BEAUDEN BARRETT MADE his 100th Super Rugby appearance in the Hurricanes’ 29-19 triumph over the Crusaders on Saturday.
The All Blacks fly-half, who was joined by team-mate Ben May in bringing up his century, kicked three first-half conversions as the Canes reached the break with a bonus point following tries from Chris Eves, TJ Perenara, Ben Lam and Matt Proctor.
Proctor’s score, which came from a Brad Shields charge down, moved the home side into a 26-5 lead, but the Crusaders staged a mini fightback thanks to tries from Jordan Taufua and Michael Alaalatoa either side of half-time.
However, while the Canes were unable to add to their four first-half touchdowns, the 2016 champions held firm and Jordie Barrett stretched the winning margin to 10 with a late penalty.
Last year’s Super Rugby winners the Crusaders suffered their first defeat of the season and are without a win in Wellington since 2012, while the Hurricanes have won back-to-back matches after opening with a defeat to the Bulls, who have not picked up a victory since the first weekend.
The Bulls were beaten 20-14 by the Reds on Saturday despite opening up a 14-3 lead in the first half.
The South African side conceded 10 second-half points without reply on their way to a second defeat of the season.
