WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The Hurricanes have been late to the party in Super Rugby this season.
While other teams shone in the first weeks of a tight competition, the Wellington-based Hurricanes lacked their usual luster.
But with a 57-12 win over the New South Wales Waratahs in Round 7, the Hurricanes catapulted themselves into playoffs contention, finally grabbing a place in the spotlight.
The Hurricanes had a 1-3 record through their first four games, which contained only flashes of their usually inspired attacking play.
While their set piece generally has been reliable, ball security and control of possession has not. While the Hurricanes have been able to create opportunities, they haven’t always been able to finish.
In a season in which all advantages appear to be with the team in possession, the Hurricanes have been too careless of possession. Their defense has been solid but they have been imprecise and impatient on attack.
On Friday everything clicked. The Waratahs scored first before the Hurricanes seized control and ran in nine tries.
The effort started at the back with strong defense and the outstanding ability of Hurricanes captain and open side flanker DuPlessis Kirifi to win breakdown turnovers. Kirifi is pressing a strong case for All Blacks selection this year.
Lock Isaia Walker Leawere was a standout performer and winger Kini Naholo produced the finishing touch with three tries.
The Hurricanes got back their confidence and with it their creativity in attack which was seen at its best in the reverse pass from fullback Ruben Love which created a 57th minute try for winger Ngane Punivai.
The first green shoots of the Hurricanes’ revival were seen in their 20-18 win over the Highlanders in Round 5 and two rounds later it has come into full bloom.
“It was nice rugby wasn’t it?” coach Clark Laidlaw said. “If you watched that Highlanders game, we had to work hard for everything we got, so it’s always pleasing when you get a half chance and you take it.
“If you back it up with another one quickly then you can get a bit of daylight (on the opposition).”
The Waratahs lost Max Jorgenson to injury then Joey Walton to a yellow card which also cost a penalty try. That helped the Hurricanes to take control of the match, especially when they scored twice close to halftime.
“The game is won and lost around the physical collision and the Hurricanes dominated that area,” Waratahs coach Dan McKellar said. “We turned the ball over too much, both at the breakdown and at the set piece and they got on a roll.
“They’ve got some talent in that group and they showed that tonight, so some harsh lessons for us.”
Magnificent Moana
On the subject of revivals, Moana Pasifika’s magnificent 45-29 over the much higher-ranked Crusaders was another example of a team which had hinted at better form than it had produced.
Again, confidence played a key role. The Moana Pasifika players felt that they were on the verge of a complete performance and produced that on Saturday, going out with the intention of starting well, then keeping up the tempo and pressure when the Crusaders tried to rally.
Moana Pasifika’s kicking game was outstanding, implemented by flyhalf Patrick Pellegrini. Sydney-born and of Tongan heritage, Pelligrini played for Coventry in England’s RFU Championship and for Tonga at the 2023 World Cup.
All Blacks backrower Ardie Savea, who moved from the Hurricanes to Moana Pasifika between seasons, has played a major role in the team’s improvement. Savea scored two tries and Pellegrini touched down once in Saturday’s victory.
As with the Hurricanes, a strong performance in their last match — a narrow loss to the Chiefs, who led the competition after Round 6 — laid the foundation for a win in this weekend.
“We talked about moments and winning each moment," Savea said. "I felt like the boys stacked a lot of those moments together tonight.
“We knew no one was expecting us to win so the message was for the boys just to jam and play with nothing to lose.”
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AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
Steve Mcmorran, The Associated Press
