Rugby: Hurricanes' lineout drive delivers killer blow

Scott Fardy of the Brumbies clears the ball in the lineout. Photo / Getty

The lineout drive was meant to be a pet play of the Brumbies.

They had scored more than 20 tries from lineout drives this season and that area of the game had provided a platform for many others too.

On the other hand, the Hurricanes came into Saturday night's Super Rugby semifinal against the Brumbies with a lineout that had looked as stable as the Greek economy.

So it was mighty pleasing for the Hurricanes forwards - and technical coach Richard Watt - that the killer blow in their 29-9 win at Westpac Stadium in Wellington came via a try from a lineout drive. After taking a 12-3 lead to halftime, Ardie Savea's five-pointer in the early stages of the second spell was a big nail in the Brumbies' coffin.

"It was a good try, right after halftime too," Hurricanes hooker Dane Coles said. "I thought that was a key moment in the game for us.

"It was awesome ... we put a lot of work into it."

The Hurricanes take pride in their set-piece play and it was odd to see how dysfunctional their lineout had become at the back end of the regular season.

But last week's bye proved a blessing for them as they were able to iron out some of the finer points of their lineout. Watt was spotted high-fiving the forwards after Savea's try, which showed how much it meant to him.

"We'll take a bit of confidence out of that and build for next week," Coles said.

While the backs looked dangerous for the Hurricanes on Saturday, their forwards smashed the Brumbies in the close quarters, which set the tone.

"We knew that we needed to bring a level of physicality to the breakdown that they do," Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd said.

Lock James Broadhurst carried the ball with vigour for the Hurricanes, as he has done all season, while the loose trio, led by Savea, were particularly industrious.

Those forwards got involved regularly and their running game was hard to contain for the Brumbies, who prefer to play the game at a steady rather than speedy pace. "Tempo was a pretty big focus," Boyd said.

You can bet the Hurricanes won't change that focus when the Highlanders come to town for the final this weekend.