Hurricanes 38
Lions 12
KEY POINTS:
Only the Hurricanes could claim a bonus point victory and yet invoke as much concern as hope in regard to their playoff future.
At times last night they were sublime. Their young recruits in the backline, Willie Ripia and Zac Guildford, played with the uninhibited zest of youth, expressing themselves as men who have not yet had their natural instincts coached out.
There were passages of poetry from the Hurricanes that will have left everyone in the knock-out mix more than a little wary.
But there was also too much loose stuff. Too many reckless passes and casual entries into contact. Some of that might have been inspired by the insipid qualities of the Lions.
Let's face it, they weren't up to much - they were game and determined but well short of the required precision - and the Hurricanes knew it. Maybe knowing they could make mistakes and get away with it, dented the Hurricanes' concentration.
Or maybe that is just the way they are - they play on the edge of their creative palate and as a result sometimes things work, sometimes they don't. It is, after all, a fine line.
When they fell on the right side, it was all so easy to enjoy. Ripia set up the first score for Guildford when he nudged a neat grubber past the Lions rushing defence which popped up as the left wing came firing through the midfield.
The second had nothing to do with subtlety and everything to do with brute strength.
The Lions, taking the attitude they should just have a go, flung the ball across their own tryline to their No 8 who received the ball and Hore at about the same time. The Hurricanes hooker, sporting a belting moustache, made a solid contact and then somehow managed to wrestle the ball free, twist and then stretch through a wall of bodies to touch down.
It was a score that must have made his All Black case too hard to ignore. And he might be joined in the national squad by another player who has not always been in favour with the current coaching panel - Ma'a Nonu.
Switching Nonu to second five has been the making of him this season, his form lifting in recent weeks in line with the additional involvement his new position affords him.
It's a pretty simple business with Nonu - give him the ball and get him to run. When he did that last night, using some quick footwork and his upper body strength to push away tacklers, he was deadly.
Most pleasing of all was his post-break execution. There was none of the usual wild passing or crazy decision-making that often reduces his value.
If he was in doubt, he held on to the ball and waited for support. If he can continue like that, he could solve the All Blacks problem at No 12 this season.
It was kind of strange, though, as it almost seemed as if Nonu had transferred some of his faults to his team-mates.
Cory Jane made a clean break midway through the second half and with one man to beat and Shannon Paku racing up on the inside, the Hurricanes fullback inexplicably chose to go it alone before throwing a lame pass out the backdoor.
These are the types of mistakes that can be costly at this stage of the competition. It could well be that in the final week the Hurricanes have to win at Eden Park to qualify.
Chances in that game will be at a premium and the execution has to be clinical. Even at the time, Jane's selfishness threatened to be costly as it would have delivered the crucial bonus point try.
It took the Hurricanes a nervy 15 minutes to finally get that fourth try in the bag when Nonu used his strength to barrel over from short range. It was a try that was not only important in the overall standings, it was also required on the night to ensure the victory.
The Lions had been allowed to claw their way back to 26-12 early in the second half and by just being persistent, they were threatening to get very close indeed.
Hurricanes 38 (Z. Guildford, A. Hore, M. Nonu (2); T. Waldrom tries; W. Ripia 2 cons, 3 pens) Lions 12 (W. Wepener, J. Boshoff tries; E. Rose con).
