Hurricanes extend winning run against Blues

The Hurricanes’ dominance over the Blues continued when they beat their hosts 22-12 in their New Zealand derby at Eden Park on Friday. 

The win is the Hurricanes’ eighth successive one over the Blues and their fifth in a row in Auckland. Ben Lam, Jordie Barrett and Beauden Barrett scored the visitors’ tries while Beauden Barrett also added two conversions and Jordie Barrett added a penalty.

For the Blues, Sam Nock and Dalton Papalii crossed the whitewash and Harry Plummer slotted a conversion.

Like several of their previous matches this year, the Blues were their own worst enemies as they committed a plethora of unforced errors which led to their undoing.

The result means the Hurricanes consolidate second position in the New Zealand Conference and they are now just two points adrift of the Crusaders, although that situation could change if the champions beat the Bulls later on Friday.

Meanwhile, the Blues are still in fourth place in their conference but they could drop to the bottom if the Chiefs beat the Sharks in Hamilton on Saturday.

The Blues were the dominant side early on and opened the scoring in the 10th minute courtesy of a Sam Ruru try after a barnstorming run from Patrick Tuipulotu in the build-up.

The home side continued to dominate but, despite having the bulk of the possession and spending long periods inside the Hurricanes’ half, they could not extend their lead.

That proved costly as Ngani Laumape won a turnover just inside Blues territory in the 23rd minute before offloading to Lam, who beat three defenders before crossing for the Hurricanes’ opening try.

That try boosted the visitors’ confidence and they extended their lead in the 32nd minute courtesy of Jordie Barrett’s converted try which gave them a 14-7 lead at the interval.

Just like the first half, the Blues held the upper-hand during the early stages of the second half and, after Jeff Toomaga-Allen was sent to the sin bin in the 53rd minute, the hosts made their numerical advantage count when Papalii crossed for their second try on the hour-mark.

Otere Black failed with the conversion attempt and that proved costly as the Hurricanes extended their lead in the 67th minute when Beauden Barrett intercepted a pass from Augustine Pulu close to the halfway line before racing away to score his side’s third try.

Although the Blues launched a fightback in the game’s closing stages, they would not add to their points tally and the Hurricanes sealed their win with Jordie Barrett’s penalty in the game’s closing stages.

In other action, Australian Conference leaders the Rebels returned to winning ways courtesy of a 30-24 triumph over the Reds in Melbourne.

The home side deserved their victory as they outscored their visitors by four tries to two and they led 14-11 at half-time.

For the Rebels, Marika Koroibete, Anaru Rangi, Tetera Faulkner and Dane Haylett-Petty scored tries while Quade Cooper succeeded with two conversions and Reece Hodge added a couple of penalties.

Bryce Hegarty finished with a 14-point haul for the Reds after kicking four penalties and a conversion and their tries were scored by Isaac Lucas and Harry Hoopert.

The Rebels’ win means they move clear of the Brumbies at the top of the Australian Conference standings while the Reds are still in third spot.