By suspending five players the Hurricanes have handed the Reds their best chance to take a scalp way above them on the Super Rugby ladder.
The Match
The first half
The first half was for the most part fairly even. The Hurricanes scored a great looking try off the very first scrum of the game. Beauden Barrett took the pass off the scrum and cross kicked beautifully into Wes Goosen’s hands. Ayumu Goromaru missed the cover tackle. Barrett then missed the conversion in the strong wind assisting the Reds.
The Reds scored from a couple of penalty shots and were leading until after the half time hooter when the Hurricanes scored a try off a lineout maul to be in front 12-6 at half time. It was their second go at the try with Hendrick Tui getting a yellow card for collapsing their first maul moments before.
But the real story was the missed opportunities for both sides. The Reds missed two when firstly Ant Fainga’a knocked on and moments later Feauai-Sautia couldn’t reach Frisby’s cross kick with the line open. The Hurricanes also messed up two tries when Dane Coles threw a forward pass with the line virtually open and then Jason Woodward knocked on a loose ball again with the line open.
The Second Half
The second half didn’t start well for the reds when Jake McIntyre’s pass to Goromaru went to ground and Jason Woodward toed the ball through and regathered it to score an easy try.
The Hurricanes scored ten points while Hendrick Tui was in the bin, but as soon as he returned the Reds grabbed one back when Feauai-Sautia ran the reverse angle from a lineout and went all the way to keep his side in the game at 17-14 down.
But the miracle win wasn’t to be. The Hurricanes steadied and scored two more tries to seal the match 29-14. The first one to Ngani Laumape was a straight hit up off the best Hurricanes scum of the night. He ran straight at Jake McIntyre who had no chance of stopping the big unit. The second was to Jason Woodward who intercepted and scored after the final hooter when the Reds were pushing for a losing bonus point.
The Reds were always chasing this game and even with the five five suspended players andinjuries to key players during the game the Reds never really challenged losing five tries to one.
[one_third last=”no”]
The Game Changer
Andrew Ready had a another big game but he was held up after half time. The try would have put the Reds in front (I think) but it wasn’t to be and from then on the Hurricanes controlled the match.
[/one_third]
[one_third last=”no”]
The G&GR MOTM
I’m going to single out a player from the losing side and give this to Andrew Ready. He had a big night and I honestly can’t pick a Hurricanes player who stood out. Having said that it was a great team effort from the NZ side and no one played badly.
[/one_third]
[one_third last=”yes”]
Wallaby watch
Chris Feauai-sautia ran for a lot of metres but gave away possession when he left a clearance kick to bounce instead of catching it. Campbell Magnay was kept quiet but fixed his defensive lapses from last week and broke the line a couple of times. Liam Gill was class as usual and Frisby and Ready should make the Wallaby squad this year.
[/one_third]
The Details
Crowd:
Score & Scorers
[one_half last=”no”]Hurricanes: 29
Tries: Wes Goosen, Dane Coles, Jason Woodward 2, Ngani Laumape
Conversions: Beauden Barrett 2/3
Penalties: Beauden Barrett 0/1[/one_half]
[one_half last=”yes”]Reds: 14
Tries: Chris Feauai-Sautia
Conversions: Ayumu Goromaru 0/1
Penalties: Ayumu Goromaru 3/3[/one_half]
Cards & citings
Hendrick Tui (YC), Beauden Barrett (YC)
