Hurricanes 38 Lions 12
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The Hurricanes overcame modest opposition to slip into the top four courtesy of a 38-12 Super 14 rugby win against the Lions in Wellington tonight.
The omens looked poor for the Lions from the opening kickoff when Jaco van Schalkwyk kicked the ball out on the full.
Their prospects seldom brightened after that, particularly when the home side raced out to a 26-7 halftime lead on the back of three well taken tries.
The 14th and last-placed Lions were adventurous enough and had enough possession and territory but the Hurricanes proved conclusively that it is what teams do with the ball that matters most even if they lost some of their structure in the second spell.
With young first five-eighth Willie Ripia directing play well and showing a good touch with his tactical kicking, the Hurricanes ended with five tries in a useful shakedown for their remaining round robin fixtures against Western Force and the Blues.
The result promoted them past the Sharks and into the top four with two rounds remaining.
They were always likely to inflict more pain on the hapless Lions as early as the 29th minute by which stage they led 21-0.
Having landed two early penalties, Ripia then created the first try, toe-poking a delicate chip in behind the defence which bounced kindly for teenage winger Zac Guildford.
Ripia converted from a handy position and added another penalty before hooker Andrew Hore showed his strength to rip the ball off Joe van Niekerk and score.
It was hardly van Niekerk's fault as he was a vulnerable goal line target after Earl Rose threw a dangerous, floated pass which reached him at the same time as Hore.
The Lions finally had something to cheer about when hooker Willie Wepener was driven across from a lineout close to the line - one of the few times the South Africans managed to hold on to the ball.
Ripia was again in the thick of the action in the 36th minute as he regathered his own chip to feed flanker Chris Masoe before second five-eighth Ma'a Nonu completed the movement.
After cruising to a position of control in the first half the Hurricanes were a shade complacent after the restart, and paid for it when winger Jannie Boshoff scored the Lions' second try.
Boshoff took two tacklers across the line with him after a sharp run from the base of the scrum by halfback Jano Vermaak.
The Hurricanes themselves began to show disrespect for the ball as errors creeped into their game, no more so than when fullback Cory Jane butchered a prime tryscoring opportunity with a poor final pass in the 54th minute.
They turned to their forwards as they sought a bonus-point fourth try but instead it was Nonu playing the scavenger role who pulled it off for them in the 64th minute.
After the forwards drove to the line Nonu picked up the scraps to burrow his way over for his seventh try of the season.
That was followed by Scott Waldrom getting on the scoresheet with a try after a break by substitute halfback Alby Mathewson and timely backup from his brother and fellow loose forward Thomas Waldrom.
Hurricanes 38 (Ma'a Nonu 2, Zac Guildford, Andrew Hore, Scott Waldrom tries; Willie Ripia 3 pen, con, Jimmy Gopperth con) Lions 12 (Willie Wepener, Jannie Boshoff tries; Earl Rose con). Halftime: 26-7.
- NZPA
