Barrett show too much for Chiefs
SUPER RUGBY REPORT: The Hurricanes continue to look like the most likely challenger to the Crusaders’ dominance.
They easily disposed of an error-prone and erratic Chiefs team – beating them 47-19 in Wellington on Saturday.
The bonus-point win keeps them firmly in second place in the New Zealand conference, behind the Crusaders, while the Chiefs remain at the bottom of the heap with their season all but over.
Two Jordie Barrett tries in the opening six minutes set the tone and while the Chiefs looked threatening at times, they were eventually outscored by seven tries to three.
Barrett revelled in his the return to his favoured fullback position.
Despite a disruptive, swirling wind, the match was played at a frantic pace, with attacking principles favoured over defence in marked contrast to the kick-oriented 23-23 draw when they last met on the Chiefs home ground six weeks ago.
“We did the simple things well,” Hurricanes captain Thomas Perenara said.
“That was one of the better games we have played of late. For us it’s about building consistency in our performance.”
Chiefs skipper Michael Allardice said a disappointing start ruined it for his side.
“Giving away 21 points early in the piece and trying to chase the Hurricanes down was never going to be easy. We set ourselves up to fail,” he said.
The Hurricanes raced to a 21-0 lead inside 16 minutes before the Chiefs were able to get on the board.
Although the Chiefs had their moments, particularly in the middle of the first half and early in the second, they were unable to apply sustained pressure while the adventurous Hurricanes were ready to pounce at every opportunity.
Jordie Barrett, who has been played in the centres or on the wing since he last played in the No.15 jersey in the second round loss to the Crusaders, scored his first try with a well-timed run into the backline in the fourth minute.
Play had barely restarted than he was over again, carving through an ineffectual defence on a 50-metre run to the line.
When the Chiefs closed the gap to 19-28 early in the second half with a Lachlan Boshier try, Jordie Barrett engineered two more for the Hurricanes.
The first, from a well-weighted pass, saw Wes Goosen score in the corner, and the second was an end-to-end play which started with an Ardie Savea turnover and once Barrett had gained 50 metres, Savea was on hand to finish off the move.
Man of the match: The first 10 minutes was the Jordie Barrett show. The Chief eventually woke up, but players like Ngani Laumape, Beauden Barrett, Thomas Perenara, Ardie Savea and Kane Leaupepe continued to be prominent for the Hurricanes. Lachlan Boshier was the Chiefs’ most productive forward and Anton Lienert-Brown their most dangerous back. In the end our award goes to Hurricanes fullback Jordie Barrett. Not only did he set the tone early in the game, but he also produce the crucial play in the second half that ended any chance of a Chiefs comeback.
The scorers:
For the Hurricanes:
Tries: J Barrett 2, Leaupepe, Perenara, Goosen, Savea, Rayasi
Cons: B Barrett 6
For the Chiefs:
Tries: Jacobson, Moeakiola, Boshier
Cons: McKenzie 2
SUPER RUGBY RECAP: Hurricanes v Chiefs
Did you miss any of the action? Recap all the drama here!
Teams:
Hurricanes: 15 Jordie Barrett, 14 Wes Goosen, 13 Matt Proctor, 12 Ngani Laumape, 11 Chase Tiatia, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Thomas Perenara (captain), 8 Reed Prinsep, 7 Ardie Savea, 6 Vaea Fifita, 5 Kane Leaupepe, 4 James Blackwell, 3 Ben May, 2 Asafo Aumua, 1 Fraser Armstrong.
Replacements: 16 Ricky Riccitelli, 17 Xavier Numia, 18 Jeff To’omaga-Allen, 19 Isaia Walker-Leawere, 20 Sam Henwood, 21 Richard Judd, 22 James Marshall, 23 Salesi Rayasi.
Chiefs: 15 Solomon Alaimalo, 14 Sean Wainui, 13 Tumua Manu, 12 Anton Lienert-Brown, 11 Ataata Moeakiola, 10 Marty McKenzie, 9 Brad Weber, 8 Tyler Ardron, 7 Lachlan Boshier, 6 Luke Jacobson, 5 Mitchell Brown, 4 Michael Allardice (captain), 3 Angus Ta’avao, 2 Nathan Harris, 1 Atu Moli.
Replacements: 16 Liam Polwart, 17 Tevita Mafileo, 18 Sosefo Kautai, 19 Taleni Seu, 20 Jesse Parete, 21 Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, 22 Stephen Donald, 23 Alex Nankivell.
Referee: Rasta Rasivhenge (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Mike Fraser (New Zealand), Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)
TMO: Shane McDermott (New Zealand)
