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Aso shines as Canes thrash sorry Cheetahs

Vince Aso grabbed a hat-trick as the Hurricanes inflicted more misery on the Cheetahs with a 61-7 Super Rugby thrashing at Westpac Stadium on Saturday.

The Canes suffered a surprise defeat at the hands of the Crusaders last time out but they quickly got back to winning ways with a comprehensive bonus-point win that included nine tries.

Aso was the star of the show with three scores to his name as the Cheetahs defence was breached all too easily, the South African province slipping to a ninth successive defeat.

Vaea Fifita started the onslaught in the 17th minute with Aso going over for the first time soon after, but the Cheetahs responded and grabbed their only points of the match as Fred Zeilinga converted his own try.

That brief confidence boost after 25 minutes was as good as it got for the Cheetahs as they suffered another heavy loss, their resistance disappearing after the break as the Canes ran in 40 unanswered points to move second in the New Zealand Conference.

Highlanders were equally as impressive against Western Force as another New Zealand franchise claimed a comprehensive victory, by a 55-6 scoreline.

At the half-hour stage, the two sides were only separated by four points but a lack of discipline from Force allowed their visitors to take full control.

Semisi Masirewa and Richie Arnold both spent time in the sin bin in quick succession and that saw the momentum switch, the Highlanders taking full advantage to score 45 points without reply.

Aki Seiuli and Rob Thompson both scored twice as Highlanders claimed a bonus point which could be crucial in the very competitive conference.

Lwazi Mvovo sent the Sunwolves to another defeat as the Japanese side were beaten 38-17 by the Sharks in Singapore.

Mvovo opened the scoring but did not complete his treble until the closing moments with two tries in the final six minutes, adding gloss to an impressive Sharks display.

The visitors finished strong in both halves of Saturday’s clash to take the game away from the Sunwolves.

Ruan Botha and Sibusiso Nkosi both crossed in the space of 11 minutes before the break as the Sharks moved ahead, and a late flurry from Mvovo wrapped up the points.

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Nickers 26 minutes ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

I thought we made a lot of progress against that type of defence by the WC last year. Lots of direct running and punching holes rather than using width. Against that type of defence I think you have to be looking to kick on first phase when you have front foot ball which we did relatively successfully. We are playing a lot of rugby behind the gain line at the moment. They are looking for those little interchanges for soft shoulders and fast ball or off loads but it regularly turns into them battering away with slow ball and going backwards, then putting in a very rushed kick under huge pressure.


JB brought that dimension when he first moved into 12 a couple of years ago but he's definitely not been at his best this year. I don't know if it is because he is being asked to play a narrow role, or carrying a niggle or two, but he does not look confident to me. He had that clean break on the weekend and stood there like he was a prop who found himself in open space and didn't know what to do with the ball. He is still a good first phase ball carrier though, they use him a lot off the line out to set up fast clean ball, but I don't think anyone is particularly clear on what they are supposed to do at that point. He was used really successfully as a second playmaker last year but I don't think he's been at that role once this year. He is a triple threat player but playing a very 1 dimensional role at the moment. He and Reiko have been absolutely rock solid on defence which is why I don't think there will be too much experimentation or changes there.

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