Ross Filipo: Hurricanes thriving off quick ruck ball

The Hurricanes have been great at taking the gainline, writes Ross Fillipo. Photo / Getty

Opinion

I know there was talk of the Hurricanes coming back from their road trip and going off the ball, but I never thought that would be the case at all.

When they were on the road, they looked to me like a team who had trust in each other and faith in what they were doing.

I have been coached by both Chris Boyd and John Plumtree and these two have spent a lot of time together. They have been patient as they have been hanging out for the Hurricanes job for some time.

They know how to get a team humming and they complement each other well. In John's eyes, attention to detail is key. He talks about small brush - especially around the tackled ball area where he works hard on tackle technique with the players.

What the Hurricanes have been doing so well is taking the gainline. That's where the battle is so often won and lost. We saw the Highlanders play behind it for 80 minutes and still beat the Chiefs - but that was good luck. You can't sustain that. You can't win a lot of games behind the gainline.

The Hurricanes have obviously worked hard at developing launch moves that put them over the gainline.

They are carrying the ball hard to the gainline and then using their footwork as they come into contact to make sure they are attacking defenders in places where they are weak. The leg drive of the Hurricanes' ball carriers has been impressive, too, and then the support runners and cleanout men have been arriving at the right place and been clinical in taking bodies out the way.

What that meant in Palmerston North against the Blues was that the speed of their ruck ball was superb. It was so fast, there almost wasn't a ruck and that meant TJ Perenara wasn't having to dig for the ball. He wasn't having to look for it and pull it out with opposition players slowing him. He was able to clear it so quickly and I thought his game was starting to resemble Aaron Smith's. When he ran, he was going forward, not having to shuffle sideways or arc so he was so much more effective.

The tight five have to take much of the credit for this. They went out with a mindset of being physical and abrasive, something the Hurricanes pack are not renowned for.

James Broadhurst is a good example of how things are at the Hurricanes at the moment. He's always had the size and physical presence but has floated in and out of games in the past. That was probably something identified in the off-season and he's been so consistent this year. He's relishing his time on the field - disrupting opposition lineouts, carrying strongly and showing that he moves exceptionally well for a big man.

I wouldn't want to get too carried away this early in the competition but, because the Hurricanes are playing such simple, well thought-out rugby, I see no reason why they can't sustain their form to the finals.