THE HURRICANES FINISHED strong in Auckland to beat the Blues 36-15 at Eden Park and move to the top of the Super Rugby ladder.
The ‘Canes scored five tries to two in the bonus-point victory to leave the Blues winless in their last 16 matches against New Zealand opposition.
It was the Hurricanes’ ninth straight win and underlines the Wellington team’s credentials for this year’s title. However, Blues coach Tana Umaga will face further questions after his side’s eighth defeat of the season and their fifth at home.
Hurricanes’ hooker Ricky Riccitelli scored the opening try from a lineout drive in the sixth minute off the back of a penalty earned by the visitors’ dominant scrum.
The Blues went on the attack but had to settle for a penalty before Orbyn Leger’s try gave them the lead after being set up by an athletic offload by Sonny Bill Williams (at the 30-second mark in the video below), who was returning from a wrist injury.
The Hurricanes regained the lead when they were awarded a penalty and Gareth Evans caught the Blues defence napping with a quick tap to cross for a try when they were expecting a kick for goal.
The Blues laid siege to the Hurricanes’ line and were rewarded when Ofa Tuunafasi crossed 10 minutes after the restart only to have Nehe Milner-Skudder hit back immediately.
Sam Lousi then extended the Hurricanes’ advantage after a lineout steal from Evans, blowing out the lead to 28-15.
Before the end, Jordie Barrett would produce an offload of his own, after using brother Beauden as a decoy runner and setting up Matt Proctor to make it 36-15 and secure the bonus point.
