The Ben Smith verdict on Highlanders flyer Finn Hurley

Finn Hurley had a breakout game for the Highlanders against the Blues over the weekend, scoring two tries to lift his side over the reigning champion Blues in Dunedin.

The 21-year-old had just one start in Super Rugby under his belt when he lined up in the No. 15 jersey on Saturday night, but even as he stood across from All Black centurion Beauden Barrett, the youngster was ready to prove his ambitious skillset.

It was after fielding a Barrett clearance that Hurley created his first highlight play, chipping over the chasing defence and collecting the ball as it bounced beyond the reach of Finlay Christie. A rapid swerve saw Hurley evade Harry Plummer with ease en route to a remarkable try in the corner.

“You get a bit of luck every now and then, but you make that as well,” Hurley told media after the game.

“I looked up and there was no one in that position. There was a couple of people back deep and there was three up and no one in behind. I thought, ‘I’ll put a wee one over here’ and then just had to make sure I didn’t get checked because half the time you put one over you get levelled.”

Hurley admitted once the Blues team was named, he was struck by the talent the reigning champs were able to name across the park.

“It was pretty daunting when looking at their team list earlier in the week. But you’ve just got to put it aside and back yourself, and your team mates, that they’re going to do their job while you do yours and everything else takes care of itself.”

Standing at just 174 cm tall and 78 kg, the Gore native looked anything but daunted by the bright lights and quality of his opposition.

“It was something you dream of, going out there with a pretty full crowd, the Zoo making heaps of noise and the boys going out there and putting on a performance against a fairly star-studded Blues side.”

Hurley was sure to give a balanced reflection of his perfoemance.

“I still made a few errors early doors which made me a little bit shaky but being able to get through that and putting a show on for some people, I’m pretty happy.”

Within the Highlanders coaching group is none other than former All Black fullback Ben Smith, a dream mentor for any young outside back.

“A fellow Green Island Grizzly, so it’s a tick there,” Smith grinned, referring to the local rugby club both players have represented.

“He obviously got opportunities within the game. I think the 14 other players out there set him up to do the things that he was doing.

“Like a lot of our guys at the moment, he was keen for an opportunity, got an opportunity to play on the weekend and he took that.

“I think from a confidence point of view, playing up against quality opposition with marking Beauden Barrett and their wings and the talent that they’ve got in that Blues team will set Finn up going forward.”

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Looking ahead, Smith had a simple message for what he wanted to see from the young flyer.

“More of the same. I think Finn’s at his best with the ability he has to pop up everywhere. Obviously he’s got a pretty remarkable skillset and it’s just being able to showcase that at the right time and being able to use that skillset to create opportunity like he did in the weekend.”

Highlanders head coach Jamie Joseph had been working hands-on with Hurley, working on understanding game control and knowing when to inject his X-factor into a game.

“He’s like all rugby players, he gets ahead of himself sometimes. But I’ll let him go I reckon. Let him go, let him be himself, give him confidence and coach him to understand balance. He got it right tonight.”