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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.

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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.

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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.

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J
JW 3 hours ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Ok, managed to read the full article..

... New Zealand’s has only 14 and the professional season is all over within four months. In France, club governance is the responsibility of an independent organisation [the Ligue Nationale de Rugby or LNR] which is entirely separate from the host union [the Fédération Française de Rugby or FFR]. Down south New Zealand Rugby runs the provincial and the national game.

That is the National Provincial Championship, a competition of 14 representative union based teams run through the SH international window and only semi professional (paid only during it's running). It is run by NZR and goes for two and a half months.


Super Rugby is a competition involving 12 fully professional teams, of which 5 are of New Zealand eligibility, and another joint administered team of Pacific Island eligibility, with NZR involvement. It was a 18 week competition this year, so involved (randomly chosen I believe) extra return fixtures (2 or 3 home and away derbys), and is run by Super Rugby Pacific's own independent Board (or organisation). The teams may or may not be independently run and owned (note, this does not necessarily mean what you think of as 'privately owned').


LNR was setup by FFR and the French Government to administer the professional game in France. In New Zealand, the Players Association and Super Rugby franchises agreed last month to not setup their own governance structure for professional rugby and re-aligned themselves with New Zealand Rugby. They had been proposing to do something like the English model, I'm not sure how closely that would have been aligned to the French system but it did not sound like it would have French union executive representation on it like the LNR does.

In the shaky isles the professional pyramid tapers to a point with the almighty All Blacks. In France the feeling for country is no more important than the sense of fierce local identity spawned at myriad clubs concentrated in the southwest. Progress is achieved by a nonchalant shrug and the wide sweep of nuanced negotiation, rather than driven from the top by a single intense focus.

Yes, it is pretty much a 'representative' selection system at every level, but these union's are having to fight for their existence against the regime that is NZR, and are currently going through their own battle, just as France has recently as I understand it. A single focus, ala the French game, might not be the best outcome for rugby as a whole.


For pure theatre, it is a wonderful article so far. I prefer 'Ntamack New Zealand 2022' though.

The young Crusader still struggles to solve the puzzle posed by the shorter, more compact tight-heads at this level but he had no problem at all with Colombe.

It was interesting to listen to Manny during an interview on Maul or Nothing, he citied that after a bit of banter with the All Black's he no longer wanted one of their jersey's after the game. One of those talks was an eye to eye chat with Tamaiti Williams, there appear to be nothing between the lock and prop, just a lot of give and take. I thought TW angled in and caused Taylor to pop a few times, and that NZ were lucky to be rewarded.

f you have a forward of 6ft 8ins and 145kg, and he is not at all disturbed by a dysfunctional set-piece, you are in business.

He talked about the clarity of the leadership that helped alleviate any need for anxiety at the predicaments unfolding before him. The same cannot be said for New Zealand when they had 5 minutes left to retrieve a match winning penalty, I don't believe. Did the team in black have much of a plan at any point in the game? I don't really call an autonomous 10 vehicle they had as innovative. I think Razor needs to go back to the dealer and get a new game driver on that one.

Vaa’i is no match for his power on the ground. Even in reverse, Meafou is like a tractor motoring backwards in low gear, trampling all in its path.

Vaa'i actually stops him in his tracks. He gets what could have been a dubious 'tackle' on him?

A high-level offence will often try to identify and exploit big forwards who can be slower to reload, and therefore vulnerable to two quick plays run at them consecutively.

Yes he was just standing on his haunches wasn't he? He mentioned that in the interview, saying that not only did you just get up and back into the line to find the opposition was already set and running at you they also hit harder than anything he'd experienced in the Top 14. He was referring to New Zealands ultra-physical, burst-based Super style of course, which he was more than a bit surprised about. I don't blame him for being caught out.


He still sent the obstruction back to the repair yard though!

What wouldn’t the New Zealand rugby public give to see the likes of Mauvaka and Meafou up front..

Common now Nick, don't go there! Meafou showed his Toulouse shirt and promptly got his citizenship, New Zealand can't have him, surely?!?


As I have said before with these subjects, really enjoy your enthusiasm for their contribution on the field and I'd love to see more of their shapes running out for Vern Cotter and the like styled teams.

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