Rugby: Canes pile pressure on Kirwan

Nehe Milner-Skudder enjoyed an impressive debut against the Blues. Photo / Getty

Hurricanes 30
Blues 23

The Hurricanes have heaped more woe on John Kirwan and the Blues.

It wasn't their best performance of 2015 but the Hurricanes eventually ground their way to a 30-23 win in Palmerston North tonight as they kept their unbeaten record intact.

There was mounting pressure on coach Kirwan coming in to the game after the Blues had begun their season with four losses from as many games. The calls for him to be fired will only continue.

The Hurricanes found themselves at the other end of the spectrum having won their opening three games of the campaign.

Their trip to South Africa and Australia proved fruitful with victories over the Lions, Bulls and Force before they had the bye last week.

Coming off the bye is often a tricky prospect. The Hurricanes said they needed the rest after an arduous travel schedule but it had been 14 days since they last played, which is a lengthy break.

There was some historical significance to the fixture given the Hurricanes hosted the Blues at the same venue in the first Super Rugby game of the professional era in 1996.

The game has advanced a long way since the Blues beat the Hurricanes 36-28 nearly two decades ago but one thing has remained consistent, games between these two sides are generally closely-fought encounters.

The first spell was an up-and-down affair. It was one-way traffic for the Hurricanes to begin with as they shot out to an 11-0 lead.

Their opening try was a cracker as hometown favourite Nehe Milner-Skudder sparked a sweeping counter-attacking move, which finished with TJ Perenara scoring.

But the Blues showed they had some fight in them. Tries to Lolagi Visinia and Frank Halai - plus the reliable boot of Ihaia West - pushed the Blues in front as the Hurricanes drifted off to sleep.

But following a long passage of play after the halftime hooter, Matt Proctor scored and Beauden Barrett provided the extras from the sideline as the Hurricanes took an 18-17 lead to the split.

Considering the Hurricanes had only conceded one try per game heading in to tonight's clash, the Blues had done well to breach their line twice in the space of 40 minutes.

Handling errors were a regular problem for the Hurricanes as they often took the sting out of their own go-forward with another dropped pass; they completed 14 errors in all. Those mistakes kept the Blues in the game.

The Hurricanes took a 25-23 lead to the final quarter and despite the Blues' best endeavours they were unable to mount any meaningful attack.

The home side hung tough and when Julian Savea completed his second-half double with only a few minutes left, the result was sealed as the Hurricanes banked another valuable bonus point.

Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd likely won't be pleased with the lack of execution from his side, while Barrett's goal-kicking was inconsistent, despite the calm conditions in Manawatu.

For the Blues, they had their moments, and their chances, but Kirwan will need to find a victory fast with a mid-season review looming from his bosses.

Hurricanes 30 (Julian Savea 2, TJ Perenara, Matt Proctor tries; Beauden Barrett 2 pen, 2 con)
Blues 23 (Lolagi Visinia, Frank Halai tries; Ihaia West 3 pen, 2 con)
HT: 18-17