Super Rugby Pacific takeaways: All Blacks hopeful sets the ‘example’ in Hurricanes victory while Premiership-bound Wallaby puts Fijians to the sword

Following hard-fought Super Rugby Pacific victories for the Hurricanes and Brumbies over the Highlanders and Fijian Drua respectively on Friday, Planet Rugby picks out five takeaways from the thrilling action.

The top line

The opening encounter between the Highlanders and Hurricanes in Dunedin was a typical New Zealand derby with plenty of thrilling action and the match in the balance until its closing stages.

In the end, the Hurricanes sealed a narrow 20-18 victory but as the scoreline suggests the result could have gone either way with Sam Gilbert pushing a drop goal attempt wide after the full-time hooter had gone.

The opening half was a tight affair with Kini Naholo dotting down early on before Gilbert and Harry Godfrey traded penalties and the Highlanders full-back slotted another three-pointer off the kicking tee to narrow the gap to two points.

However, the hosts held an 11-8 lead at half-time after Caleb Tangitau scored a try on the stroke of half-time but the visitors regained the lead soon after the restart when Cam Roigard scored a try which Godfrey converted.

Ajay Faleafaga then crossed for a converted try on the hour-mark which gave the Highlanders the lead again but the Hurricanes sealed victory when Ruben Love scored his side’s third try in the 63rd minute.

Meanwhile, in Canberra the Brumbies proved too strong for the Drua as they claimed a 38-21 triumph, with Exeter Chiefs-bound Wallabies centre Len Ikitau leading the way for the hosts with a hat-trick of tries.

The groundwork to the Brumbies’ victory was laid in the opening half as they raced into a 14-0 lead midway through the half, after Ikitau and Ryan Lonergan scored tries which were converted by Noah Lolesio.

The Drua responded with a five-pointer from Elia Canakaivata, with Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula adding the extras, but the hosts finished the half stronger and held a 28-7 lead at the interval thanks to further converted tries from Ikitau and Andy Muirhead.

The Drua came out firing after the interval and were rewarded with further tries from Motikiai Murray and Tevita Ikanivere and the match was evenly poised by the 50th minute with the Brumbies holding a 28-21 led.

Shortly afterwards, Ikitau went over for his hat-trick before Luke Reimer sealed his side’s bonus-point in the game’s dying moments.

Du’Plessis Kirifi strengthens his All Blacks claims

Although the Hurricanes came into this match sitting at the bottom of the Super Rugby Pacific standings, star back-row and co-captain Du’Plessis Kirifi was a player who impressed with several outstanding performances.

It was no different in Dunedin as the 28-year-old was at the forefront of the Hurricanes’ onslaught with a superb all-round showing which helped the men from Wellington to clinch only their second win of the season.

The Hurricanes co-captain led by example as he shone as a ball carrier but also impressed with his defensive skills, putting in some big hits while also giving his all in the breakdown battle.

With the Highlanders chasing the game in its closing stages, Kirifi stepped up with a huge defensive effort and won a crucial turnover which helped his side to seal their win.

All Blacks legends Jeff Wilson and Mils Muliana said earlier in the week that they would select him as their starting openside flanker for the All Blacks and he strengthened his claims for a Test call-up with his performance in this match.

Caleb Tangitau also puts his hand up for Test selection

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This year’s Super Rugby Pacific is still in its early stages but the young Highlanders flyer Tangitau is one of the competition’s top performers and based on his current form All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson will find it difficult to ignore him.

Although he is just 21 years old, the former All Blacks Sevens representative is playing like a seasoned campaigner and he came into the clash with the Hurricanes as one of the best attacking players in the competition.

Tangitau continued with his outstanding form as he finished the clash against the Hurricanes with a match-high 162 metres gained from 11 runs which included two clean breaks, five defenders beaten and he was rewarded with a well-taken try.

If he continues in this vein, it’s only a matter of time before he gets an All Blacks call-up.

Brumbies’ Wallabies contingent show their class

The Brumbies continued with their fine recent form as they consolidated their position on the table with a 38-21 win over the Drua in Canberra and their Wallabies contingent caught the eye with impressive individual performances.

In the backline, the home side welcomed back star playmaker Noah Lolesio who returned to action after being sidelined with concussion sustained in the Round One clash against the Drua.

Lolesio was on the field for 78 minutes, before being replaced by Declan Meredith, but was in the thick of the action and finished with an eight-point haul after slotting four conversions.

Meanwhile, outside centre Ikitau capped a superb performance by scoring his hat-trick, while full-back Tom Wright led the way on attack as he finished with a team-high 100 metres gained after making 15 runs which included three clean breaks and nine defenders beaten.

Meanwhile, in the forwards the likes of James Slipper, Allan Alaalatoa (props), Billy Pollard (hooker) and Nick Frost showed their class with solid performances in the tight exchanges.

Another player who deserves a special mention is Exeter Chiefs-bound blindside flanker Tom Hooper who apart from putting in a huge defensive shift, also did well as a ball carrier as he gained 59 metres from 10 carries with three defenders beaten.

Fijian Drua cannot be underestimated

The Drua have been competitive in all their matches in this year’s competition and this encounter was no different as they delivered another solid performance throughout the 80 minutes.

The Pacific Islanders came into this clash on a high after claiming a shock victory over the table-topping Chiefs last week and all their matches prior to that ended in defeats by five points or less.

And although the Brumbies won Friday’s encounter by a 17-point margin, the scoreline is not a fair reflection of the match as their opponents came back strongly midway through the match after trailing 28-7 at half-time.

Two converted tries in quick succession from Murray and Ikanivere during the early stages of the second half saw the Drua narrowing the gap to seven points.

Ikitau crossed for his third try shortly afterwards which put more daylight between the two sides but the Drua stayed in the fight for the final 30 minutes before Reimer secured the win for the hosts in the 80th minute.

Despite another defeat, the Drua can hold their heads high and the Super Rugby Pacific’s more fancied teams will underestimate Glen Jackson’s troops at their peril during the rest of the tournament.

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