Hurricanes 35
Chiefs 17
They say you can’t beat Wellington on a good day, and after a week which saw extreme winds and heavy rain, it was left to the Hurricanes to produce something special.
It was never going to be easy – hosting a top-of-the-table Chiefs outfit which had won its last two games in a landslide.
And after a knee injury to in-form Hurricanes winger Kini Naholo in the opening minutes, it seemed the hosts had a mountain to climb.
But the impact of Bailyn Sullivan after coming on in the seventh minute for Naholo proved the difference, playing out of position on the wing and scoring four tries in the second half as the Hurricanes stormed home for a 35-17 bonus point win.
It was a slow start, with only a penalty off the boot of Hurricanes first five-eighths Ruben Love separating the sides in the first 20 minutes.
The Chiefs crossed over for the opening try in the 21st minute after midfielder Daniel Rona broke two tackles in close range.
After two more penalties from Love it looked as though the home side would go into halftime with the lead.
But an intercept pass thrown by All Black Billy Proctor and 55m run by Rona saw him cross over for his second try of the half and the Chiefs go into the sheds ahead 17-9.
Whatever Hurricanes coach Clark Laidlaw said at halftime worked, sparking one of the best second halves seen by the outfit in a long time.
Sullivan struck first in the opening minutes of the second half, scoring in the corner on the back of phase play. But as the Chiefs would soon realise, it would be far from his last act of the night.
An offload from Proctor and line break from fullback Callum Harkin saw Sullivan score his second of the night.
A peculiar 50-22 kick from Harkin that hit the tryline corner flag, and crossfield kick from Love saw Sullivan run in a hat-trick in 20 minutes.
The 26-year-old wasn’t finished there, scoring his fourth try of the night through a grubber kick.
“Probably our highlight of the season,” Sullivan told Sky Sport after the game.
“Really happy with the four tries and hopefully get some more.”
The Chiefs had no answer for the hosts’ second half attack, orchestrated to near perfection by Love.
If the Hurricanes play every week like they did in the second half tonight, there are very few sides who could stop them from stealing the title.
Hurricanes 35 (Bailyn Sullivan 4 tries; Ruben Love 3 cons, 3 pens)
Chiefs 17 (Daniel Rona 2 tries; Josh Jacomb 2 cons, pen)
HT: 9-17
Benjamin Plummer is an Auckland-based reporter who covers sport and breaking news. He has worked for the Herald since 2022.
Canes and Chiefs put on a great second-half show after sleep-inducing first 40.