Hurricanes outplay Blues, Reds left fuming

SATURDAY WRAP: Newcastle-bound winger Fehi Fineanganofo equalled the all-time Super Rugby try-scoring record as the Hurricanes powered past the Blues 47-24 at Eden Park, seeing them take hold of top spot on the ladder with two rounds remaining.

Fineanganofo drew level with the previous record-setting feats of Brumbies great Joe Roff and former Hurricanes flyer Ben Lam, racing away for a try during the second half.

That saw the visitors extend their already commanding advantage to 26 points with 20 to play.

This was another statement performance from the ladder-leading Hurricanes, who seemed to be at risk of falling behind on the scoreboard early. Pasilio Tosi was penalised in the third minute at the breakdown, with the Blues opting to kick for the corner.

The Blues set up for an attacking line-out inside the red zone, and made it a few metres out from the line, as the search for the opening points continued. It was the best attacking chance of the match so far, but the home side were pinned for obstruction.

As the match went on, the Blues continued to take charge in both the territory and possession battles. It was a similar story to the Friday night bout between the Chiefs and Highlanders, with the visitors taking the lead early, despite stats favouring the hosts in Hamilton.

The Blues had 63 percent of possession but the Hurricanes struck first, with Brave Blossoms skipper Warner Dearns charging down an attempted bomb from Beauden Barrett. Dearns won the race to the ball, touching down for the first points on the eight-minute mark.

This was when the Hurricanes really took control.

In a three-minute span, the Hurricanes raced out to a 14-point lead.

The Canes spread the ball wide right, with halfback Ere Enari finding Fineanganofo unmarked. Fineanganofo put a kick ahead, which was ultimately regathered by the No.9, who set up Jordie Barrett with a pop pass off the deck.

From the opening 20 minutes, it was a fairly strong performance from the Canes, with a wayward penalty attempt from Ruben Love standing out as a rare blip. The Hurricanes continued to look the more threatening of the two sides with the ball.

Kini Naholo was stopped a few metres shy of the line in the dying stages of the half, but the men from the capital kept the attacking pressure on. After building a few more faces, Tosi charged onto the ball at full pace, and defenders Patrick Tuipulotu and Xavi Taele couldn’t stop the prop.

It was 21-0 at the break.

The Hurricanes were within inches of adding to their tally early in the second term, after Love put a kick ahead for Jordie Barrett to chase. Barrett kicked ahead for Billy Proctor, but brother Beauden Barrett won the race to the ball for the Blues.

Instead, the Blues scored some much-needed bounce-back points through Malachi Wrampling around the 50-minute mark. The loose forward charged through a tackle attempt from Brad Shields and Proctor en route to the try line.

But the Hurricanes hit back almost immediately.

Off an attacking maul inside the Blues 22, Enari peeled off toward the blindside. The halfback threw a no-look inside ball to Kini Naholo, who flew at a blistering pace to the house for another five-pointer for the visiting side.

Then, it was time for history. Fineanganofo touched down for the record-equalling points in the 59th minute. The Hurricanes winger will have a chance to break the record next week against the Highlanders or the week after against the Crusaders.

Replacement hooker Raymond Tuputupu added to the Hurricanes lead with the team’s six try in a 62-minute blitz. That saw them race out to a staggering 33-point lead with still more than 15 to play at the Garden.

The Blues hit back with quick tries to AJ Lam and Kurle Eklund, with Stephen Perofeta adding the extras after the second five-pointer. Another try to lock Sam Darry in the dying stages saw the Blues deny the Hurricanes a winning bonus point.

At least that’s how it seemed.

Peter Lakai crashed over from a rolling maul in the final play, with the Hurricanes taking five points back with them to New Zealand’s windy capital.

*Queensland Reds coach Les Kiss has let out his frustrations after his team suffered a heartbreaking 14-19 Super Rugby Pacific loss to the Western Force in Perth.

With the Force clinging to a five-point lead in the 77th minute, the Reds unleashed a fast break that had Treyvon Pritchard streaming down the wing.

Pritchard dished off an inside pass to fullback Jock Campbell with the line just 23m away, but Force flyhalf Max Burey got in the way and the ball deflected off him.

The Reds’ coaching staff were left fuming, believing it was a cynical knock-down by Burey.

A yellow card or a penalty try could have been on the cards, but the referee deemed the ball had come off Burey’s chest in a legitimate play for the ball, ruling it a knock-down only.

Kiss slammed his hand down on the desk in frustration, with the Force holding firm from that point on to secure the win.

The result left Queensland (6-6) clinging to sixth spot, just two points ahead of the seventh-placed Waratahs with two rounds remaining.

The Force (5-7) moved up to ninth, and are now six points adrift of the Reds in the battle for a top-six berth.

*The Waratahs have kept their Super Rugby Pacific finals hopes alive by beating the Fijian Drua 50-35 in Suva.

NSW coach Dan McKellar made a plethora of changes for Saturday’s clash at HFC Bank Stadium, but was dealt a late blow when Wallabies utility back Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii was ruled out with hamstring tightness weeks after returning from a two-month-long hamstring injury.

McKellar reaped the rewards of his team transformation though, as the Waratahs shot out to a 29-point halft-ime lead before the Drua stepped up in the second half to salvage the blowout.

The win is precious for the Sydney-based team, having lost seven of their past nine encounters and their hopes of reaching the post-season fading fast.

See below for Saturday’s scores and scorers!

Blues 24-47 Hurricanes

The scorers:

For Blues:
Tries: Wrampling, Lam, Eklund, Darry,
Cons: Barrett, Perofeta

For Hurricanes:
Tries: Dearns, Barrett, Tosi, Naholo, Fineanganofo, Tuputupu, Lakai
Cons: Love 6

Teams:

Blues: 15 Zarn Sullivan, 14 AJ Lam, 13 Xavi Taele, 12 Pita Ahki, 11 Caleb Clarke, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Sam Nock, 8 Hoskins Sotutu, 7 Anton Segner, 6 Malachi Wrampling, 5 Sam Darry, 4 Patrick Tuipulotu (captain), 3 Marcel Renata, 2 Bradley Slater, 1 Ofa Tu’ungafasi.
Replacements: 16 Kurt Eklund, 17 Mason Tupaea, 18 Flyn Yates, 19 Laghlan McWhannell, 20 Torian Barnes, 21 Che Clark, 22 Finlay Christie, 23 Stephen Perofeta.

Hurricanes: 15 Callum Harkin, 14 Fehi Fineanganofo, 13 Billy Proctor, 12 Jordie Barrett (captain), 11 Kini Naholo, 10 Ruben Love, 9 Ereatara Enari, 8 Devan Flanders, 7 Peter Lakai, 6 Brad Shields, 5 Warner Dearns, 4 Caleb Delany, 3 Pasilio Tosi, 2 Asafo Aumua, 1 Xavier Numia.
Replacements: 16 Raymond Tuputupu, 17 Pouri Rakete-Stones, 18 Siale Lauaki, 19 Isaia Walker-Leawere, 20 Brayden Iose, 21 Jordi Viljoen, 22 Jone Rova, 23 Bailyn Sullivan.

Referee: Ben O’Keeffe
Assistant referees: Todd Petrie, Warwick Lahmert
TMO: Richard Kelly

Fijian 35-50 Waratahs

The scorers:

For Fijian Drua:
Tries: Doge, Canakaivata, Salawa, Samusamuvodre, Mayanavanua
Cons: Armstrong-Ravula, Valetini 4

For Waratahs:
Tries: Potter, Moananu 2, Jorgensen, Harvey, Wilson, Scott-Young, Ranawai
Cons: Harvey 2, Bowen 3

Teams:

Fijian Drua: 15 Isikeli Rabitu, 14 Frank Lomani (co-captain), 13 Tuidraki Samusamuvodre, 12 Virimi Vakatawa, 11 Manasa Mataele, 10 Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula, 9 Issak Fines-Leleiwasa, 8 Elia Canakaivata, 7 Kitione Salawa, 6 Etonia Waqa, 5 Temo Mayanavanua (co-captain), 4 Isoa Nasilasila, 3 Mesake Doge, 2 Zuriel Togiatama, 1 Peni Ravai
Replacements: 16 Kavaia Tagivetaua, 17 Emosi Tuqiri, 18 Samuela Tawake, 19 Mesake Vocevoce, 20 Vilive Miramira, 21 Isoa Tuwai, 22 Philip Baselala, 23 Kemu Valetini

Waratahs: 15 Max Jorgensen, 14 Harry Potter, 13 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 12 Lawson Creighton, 11 Triston Reilly, 10 Jack Bowen, 9 Teddy Wilson, 8 Angus Scott-Young, 7 Charlie Gamble, 6 Clem Halaholo, 5 Miles Amatosero, 4 Matt Philip (captain), 3 Dan Botha, 2 Ioane Moananu, 1 Jack Barrett
Replacements: 16 Oniti Finau, 17 Isaac Kailea, 18 Apolosi Ranawai, 19 Ben Grant, 20Jamie Adamson, 21 Michael McDonald, 22 Jack Debreczeni, 23 Sid Harvey

Referee: James Doleman
Assistant referees: Marcus Playle, Fraser Hannon
TMO: Aaron Paterson

Additional source AAP