Rugby: Gear double seals Hurricanes win

Hurricane Tamati Ellison fends off Hendro Scholtz of the Cheetahs. Photo / Getty Images.

The Hurricanes cruised to a bonus-point win in New Plymouth today, scoring two tries in each half to beat the Cheetahs 29-12 in a Super 14 rugby match.

All Blacks left wing Hosea Gear powered over for two tries, and fullback Tamati Ellison and prop John Schwalger added the others.

The result left the Cheetahs winless after four rounds while the Hurricanes, now with three wins and a loss, joined a group at the top of the table with 14 points.

Hooker Dane Coles, except for a number of miscued throw-ins, had a fine game, to make amends for his off-field misdemeanours which saw him sidelined from last week's win over the Crusaders.

Also making an impact was blindside flanker Karl Lowe who made a number of dangerous breaks early in the first half.

The Hurricanes were never really troubled once first five-eighth Piri Weepu opened the scoring by knocking over a penalty in the 17th minute.

The first try was a gem. Coles plucked up a loose ball behind a ruck and a risky long pass set the Hurricanes backline alight with Weepu shifting the ball outside quickly.

The Cheetahs' defence was shredded once centre Conrad Smith cut back in before shifting it outside to Gear who galloped across untouched to score.

The Cheetahs's reply came when they exploited some untidy lineout defence by the Hurricanes to score an unconverted try by halfback Sarel Pretorius.

They were denied another scoring opportunity when wing Hurricanes wing Zac Guildford beat second five-eighth Hanno Coetzee to a ball chipped into the scoring zone.

The Hurricanes took a 17-5 lead into halftime on the back of a Tamati Ellison try, the fullback rewarded for a strong game when he picked the right moment to chime into a set move from a scrum to score by the posts.

The Cheetahs closed the gap two minutes into the second half when another defensive lapse let flanker Wayne van Heerden score.

Gear struck minutes later, speeding along the left sideline from 75 metres out after lock Jeremy Thrush had stopped a series of Cheetahs forward rumbles with a snappy turnover.

The Hurricanes took a firm grip on the game from then and Schwalger burrowed over after a series of close in rucks to end the scoring and leave the Cheetahs still searching for their first win over a New Zealand side since 2006.

- NZPA