Hurricanes player ratings: ‘Sensational’ Billy Proctor puts pressure on All Blacks coaches as inspirational captain shines
Our Hurricanes player ratings following their victory over the Queensland Reds.
Following a narrow 27-31 victory over the Queensland Reds, here is how we rated the Hurricanes in the Super Rugby Pacific fixture at the Suncorp Stadium.
Hurricanes player ratings v Queensland Reds
15 Callum Harkin: Another solid shift at the back without being a standout in an excellent Hurricanes‘ backline. He grabbed a try assist and entered the line in good positions throughout his 60-minute shift. 6
14 Daniel Sinkinson: Was kept busy defensively by livewire Reds‘ winger Filipo Daugunu and struggled to contain the speedster with several missed tackles. The ball didn’t come his way as much as he would have liked, and was replaced before the hour mark. 5
13 Billy Proctor: He has been sensational since his return from injury and continued that form today, grabbing a try and brilliantly assisting another as he sliced through the Reds’ defence with a cracking dummy to set up Fineanganofo. Proctor looks to be the form All Blacks number 13 as he applies the pressure on Rieko Ioane through his superb showings, and today was just another example of that. 8
12 Peter Umaga-Jensen: Played a perfect supporting role to Proctor and Ruben Love, shifting the ball on well and carrying strongly to the line. The Hurricanes have a classy midfield pairing that is firing them into the knockout stages. 7
11 Fatafehi Fineanganofo: Latched onto Proctor’s pass to score a stunning try and would double up with an excellent finish in the second half. A great outing for the burly winger. 7
10 Ruben Love: Pounced on the ball to open the Hurricanes’ account after Harkin’s grubbed fortuitously stood up for him. That set the tone for his shift as he ran the attack well, kicked strongly and caused all kinds of havoc for the Reds’ defence. Hailed as an heir to Beauden Barrett and the comparisons are clear. 7
9 Cam Roigard: Looks to have the All Blacks starting number nine jersey wrapped as the classy halfback grabbed another try in a well-rounded performance. He keeps the defence on its toes with his snipes but also kicks well out of hand. 8
Kirifi’s captain’s knock
8 Peter Lakai: It’s easy to see why he is so highly thought of by Scott Robertson and his coaching team after another busy performance that saw him top the carry count for the Hurricanes with 19 and landed 14 tackles in defence. While he was mightily effective, there were some drawbacks as he conceded a few penalties and coughed up the ball twice. Still, another strong performance. 7
7 Du’Plessis Kirifi: His dark arts of holding the brilliant Fraser McReight at the breakdown, taking him out of the defensive line directly resulted in Roigard’s try. He was a standout yet again for the ‘Canes, which will only amplify the calls for him to earn an All Blacks call-up as he repeatedly got his team out of trouble with his breakdown excellence. It must be noted that he too was penalised in the rucks a few times but none were detrimental to the Hurricanes. Another captain’s knock. 8
6 Brad Shields: A workmanlike shift from the veteran forward during his 60 minutes on the park. Did little wrong, as per usual, in a stock-standard Shields’ outing. 6
5 Isaia Walker-Leawere: A sad sight as he hobbled off the pitch on the half-hour mark. He has been in great form of late and started today’s game well again before his injury. 6
4 Zach Gallagher: Huge defensively and while the lineout did wobble, particularly when his second-row partner was forced off, he was not all his doing. A tidy game. 6
3 Tyrel Lomax: One of the best tightheads in the game and flexed that point as he crushed Sef Fa’agase in the scrum. Equally effective in the loose as he landed hammering hits on defence, one that Josh Canham will still feel tomorrow. 8
2 Asafo Aumua: Brutally effective in contact and in the scrums. Lineout wasn’t entirely clean but still a positive performance. 6
1 Xavier Numia: Shone against Wallaby Zane Nonggorr in the scrums and busy in defence. A really standout up front along with Lomax. 7
Replacements: In such a tightly fought encounter, the Hurricanes needed their bench to get them over the line and they certainly got it. Bailyn Sullivan was a standout from the backs while Pasilio Tosi was certainly lively. 7
