Hurricanes v Blues: Five takeaways as All Blacks shine for ‘record-breaking’ Canes to ruthlessly punish ‘ill-disciplined’ lucky losers
Hurricanes stars Jordie Barrett and Cam Roigard during the Super Rugby Pacific semi-final against the Blues.
Following the Hurricanes’ 57-21 victory over the Blues in the Super Rugby Pacific semi-final, here are our five takeaways from the clash in Wellington.
Top Line
The Hurricanes march on to their first Grand Final since hoisting the trophy back in 2016 and will face a Chiefs team desperate to shake their bridesmaid tag after losing a hat-trick of deciders.
Clark Laidlaw’s men have been the standard-bearers this Super Rugby Pacific season, topping the table after the completion of the regular season and breezing past the Brumbies in their first knockout match to set up a semi-final against the ‘lucky losers’, the Blues.
The Aucklanders were given little chance against a rampant Hurricanes outfit in Wellington, but to the Blues’ credit, they rose to the occasion for the first 40 minutes, but unfortunately that’s all they could muster as the second half was one-way traffic.
It took two minutes for Jordie Barrett to get the Hurricanes up and running, the centre going over the line untouched after Cam Roigard’s smart, quick-tap after being taken out of the air by Beauden Barrett. The Blues struck back through their skipper Patrick Tuipulotu four minutes later, but the ‘Canes had a swift response too as Du’Plessis Kirifi dotted down at the back of a driving ball on the 13th minute mark.
The Blues were dealt early injury blows with Caleb Clarke and AJ Lam hooked from the pitch to undergo HIAs, which they both failed, in the opening quarter, and that gave Payton Spencer an opportunity off the bench. The son of the All Blacks‘ great made his mark on proceedings in the 25th minute when he found space in the Hurricanes’ backfield and followed his kick well to receive a pass from Cole Forbes to score.
That put the Blues into a 14-12 lead, but that buffer lasted just four minutes as Xavier Numia flattened Sam Darry en route to scoring the Hurricanes’ third try of the game and giving them a 19-14 advantage at the break.
While the two teams traded blows in the opening 40 minutes, the second stanza belonged to the hosts with Roigard, Josh Moorby and Asafo Aumua scoring in the first 12 minutes of the second half as the Hurricanes charged into a commanding 36-14 lead.
Ereatara Enari and Kini Naholo ballooned the scoreline after the hour mark, with a stunning solo try for replacement hooker Eli Oudenryn being the only reply that the Blues managed in the second half. Moorby put the icing on proceedings at the Cake Tin, crossing with two minutes left on the clock as the ‘Canes sealed their passage into the final, where they will face the Chiefs, who finished second overall on the log.
Hurricanes’ two areas of dominance
Laidlaw’s side ran away with this meeting because of two areas where they really had clear dominance over the Blues: the tactical kicking and breakdown battle. Roigard, Barrett and Ruben Love kicked more accurately and smartly to pile the pressure on the Blues, with wings Moorby and Fehi Fineanganofo contesting the box kicks superbly, forcing turnovers from the visitors’ backfield.
That, combined with the performances of Peter Lakai, Du’Plessis Kirifi, Fineanganofo and Billy Proctor at the breakdown, saw the Hurricanes win possession and territory through turnovers and penalties won. All in all, the Hurricanes forced 22 turnovers from the Blues compared to the hosts’ 16, while the visitors were the more ill-disciplined team on the 6-8 penalty count.
It wasn’t just the number of errors that the ‘Canes forced from the Blues but what occurred thereafter, as the men in yellow were lethal on the counter and turnover ball attack and readily punished the visitors’ mistakes and ill-discipline.
The first two Hurricanes tries were prime examples of just that. Roigard sliced through the Blues’ defence after Beauden Barrett took him out in the air, and Jordie Barrett finished off the job, while the ‘Canes scored immediately from the lineout after Torian Barnes conceded a soft penalty for obstruction on Finlay Christie’s box kick.
Moorby’s first try was another example of the above as the Blues failed to deal with Roigard’s kick into the backfield, and it resulted in a scrum to the ‘Canes inside the Aucklanders’ 22. Moorby scored from that set-piece, running a tight angle off the shoulder of Kirifi.
Likewise for Numia’s try as the Hurricanes launched a kick-return attack off the back of a poor clearance by Finlay Christie and the prop barged over Sam Darry to score. Ditto for Aumua’s five-pointer with Jordie Barrett landing a massive hit on defence, Proctor counter-rucked to regain possession, and Barrett quickly got to his feet for a pinpoint cross-kick to Naholo, who popped the ball down to his hooker, who cantered away.
Blues’ attack falters again
While Cotter’s more reserved attacking approach delivered a Super Rugby title in 2024, it’s been a real hindrance over the past two seasons, and there is hope that the arrival of Jason Holland as head coach in 2027 will shift their tactical approach with ball in hand.
In Wellington, the Aucklanders struggled to really trouble the ‘Canes, with all three of their tries coming off the back of individual brilliance rather than tactical intricacies. Tuipulotu ran a great line to score from so close, but that came off the back of Clarke’s superb carry that took play right up to the Hurricanes’ line. The second try was Spencer playing heads-up rugby, spotting the space in the backfield, and Forbes reacted quickly enough to provide the final pass. And then there was Oudenryn’s try, the hooker punting the ball on after an overthrown lineout and showing a turn of pace that should be outlawed for front rowers to score.
The Blues certainly weren’t helped by the early exits of their two power carriers in the backline with Lam and Clarke leaving the pitch in the opening quarter, but the pack didn’t offer much punch either. Hoskins Sotutu was wrapped up rather easily, Sam Darry didn’t offer much grunt either, while Anton Segner and Torian Barnes were shut down by the ‘Canes defence.
Sam Nock’s absence was another setback, as was Finlay Christie not returning after the break, but even the game drivers failed to rise to the occasion, with Stephen Perofeta unable to spark any breaks or ask questions that the Hurricanes’ defence didn’t have an answer to. The Blues looked at their best when Barrett shifted into first receiver, but even that didn’t happen enough.
The Blues managed 424 metres from their 117 carries, compared to the Hurricanes’ 603 from 131. The Aucklanders remained tight and managed to earn more post-contact 260-188 than the ‘Canes, but that didn’t bother the hosts, who simply waited for a slow ruck entry to pounce or for the Blues to make an error – and more often than not one of them occurred.
Perofeta’s overcooked kick was a prime example of that. The Blues went over 15 phases with possession and barely gained ground from where the attack started. Out of options, the fly-half gambled for the corner and got the dead-ball line.
Record-breaking Canes
What will excite Blues fans for next season is that the man entrusted with the head coaching role has just overseen the most successful attack in Super Rugby history as the Hurricanes broke their own record, set in 2017, for the most tries scored in a single campaign, and they still have a game in hand.
Numia’s try broke the record, Roigard took the ‘Canes to 99, and Moorby’s saw the side become the first to bring up triple digits. Aumua, Enari, Naholo and Moorby ensured that the record was not only broken but smashed.
The records could still tumble in the final with Fineanganofo failing to break to grab his 17th try of the campaign and break the record for the most tries in a single season currently shared by him, Joe Roff and Ben Lam. He may have competition for it, though, as Moorby moved to 15 for the campaign, though a hat-trick in the final is unlikely but not impossible.
Especially when one considers that the ‘Canes managed 14 entries into the Blues’ 22 across the 80 minutes and averaged a remarkable 4.07 points per entry. The Blues managed a better conversion rate of 4.2 points per entry but only ventured into the Hurricanes’ 22 on five occasions.
Looking ahead
It’s rather fitting that the two best teams in Super Rugby throughout the season meet in the final; it doesn’t always pan out that way, but the Hurricanes and Chiefs are fully deserving of their place in the showpiece event and set up a mouth-watering encounter and tasty All Blacks’ head-to-heads.
An extra time, golden point was required to split the two teams when they met in Hamilton earlier in the season, with the Chiefs emerging victorious as they have done eight times in the last 10 meetings between the two clubs. However, as mentioned above, the ‘Canes have been the standard-bearers this season and will have home ground advantage, which may prove crucial, having won their last ten matches in Wellington.
All Blacks boss Dave Rennie will be casting an eager eye on proceedings, perhaps hoping his former club can finally break their bridesmaids’ run after losing three straight finals, but more importantly in the context of the upcoming international season. There are All Blacks positional head-to-heads littered throughout the predicted teams.
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Jordie Barrett and Quinn Tupaea, if fit, could form a formidable pairing in the black jersey, but could battle it out in the respective number 12 jerseys after both produced sterling semi-final showings. Love and Damian McKenzie are bound to be the starting fly-halves for their clubs, but where they are in the Test team pecking order remains to be seen.
Samisoni Taukei’aho and Asafo Aumua both crossed in the last-four encounters and look primed for a massive year in black, with the latter dominating the Blues. The ‘Canes props also looked primed for All Blacks’ call-ups, and that’s an area of the game the hosts will feel they have the upper hand in the final.
Finally, Roigard looks to be the man for the All Blacks’ number nine jumper, but Cortez Ratima put on a masterclass in the first semi-final that has muddied the once clear waters. We are in for a treat next weekend as the Chiefs chase the elusive fourth title and the Hurricanes aim to end a 10-year wait for a second.
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