Rugby: Barrett's points reignite Canes

Beauden Barrett hit the high notes last night in the capital to help crush the Cheetahs. PHOTOSPORT

It's amazing what you can do when you hold on to the ball.

After spending three weeks finding various ways to give possession back to the opposition, the Hurricanes kept control of the pill during yesterday's 60-27 victory over the Cheetahs at Westpac Stadium.

The Hurricanes came into the contest under a mountain of pressure, given they had opened their campaign with three losses, but after some serious soul-searching during the week, Mark Hammett's side delivered.

It was by no means perfect but it was the sort of result the franchise needed if they want to turn around their season and get themselves on track. Making the play-offs seems the minimum requirement if Hammett, who is in the final year of his contract, wants to remain as head coach next season.

A victory over the Cheetahs doesn't make a season but the Hurricanes now have the first building block in place - and their execution was far better during the nine-try romp.

"We just turned too much ball over in the first three weeks and we still turned ball over this week but that's rugby," Hammett said.

"All teams are going to turn ball over but we just need to be comfortable building phases and holding ball and I think we did that.

"I think we were probably only a 7 out of 10 but we are certainly a lot better than where we were."

The Hurricanes started well but fell off too many tackles during the first spell and took a 29-20 lead into the break.

"But the second half, we worked hard, ran straight lines and we were up field in terms of our direction, which made it easy for the clean-out," Hammett said.

The turning point in the contest came early in the second spell when Cheetahs fullback Willie le Roux was controversially sent to the sinbin by referee Angus Gardner for an alleged illegal knockdown of a Hurricanes pass. It seemed clear to everybody except Gardner and his fellow officials that le Roux was genuinely going for an intercept but he was still given a 10-minute rest and the Hurricanes pressed play and scored two quick tries, which essentially settled the result.

It was a fitting way for skipper Conrad Smith to mark his 100th appearance for the franchise he has represented since 2004 and the reliable centre managed to score a try of his own during the second half, which produced the biggest cheer of the game.

"I know the guys were up for it and they really carried us through," Smith said of the performance.

Hammett has copped his share of criticism in the past month but his decision to bench livewire halfback TJ Perenara and give journeyman Chris Smylie the start proved a wise choice.

Smylie's no-frills approach and his snappy pass provided decent service to Beauden Barrett, who had his best game of the season, scoring 23 points, and allowed the backline to find top gear.

Smith said his men had been honest with themselves during the build-up as they looked for the right recipe to improve.

"I think we were just a lot harder on ourselves mentally and we still had slip-ups during the game but you're going to get that. What I liked is the way we reacted."

After opening the season with games against South African and Australian opposition, the Hurricanes meet the Highlanders and then the Crusaders on the road in the next two weeks.

"The guys will always say there's a bit more edge on those games and I think we are ready for that so it'll be a good test for us," Smith said.

Hurricanes 60 (B. Barrett 2, D. Coles, C. Smylie, J. Marshall, J. Thrush, M. Proctor, C. Smith, A. Leiua tries; Barrett 5 cons, pen, M. Banks con) Cheetahs 27 (W. le Roux, P. van der Walt, F. Uys tries; J. Goosen 3 cons, 2 pens). Halftime: 29-20.