Hurricanes to host first-ever Final
The Hurricanes will host a Super Rugby Final for the first time, after they demolished the Brumbies – winning 29-9 in their semifinal in Wellington on Saturday.
It has been almost a decade since the Canes' previous – and only other – appearance in a Final.
They will host the Highlanders in Wellington next Saturday, after their compatriots beat the Waratahs in the first semifinal of the day.
The last time the Hurricanes reached Super Rugby's grand finale, in 2006, they lost 12-19 to the Crusaders in Christchurch.
Based on their form this season and Saturday's display, they will head into the Final as outright favourites.
The 'Canes first victory over the Brumbies since 2010 was set up by battering runs from Julian and Ardie Savea, coupled with the more silky play of Nehe Milner-Skudder which wreaked havoc with the Brumbies' defence.
Milner-Skudder was injured out of the game at the beginning of the second half and Ardie Savea lasted only a brief period in the second spell, but by then the damage was done as the Hurricanes pulled off an emotional victory.
They played with the initials JC embroidered on their jerseys in memory of former teammate Jerry Collins, who was killed in a car crash in France three weeks ago, but captain Conrad Smith said they did not let that dominate their focus.
"We discussed it and said that in itself is not going to win us the game, we've got to keep doing the little things that have got us this far," Smith said.
"There's no doubt it played its part deep down in the ticker but other than that we just focussed on doing our jobs."
The Brumbies, two times champions, were keen to establish an early stronghold knowing their arduous schedule over the past two weeks en route to Wellington via South Africa would catch up with them.
But after the Hurricanes shut down a barrage of salvoes inside their 22 over the first five minutes, the flavour changed on one crucial turnover by flank Ardie Savea.
The ball was spun to Milner-Skudder as the 'Canes targeted Brumbies left wing Joe Tomane, defying talk they would attack the much less experienced Lausii Taliauli who was called in as a replacement for suspended Henry Speight.
As new All Black Milner-Skudder constantly mesmerised the Brumbies, Dane Coles, TJ Perenara, Ma'a Nonu and Julian Savea all went within a whisker of scoring only to be denied by handling errors.
But when they opted for a more patient approach, the passes stuck and left wing Julian Savea crossed in the corner.
Perenara then started and finished a 50-metre move that again featured Milner-Skudder as the Hurricanes took a 12-0 lead before Jesse Mogg landed a penalty on the stroke of half-time to put the Brumbies on the board – 3-12.
Ardie Savea scored from a line-out drive after the restart with James Marshall, taking over the kicking duties from Beauden Barrett, adding the conversion to stretch the lead to 19-3.
The Brumbies closed the gap with two penalties by Christian Lealiifano, but they were unable to cross the line while the Hurricanes finished off with a Marshall penalty who also converted a try by Matt Proctor.
Man of the match: Nic White's mouth was his most productive muscle, while Stephen Moore also worked hard – on and off the ball. David Pocock, as always, was his team's most effective player. Nehe Milner-Skudder showed some flashes of brilliance before leaving the field with a hamstring injury early in the second half. Ma'a Nonu and Conrad Smith showed why they are regarded as one of the best midfield combinations in the world. Julian and Ardie Savea were powerful with ball in hand, always making metres and getting over the advantage line. James Broadhurst and Jeremy Thrush were the engines that drove the powerful Hurricanes forward pack, while Brad Shields' workrate was also very impressive. However, the halfback combination of TJ Perenara and Beauden Barrett is what gave the Hurricanes the edge in a game of small margins.
Man of the match: Nic White's mouth was his most productive muscle, while Stephen Moore also worked hard – on and off the ball. David Pocock, as always, was his team's most effective player. Nehe Milner-Skudder showed some flashes of brilliance before leaving the field with a hamstring injury early in the second half. Ma'a Nonu and Conrad Smith showed why they are regarded as one of the best midfield combinations in the world. Julian and Ardie Savea were powerful with ball in hand, always making metres and getting over the advantage line. James Broadhurst and Jeremy Thrush were the engines that drove the powerful Hurricanes forward pack, while Brad Shields' workrate was also very impressive. However, the halfback combination of TJ Perenara and Beauden Barrett is what gave the Hurricanes the edge in a game of small margins.
Moment of the match: The Hurricanes' powerful maul inside the first minute of the second half, which marched more than 20 metres and made a serious statement of intent – leading to the Ardie Savea try from the very next maul. From then on, at 19-3, the Brumbies had a mountain to climb and try as they might, just couldn't get close enough.
Villain of the match: Nobody, not even Nic White's niggling tactics or his mouthy behaviour.
The scorers:
For the Hurricanes:
Tries: J Savea, Perenara, A Savea, Proctor
Cons: Barrett, Marshall 2
Pens: Marshall
For the Brumbies:
Pens: Mogg, Lealiifano 2
Teams:
Hurricanes: 15 James Marshall, 14 Nehe Milner-Skudder, 13 Conrad Smith (captain), 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Victor Vito, 7 Ardie Savea, 6 Brad Shields, 5 James Broadhurst, 4 Jeremy Thrush, 3 Ben Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Reggie Goodes.
Replacements: 16 Brayden Mitchell, 17 Chris Eves, 18 Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, 19 Mark Abbott, 20 Blade Thomson, 21 Chris Smylie, 22 Rey Lee-Lo, 23 Matt Proctor.
Brumbies: 15 Jesse Mogg, 14 Lausii Taliauli, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Joe Tomane, 10 Christian Lealiifano, 9 Nic White, 8 Ita Vaea, 7 David Pocock, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Blake Enever, 4 Rory Arnold, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Stephen Moore (captain), 1 Scott Sio.
Replacements: 16 Josh Mann-Rea, 17 Allan Alaalatoa, 18 Ruan Smith, 19 Jordan Smiler, 20 Jarrad Butler, 21 Michael Dowsett, 22 Nigel Ah Wong, 23 Robbie Coleman.
Referee: Glen Jackson (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Chris Pollock (New Zealand), Nick Briant (New Zealand)
TMO: Ben Skeen (New Zealand)
