Rugby: Hurricanes blow away Force

Aaron Cruden slips the tackle of Sam Wykes last night. Photo / Getty Images

Thank goodness for the Hurricanes. On a weekend when the underdogs were yapping surprisingly hard to upset the natural order and almost 140 points were scored in Johannesburg, it was a relief to get back to the expected.

Which kind of goes against the Hurricanes own warning of expecting the unexpected, but the truth is, everyone in Wellington last night got exactly what they thought they would get.

The home side were a bit of everything. There was real class in some of their attacking thrusts where they used the total footballing skills of Tamati Ellison to great affect.

The one-cap All Black, who would prefer to be playing at centre, created the first two tries with beautifully timed and executed grubber kicks that bounced perfectly for Cory Jane and David Smith respectively.

There was more to come in the second half when the Hurricanes slipped into a better rhythm and the Force started to tire. In full flow, they remain a spectacle and a great example of what can be achieved if the passes are crisp and well-timed and the runners come on at pace.

They had obviously studied the action of the first week as well, because there was a willingness to pick and drive more - a valid tactic when the tackled player is able to present or pop.

Andrew Hore was his usual hungry self when the low driving stuff was the call and he was well supported by Neemia Tialata, who appears to have been true to his word and retained his conditioning over the summer.

The big prop was never far from the ball and scored a try, and very nearly one other, where his strength and determination were obvious.

There was also some grunt in their scrummaging where poor old Matt Dunning, an easy target maybe, couldn't duck and dive his way out of trouble as he used to under the old interpretations, or non interpretations as they were.

Yet, strangely for such a comfortable win, there were more negatives in the first period than positives for the Hurricanes. It can't be discounted that the Force, while brave and tenacious, are not a quality side.

They have an injury list that would test the All Black-laden Crusaders. With the hapless Sam Harris once again asked to wear the No 10 jersey, the Force were never a shout. Whatever talents he has, they are not well showcased in the role of first five.

The Force were entirely reliant on the play-making of James O'Connor, who could only do so much flitting between fullback and first receiver.

With such meagre attacking weaponry, the Force were as surprised as everyone to be very much alive at 18-8 down at half-time.

But just as they did in week one, the Hurricanes used the break to focus and tighten their work. They were too loose in the first 40 minutes.

In between the flashes of brilliance, they were lateral and clumsy. They lacked tempo and direction and some of their defence was soft.

Willie Ripia is maturing into an authoritative and more tactically astute first five, but he was reluctant to stand up defensively.

The Force were able to make more yards than they deserved simply by targeting him and the Hurricanes can't afford to keep a legion of big men on hand just to cover Ripia's channel.

To be fair to Ripia, he was exposed further by Ma'a Nonu's occasional impatience to rush up and make the big hit.

That may be a sign that Nonu wasn't quite switched on defensively or that he doesn't have a lot of faith in Ripia's ability to make solid tackles.

It also has to be questioned whether the Hurricanes are right to have so much faith in Ripia's goal-kicking. He was well off the mark as he was against the Blues and the accuracy of Piri Weepu is hard to ignore.

The late contribution of Aaron Cruden was also hard to ignore. The youngster made one searing break to set up Nonu and was composed on the ball.

The Hurricanes want to work him slowly into the action but they might want to think about giving him a start this week against the Lions.

The team from Johannesburg are one of the weaker in the competition and, if nothing else, there is always the possibility of learning heaps from Carlos Spencer.

Hurricanes: 47 (D. Smith 2, C. Jane, M. Paterson, N. Tialata, M. Nonu, T. Keats tries; W. Ripia con, 2 pens; P. Weepu con; A. Cruden con)
Force: 22 (J. Tatapu. D. H-Petty. C. O'Young tries; J. O'Connor 2 cons).