As they eye their run into the playoffs, Hurricanes coach Clark Laidlaw would have been happy on several fronts. For a team who have had availability issues at hooker throughout the season, Asafo Aumua getting through a huge workload in his 40-minute stint bodes well moving forward.
The 27-year-old was expected to miss the rest of the regular season when he sustained an injury to his left knee earlier in the campaign but answered the call on Saturday as though he hadn’t missed a beat. Aumua made some strong charges out wide, while his lineout performance was faultless in testing conditions and he defended well.
Salesi Rayasi took advantage of his opportunity to start on the left wing, showing his ability to spot a gap and shoot through it, beating defenders at will and bagging a hat-trick. The same could be said for Du’Plessis Kirifi, who was at his explosive best and was rewarded with two well-taken tries. There may be some concern over T.J. Perenara, however, after he limped off following a collision with Highlanders flanker Billy Harmon, however, it might have been more a precautionary move as to not risk the in-form halfback ahead of the knockout stages.
The Highlanders did well to pivot in their kicking approach after the wind grabbed some early efforts, with the players opting for low stabbing kicks through the first half. That did, however, mean that most weren’t contestable, and the Hurricanes were able to work out of their own end of the field.
That saw the Highlanders largely on the defensive for the opening stanza – though they did open the scoring through centre Matt Whaanga after a sweet set-piece play – and while they did well at times, eventually their defences cracked under the pressure.
Lock Fabian Holland – who scored their second try late in the first half – was strong throughout, finishing with 17 tackles and four turnovers won while co-captain Billy Harmon made 21 tackles and won two turnovers.
But for the most part, the flow of the game played right into the Hurricanes’ hands as they willingly spread the ball and backed the skill in their backline to make the most of what their forwards were creating for them.
Despite conceding the first try of the game the Hurricanes ran in five tries to two to hold a 29-14 halftime lead.
It was more of the same in the second half, with the hosts adding two more tries and keeping the Highlanders from adding to their tally to close out a vitally big win.
Hurricanes 41 (Salesi Rayasi 3, Du’Plessis Kirifi 2, T.J. Perenara, Brayden Iose tries; Brett Cameron 3 cons)
Highlanders 14 (Matt Whaanga, Fabian Holland tries; Sam Gilbert 2 cons)
HT: 29-14
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.
