Reds 28 Hurricanes 37
Victor Vito. Two words that should strike fear into the Hurricanes' semifinal opponents.
Last night was a Super 14 coming-of-age for the explosive flanker as the Hurricanes booked a spot in the playoffs.
With the ball in hand - and it was hand, singular - he was spectacular, setting up two of the Hurricanes' four first-half tries. There was a touch of the Sonny Bill Williams in the way he went about his business, but you can only hope that will extend to his on-field activities only.
On defence he was brutal, making the sort of jarring hits that reminded fans of a Hurricanes No 6 from the not-too-distant past who has spent the past two seasons wearing the colours of Toulon.
Vito's early tour de force was exactly what the Hurricanes required to settle any nerves.
When the Crusaders sealed victory in the garden of Eden just minutes before kickoff at Suncorp Stadium it meant the Hurricanes had slipped out of the top four.
Still, an assignment against the porous Reds would not have caused too many conniptions in the capital.
The Queenslanders were playing for pride only but you wonder how much pride can be left in a franchise that has finished in the bottom three for the past six campaigns.
They also must have known that a win was only going to help their hated rivals, the Waratahs, who rounded off a gutsy South African campaign with a win against the Lions, meaning they were clinging on to a top four spot.
There was little evidence of an upset early as they tried to take the Hurricanes on in a basketball-rugby hybrid. There are few teams in the world that could live with the Hurricanes when the game is played so laterally.
As it was the Hurricanes had a bonus point in the bag in little more than half an hour and the Waratahs would have cut a pretty sorry bunch at whatever Johannesburg bar they were watching at.
The Reds kept things interesting, refusing to yield, but they never really threatened an upset.
The first try was a simple exercise in numbers; the Hurricanes had them, the Reds didn't. As the ball was shifted right Ma'a Nonu, having the most consistent Super rugby campaign of his career, burst over with ridiculous ease.
The second try was pure razzle-dazzle, with Scott Waldrom opting to bring the ball back from deep and Vito busting the line. Weepu was asked to put the finishing flourish on the move and he did so with aplomb, prompting him to bust out a dance that should have proved there is little market for a linedancing-haka crossover.
Nonu scored his second try from another Vito one-handed pass, while Cory Jane beat a wafer-thin defensive line on the half hour.
So far, so easy. Yes, Quade cooper had scored a nifty try but there was only one team in it. But the last 10 minutes of the half did not work out well for the visitors and when Ben Lucas pushed through the base of a ruck to score, the gap was shaved to 10 points and there would have been renewed hope among the Waratahs.
That was extinguished before there had been a scrum or lineout in the second half, with Jeremy Thrush scoring after the Hurricanes found it too easy to punch holes in the Reds' defence.
The home team never rolled over, though, battling to the end. Colin Cooper will be quite thankful for that. The last you need at this stage of the competition is complacency.
A cautionary note to the Hurricanes: in the cut-throat world of knockout rugby, you need a reliable goalkicker. After his horror performance against the Chiefs, Willie Ripia bounced back somewhat in Brisbane but he still missed one shot that no self-respecting kicker should.
Reds 28 (Q. Cooper, B. Lucas, M. McLinden, B. Va'aulu tries; B. Barnes 4 cons), Hurricanes 37 (M. Nonu 2, P. Weepu, C. Jane, J. Thrush tries; W. Ripia 2 pens 3 cons). Halftime: 14-24.
