Hammett proud of Hurricanes

Editor

Hurricanes head coach Mark Hammett praised his side after they overcame the Crusaders 16-9 despite losing two key players early on.

Hurricanes head coach Mark Hammett praised his side after they overcame the Crusaders 16-9 despite losing two key players early on in Wellington.

Both number eight Victor Vito and inside centre Alapati Leiua hobbled from the field in the game but the 'Canes recovered well to claim the points.

“We are really proud of the guys,” head coach Hammett sportal.co.nz following the victory.

“To let no tries in against a pretty formidable team like the Crusaders is fantastic. I thought the energy and the effort was really good.

“It was pretty clear to see that from 35 minutes on we struggled at set-piece time. But we'll take that win. We're pretty happy.”

Blade Thomson scored the Hurricanes' two tries and also showed his versatility by playing lock and at number eight later in the tense fixture.

“He was really, really impressive,” Hammett said.

“He had to work his butt off at set-piece when they started to scrum and maul well.

“He was in the engine room for that and had to be moved from there to No.8. To score that try – he's quite a special athlete.”