Hurricanes 39 Chiefs 19
View photosKEY POINTS:
The fireworks display was cancelled but the Hurricanes supplied enough pyrotechnics of their own last night to light up the CakeTin.
Their mix of lethal long-range attack and bludgeoning defence was potent enough to see off the Chiefs who came armed for a decent scrap but like the stadium staff last week struggled to douse the local flames.
The Hurricanes have gathered all sorts of Jekyll and Hyde reputations during their Super rugby life and found no reason to change last night as they sparkled with glorious running rugby while also finding time to taunt victory with a few careless periods.
One of those stages lasted into the final quarter as the Hurricanes led by only a converted try before captain Rodney So'oialo, whose workrate is colossal, bashed past several flailing defenders to reverse any flutters among the Hurricanes coaching staff. For most of this match the Hurricanes were dominant after reducing the error rates which blighted their first two matches in this year's series.
The transformation began with the Infuriator, Ma'a Nonu, scoring the first of the four tries for the Hurricanes in a blitzkrieg opening 30 minutes. Nonu held an awkward offload from Jerry Collins before stepping and breaking tackles to make it to the line.
That early try signalled the intent and precision of the Hurricanes although they switched off at crucial stages later in the match and both times conceded tries.
Compared to the opening two weeks of Super 14, the Hurricanes were far more composed while still thrilling the crowd with their raking counterattacks. Replacement fullback Shannon Paku completed the best move, a glorious 65m sweeping run as Collins made the initial gap before Alby Mathewson and So'oialo shredded the Chiefs defence with their angled runs and nifty interplay.
Everyone was in on the act. Hooker Andrew Hore muscled away all night filching turnovers and defending the inside channels while John Schwalger was prominent on attack and in his scrummaging duties.
First five Jimmy Gopperth promised to pick his time to make an impact and true to that word, he scored one try when his forwards had completed a punishing set of drives and then from another of his breaks, Gopperth cleverly kicked back against the grain for Mathewson to finish.
In the centres Conrad Smith was all care and precision, the steady hand which allowed the flourish of men like Nonu, Hosea Gear and Paku round him to flourish.
However concentration lapses, especially the 50m solo run by Donald for a converted try before halftime delivered enough anxiety so that the Hurricanes could still struggle to close out the victory.
The warnings continued when Chiefs flanker Tanerau Latimer scored first following halftime after Sione Lauaki was stopped close to the line from an impressive drive off the base of the scrum.
But tries to So'oialo and Chris Masoe eventually put a stop to the invaders in what opened to a 20-point victory.
Hurricanes 39 (M Nonu, J Gopperth, A Mathewson, S Paku, R So'oialo, C Masoe, tries; J Gopperth 3 con, T Tuipulotu, dropped goal)
Chiefs 19 ( L Messam, S Donald, T Latimer, tries; S Donald 2 con) Halftime: 26-12
Hurricanes 39
Chiefs 19
