Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

Hurricanes player ratings vs Chiefs | Super Rugby Pacific

(Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)

The Chiefs travelled to Wellington to take on the Hurricanes, looking to bounce back from a loss at home against the Crusaders. The home side were hoping to also bounce back after being the first New Zealand side to lose to Moana Pasifika.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Hurricanes brought intense line speed early which paid dividends with a try just over 60 seconds into the game. They carried a 15-13 lead into half-time, but softened up and let the Chiefs take the lead in the second.

Giving away six penalties in a row midway through the second half, they fell behind 30-15 only to storm back to within one point.

Video Spacer

Aotearoa Rugby Pod | Episode 7

Video Spacer

Aotearoa Rugby Pod | Episode 7

Here’s how the Hurricanes players rated:

1. Pouri Rakete-Stones – 5/10

Held firm on the first Hurricanes scrum but began to wilt after that. Lost a penalty to Angus Ta’avao after too much pressure on the second. Some good tackles in close. Chiefs front row had the better of them in the first half. Off at half-time. Wasn’t really a memorable performance.

2. Asafo Aumua – 6.5

His early throwing was crisp, hitting his first five or so targets on time, but the lineout began to falter late in the half with an unplanned overthrow at a key time. Scrum started to fail under the pressure of the Chiefs’ All Blacks. Provided strong carries, as always, but was inaccurate at the breakdown, giving away a penalty in the first half for not supporting body weight. Conceded another penalty, stripping a tackled player inside his own 22 in the second half during a key period that the Hurricanes imploded in. Lifted his impact on defence late in the second half and finished with some strong carries. Got through a ton of work with 16 tackles. Overall a good performance, but discipline costly at times.

3. Tyrel Lomax – 5 

Solid defence early on, driving the Chiefs back with some great hits. Was done by Josh Ioane when he tried to bring line speed in the lead-up to Anton Lienert-Brown’s try. Scrum struggled but he held his side well enough. Forced a key turnover 10 minutes into the second half with a counter ruck as the Chiefs looked to exit. Off in the 66th. Big minutes from the prop.

4. James Blackwell – 5

Good work rate but faded as the game went on. Did the dirty work around the rucks effectively enough in the first half. Wasn’t really the lineout option on the day with most balls going to Savea or Prinsep. Disciplined game but became ineffective as he tired out.

5. Scott Scrafton – 4

Good pressure from the big man off the defensive line early. Worked hard to get up in Chiefs’ faces but didn’t have the same impact early in the second half despite going off in the 48th minute.

6. Reed Prinsep – 3

Was the Hurricanes’ second lineout option. Was rather quiet, handling clean out work and carried a few times. Got burned by Pita Gus Sowakula after a slow break from the scrum which led to the Chiefs finally taking the lead. Just didn’t have much impact at all and you have to think the Hurricanes need to try a new 6.

7. Du’Plessis Kirifi – 5

Really led from the front on defence with great line speed early. Won a holding on penalty midway through the first half. Looked promising with ball in hand multiple times on the right hand side. Applied pressure at many Chiefs breakdowns but gave away a penalty right on half-time to allow the Chiefs three points and close the gap to two. Got stripped in the tackle at a crucial moment just three minutes from the end, when the Hurricanes were pressing. Another penalty 30 seconds from time for slowing the ball sealed the game for the Chiefs. While Kirifi’s effort was outstanding, it was his execution that proved costly and he has to be marked down for that. Not his day.

8. Ardie Savea (c) – 6

Was the Hurricanes’ primary lineout option instead of the locking pair. Quick hands down the blind from a scrum play helped set up the Hurricanes’ second try. Had a good penalty on his opposite number after Sowakula had turned the ball over on first phase. Overall, it was an uncharacteristic game from Savea, who didn’t have his usual high-level impact until the last 15 minutes. Took a quick tap and scored an incredible try with the Chiefs napping with seven minutes to go.

9. TJ Perenara – 8

Great intercept try less than 60 seconds into the game. The Hurricanes looked to bring intense line speed early and Perenara snatched one from a Josh Ioane pass going through the motions of their shape. Was very accurate through the first half, passing with good timing and precision to build the Hurricanes’ phase play. His control of the game began to fade as play got a bit sloppy late in first half. Provided some good tempo to lift the Canes’ attack after they lost the lead. Played his guts out in defence, trying to get the Hurricanes back in the game. Off in 70th. Best on the field for the ill-disciplined Canes.

10. Jackson Garden-Bachop – 5

Beautiful quick hands down the blindside to set-up the Hurricanes second try. Had some struggles building chemistry with Barrett with a key pass going to ground as the attack looked promising. Looked to play for more field position late in the first half as the Hurricanes got a little sloppy. One good long range kick put Chiefs wing Emoni Narawa under pressure. Other than that, had a quiet game overall as the Hurricanes’ discipline imploded in the second half.

11. Wes Goosen – 5

Had an unlucky bounce for a would-be try on a chip-and-chase break, but he scored moments later down the blindside with a walk-in after a five-metre scrum. Penalised for not rolling away from the breakdown directly in front of the posts after defending in the 10 channel. Some good moments in kick coverage and was typically reliable.

12. Jordie Barrett – 6.5

Had a nice offload to Goosen early on the left edge for a half chance. He kicked five from seven off the tee, missing a sideline conversion and a long penalty attempt in first half. Took plenty of carries but played a little indirectly at first receiver from set piece when he looked to free the backs. Missed a developing opportunity with Garden-Bachop running a play out the back during phase play in the first half. Defended well with a couple of dominant hits and got aggressive in the second half, seemingly out of frustration. Had one great ball-and-all tackle on Nanai-Seturo on a set piece scrum. Looks like the transition to 12 will take time as it wasn’t immediately clicking.

13. Billy Proctor – 4

Some understated involvements in defence and at the ruck in the first half. Had a few first receiver touches during phase play. However, took a bad angle in the lead-up to the Chiefs’ second try, allowing Quinn Tupaea to make the initial break that was finished by Kaylum Boshier. His best play was a nice pullback pass on the set piece play leading to the Savea try. Off in 70th. He is just not the kind of strike centre the Hurricanes are used to having.

14. Julian Savea – 6

Reliable in the first half. Had some good carries against the grain and had to jam in a lot and recovered well when needed. In the second half, he finished his only opportunity by crashing over in the corner.

15. Ruben Love – 5

Looked dangerous on his first kick return and always looked promising taking when on the line. Ran incisive lines during set pieces. Set up a nice try to Julian Savea in the 67th minute with good injection into the line to give the Canes some hope. His running game was fantastic but was let down by his ball handling at the back. Wasn’t tested enough by the Chiefs under the high ball as it proved to be his kryptonite. Dropped his first one under pressure, losing sight of the ball in the sun. Had a great aerial take to start the second half, but then lost the ball placing it back. Lost another one cold on the run after taking it cleanly for three kick return turnovers. Went for a wild cutout pass on a scrum play that was picked off by Emoni Narawa. His last-ditch defence unfortunately didn’t save the day against the odds like Barrett often pulls off. He will be better for the run at 15 and definitely has a lot to offer in attack, just didn’t provide the stability needed on the day.

Reserves

16. James O’Reilly – N/A

17. Xavier Numia – 4

On at halftime. Had a weak clean out that cost Hurricanes the ball and momentum. Just seemed to tire out early.

18. Tevita Mafileo – 6

On in 66th. Great carry first up. Forced a turnover on defence. Has a big frame and looks like an intriguing prospect.

19. Caleb Delany – 6

On in 48th. Very tidy performance. Did a lot of clean up work and made good decisions.

20. Devan Flanders – N/A

21. Jamie Booth – 4

Had a good kick-chase that resulted in a penalty won with his effort at the ruck. Oddly offered terribly slow service when the Hurricanes needed to lift. Always paused an extra half second before getting the ball out. Needs to fix.

22. Bailyn Sullivan – N/A

On in 70th. Had one strong carry.

23. Josh Moorby – N/A

On in 66th. Didn’t see much action.

ADVERTISEMENT

LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

O
Oh no, not him again? 2 hours ago
England internationals disagree on final play execution vs All Blacks

Okay, so we blew it big time on Saturday. So rather than repeating what most people have all ready said, what do I want to see from Borthwick going forward?


Let's keep Marcus Smith on the pitch if he's fit and playing well. I was really pleased with his goal kicking. It used to be his weakness. I feel sympathy for George Ford who hadn't kicked all match and then had a kick to win the game. You hear pundits and commentators commend kickers who have come off the bench and pulled that off. Its not easy. If Steve B continues to substitute players with no clear reason then he is going to get criticised.


On paper I thought England would beat NZ if they played to their potential and didn't show NZ too much respect. Okay, the off the ball tackles certainly stopped England scoring tries, but I would have liked to see more smashing over gainlines and less kicking for position. Yes, I also know it's the Springbok endorsed world cup double winning formula but the Kiwi defence isn't the Bok defence, is it. If you have the power to put Smith on the front foot then why muzzle him? I guess what I'm saying is back, yourself. Why give the momentum to a team like NZ? Why feed the beast? Don't give the ball to NZ. Well d'uh.


Our scrum is a long term weakness. If you are going to play Itoje then he needs an ogre next door and a decent front row. Where is our third world class lock? Where are are realible front row bench replacements? The England scrum has been flakey for a while now. It blows hot and cold. Our front five bench is not world class.


On the positive side I love our starting backrow right now. I'd like to see them stick together through to the next world cup.


Anyway, there is always another Saturday.

7 Go to comments
C
CO 2 hours ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

Robertson is more a manager of coaches than a coach so it comes down to intent of outcomes at a high level. I like his intent, I like the fact his Allblacks are really driving the outcomes however as he's pointed out the high error rates are not test level and their control of the game is driving both wins and losses. England didn't have to play a lot of rugby, they made far fewer mistakes and were extremely unlucky not to win.


In fact the English team were very early in their season and should've been comfortably beaten by an Allblacks team that had played multiple tests together.


Razor has himself recognised that to be the best they'll have to sort out the crisis levels of mistakes that have really increased since the first two tests against England.


Early tackles were a classic example of hyper enthusiasm to not give an inch, that passion that Razor has achieved is going to be formidable once the unforced errors are eliminated.


That's his secret, he's already rebuilt the passion and that's the most important aspect, its inevitable that he'll now eradicate the unforced errors. When that happens a fellow tier one nation is going to get thrashed. I don't think it will be until 2025 though.


The Allblacks will lose both tests against Ireland and France if they play high error rates rugby like they did against England.


To get the unforced errors under control he's going to be needing to handover the number eight role to Sititi and reset expectations of what loose forwards do. Establish a clear distinction with a large, swarthy lineout jumper at six that is a feared runner and dominant tackler and a turnover specialist at seven that is abrasive in contact. He'll then need to build depth behind the three starters and ruthlessly select for that group to be peaking in 2027 in hit Australian conditions on firm, dry grounds.


It's going to help him that Savea is shifting to the worst super rugby franchise where he's going to struggle behind a beaten pack every week.


The under performing loose forward trio is the key driver of the high error rates and unacceptable turn overs due to awol link work. Sititi is looking like he's superman compared to his openside and eight.


At this late stage in the season they shouldn't be operating with just the one outstanding loose forward out of four selected for the English test. That's an abject failure but I think Robertson's sacrificing link quality on purpose to build passion amongst the junior Allblacks as they see the reverential treatment the old warhorses are receiving for their long term hard graft.


It's unfortunately losing test matches and making what should be comfortable wins into nail biters but it's early in the world cup cycle so perhaps it's a sacrifice worth making.


However if this was F1 then Sam Cane would be Riccardo and Ardie would be heading into Perez territory so the loose forwards desperately need revitalisation through a rebuild over the next season to complement the formidable tight five.

28 Go to comments
LONG READ
LONG READ 'There will be no honeymoon period for Borthwick's wedding usher El-Abd' 'There will be no honeymoon period for Borthwick's wedding usher El-Abd'
Search