Rugby: Boyd's Hurricanes keep the heat on Kirwan

Blues coach John Kirwan. Photo / Getty Images

The winning coach wasn't happy and the losing coach only wanted to praise his players.

Rugby is a funny game and one that can be seen from a range of angles but here's a few of the bare facts.

The Hurricanes beat the Blues 30-23 in Palmerston North last night and the Wellington-based franchise are unbeaten after four games. John Kirwan's Blues have lost five on the bounce to start the 2015 campaign.

Another bonus-point win has cemented the Hurricanes as one of the form horses in the early going but Super Rugby is a race for stayers.

"We are delighted to get the five points but [we are] far from happy with our performance," Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd said.

Kirwan, a man who will hear more people calling for him to be sacked in the coming days, couldn't fault the attitude of his side; they just couldn't catch a break.

They missed touch, Ihaia West missed shots at goal and the Blues needed a pass or two more to stick against the Hurricanes and they could have left Manawatu with their first victory of the year.

"We just can't win a trick," Kirwan said. "So we've got to keep working hard. The courage and commitment's there from the guys and it'll turn round.

"We just need to, once again, execute a little bit better."

Building up to last night's game had been challenging for the Blues after they were upset by the Lions last week - one of the lowest points in the history of a storied franchise that once ruled Super Rugby.

"If you're going to lose faith it would have been this week and they didn't," Kirwan said of his players. "It's been a hard week for the team and they stayed tight. They stayed strong."

The Blues will now head to the bye, which they desperately need, and Kirwan will need to put further thought in to how they can break their duck.

"We are working incredibly hard. The guys deserve more than what they're getting," Kirwan said. "We've got a bonus point out of the last four games. We just need to nail some of the execution under pressure. But, like I said, I'm just incredibly proud of their courage and commitment under fire."

That's all well and good but the public are demanding better from this side.

They will head to Sydney to meet the Waratahs in two weeks and given their noted struggles on the road in recent times it could get worse before it gets better.

Boyd has seen his share of tough runs in his coaching career - namely last year as he guided the Wellington Lions through a woeful ITM Cup campaign - and he backed the Blues to come good.

"They'll turn their game around. They've got a lot of quality footballers in that team," Boyd said.

On the injury front, Hurricanes hooker Dane Coles tweaked his elbow but it wasn't thought to be serious.

Hurricanes 30 (Julian Savea 2, TJ Perenara, Matt Proctor tries; Beauden Barrett 2 pen, 2 con) Blues 23 (Lolagi Visinia, Frank Halai tries; Ihaia West 3 pen, 2 con) halftime: 18-17

NZME.