However, those victories were over the Reds, Sunwolves, Brumbies and Sharks, and against one of the competition favourites, the Rebels couldn't convert a promising start into a stunning upset. Despite what the scoreline suggests, they did give the Hurricanes a fright, playing smarter rugby early on, and making the most of a sloppy opening period from the visitors.
The Hurricanes' ill-discipline let the Rebels keep the scoreboard ticking over in increments of three, and promising attacks were consistently cut short by ill-advised offloads. That inconsistency led to a controversial Rebels try, with Matt Philip burrowing over from close range after the TMO George Ayoub surprisingly ruled a suspect knock-on had gone backwards.
That gave the Rebels a 19-8 lead, but just as things looked dicey for the Hurricanes, the luck turned back their way. A Beauden Barrett midfield bomb looked to be heading into touch, with Rebels pivot Jack Debreczeni shepherding it out, but the ball took a wicked bounce over his head, leaving the alert Lam to collect and fend off a pair of would-be impediments on a 50 metre sprint to the line.
Lam again showed why he is being touted as an All Blacks prospect, putting on a punishing display of strength and speed. So difficult to stop close to the line, Lam went top of the try-scoring charts with his four-try haul, and it was his second try which proved to be the turning point.
After being down by 11 points, Lam's lucky bounce kick-started a romp as a tight tussle into a trouncing. Ngani Laumape bumped off two defenders to finish off a superb counter-attack, while loose forward Gareth Evans showed a startling turn of speed to do the same.
They were moments of vintage Hurricanes rugby on a night where they didn't hit top gear, but still produced than enough for a fourth straight win, and second spot on the Super Rugby ladder.
Hurricanes 50 (Ben Lam 4, Beauden Barrett, Gareth Evans, Ngani Laumape tries; Barrett 3 cons, 3 pens)
Rebels 19 (Matt Philip try; Jack Debreczeni con, 4 pens)
HT: 25-19
