rebels captain Brad Wilkin powered over as the clock was in the red to give the hosts a shock half-time advantage.
However, a double from scrum-half Finlay Christie on either side of Mark Telea’s try blew the Rebels away before some Barrett magic sealed victory.
The fly-half gathered his own deft chip before putting in an inch-perfect grubber for Telea to latch onto, allowing the winger to score his sixth try of the season. Three more tries stamped an electric performance, putting Leon MacDonald’s side fifth heading into their bye week.