Goal-kickers off their game

FULL FLIGHT: Hurricanes second-five Ma'a Nonu.PHOTO/GETTY IMAGES

THOSE nagging goal-kicking issues won't go away for New Zealand first fives Beauden Barrett and Aaron Cruden in this year's Super Rugby competition.

Both players, who are jostling for position as the heir apparent to Daniel Carter in the All Blacks, have had their struggles with direction and accuracy off the tee this season.

Barrett is kicking at a lowly 68 per cent and again missed a conversion during the Hurricanes' 25-20 win over the Stormers in round eight.

Cruden (73 per cent) pushed two penalties - albeit tough ones - to the side of the posts for the Chiefs as they struggled to beat the Blues 23-16 in Hamilton on Saturday night.

Given the close nature of their respective wins, it goes to show how crucial goal-kicking is in Super Rugby.

Of course, this ramps up in the international game and it's a World Cup year.

Those radars need to straighten in the coming weeks.

Bulls pivot Handre Pollard, who is likely to play at No10 for South Africa, is kicking at 81 per cent this season.

This is the same figure as the dependable Carter.

Point of noteDespite winning their last two games to continue their unbeaten start to the season, the Hurricanes have played well for only 40 minutes of each game.

They took the first half off against the Melbourne Rebels in round seven, while they were shut down in the second stanza by the Stormers last Friday night in Wellington when the South African side came back strongly to almost steal the match.

You can't fault the Hurricanes too much because they got the job done and won, but in both instances they had to do a mountain of defensive work as they were unable to retain possession.

Those colossal defensive efforts mean they're making the most tackles on average in a game across the competition with 146. What's helping them is a competition-leading 89 per cent tackling efficiency.

Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd admitted it was a concern but he didn't have a magic formula for how they could fix the issue during the bye this week.

"Obviously we've got to do better at our set-piece and be better at holding on to the ball," he said with a nod to the obvious.

The ref's whistleDiscipline continues to be an issue for New Zealand sides.

The Chiefs had their problems and now it's the Crusaders who are falling foul of the officials.

They give away the most penalties per game, 12.6, and also average the most yellow cards, 0.9 - a number that was inflated after three men were sent to the sin bin during Sunday's big win over the Sharks inDurban.

One final thingReds loose forward Adam Thomson - remember him?

The former All Black and Highlanders loosie leads Super Rugby in lineout steals with six.

The 33-year-old, a member of New Zealand's World Cup-winning squad in 2011, is still contributing at a high level.

NZME.