Hurricanes v Blues: Hurricanes make first grand final in a decade after second half blitz

Hurricanes 57

Blues 21

History is in reach for the Hurricanes.

A second-half blitz of the Blues showed why they finished on top of the Super Rugby Pacific table and will make Chiefs fans nervous before their final showdown next week.

The Wellington-based side didn’t look like a team who hadn’t won a title in a decade or lost their last four semi-finals.

Instead, they looked like an outfit who knew how to play to their own strengths and bury their opposition under a barrage of points.

The Hurricanes started the match with lightning speed and clever play from halfback Cam Roigard who, after being taken out in the air near the halfway line by Beauden Barrett, took both teams by surprise with a quick tap and go, leaving the Blues scrambling in defence near their own try line.

The Hurricanes threw as much as they could at the Blues and Jordie Barrett eventually broke through to put them up by five inside the first three minutes.

The Blues were able to hit back quickly, mainly thanks to ill-discipline from the home team who allowed the Auckland-based side to advance up the field through a side-entry penalty.

The Blues built slowly inside the opposition 22 with strong work from their forward pack, but a darting run by Caleb Clarke split the defence open and captain Patrick Tuipulotu went over to bring the teams level, with Beauden Barrett kicking the conversion to put his side ahead.

Both teams couldn’t decide whether they would have a brilliant or terrible lineout in the first half as both had bad moments.

However, the Hurricanes were able to use their lineout effectively to take the lead again after gaining brilliant position by the opposition try line after Torian Barnes gave away a penalty by blocking a charge-down attempt in an offside position.

It was simple for the Hurricanes to run in their second try after that, with an easy ball thrown in and the forwards forming a maul, passing the ball to Du’Plessis Kirifi at the back as they bulldozed their way over the try line.

Kirifi popped up with industrious work again soon after his try, turning the ball over in the ruck as the Blues looked to be mounting some pressure in response.

The Hurricanes looked as though they were starting to take control of the game at this point, but let themselves down to allow the Blues to keep the score close.

A loose lineout was picked up by Blues front rower Marcel Renata who charged forward to set his team up in good field position.

Payton Spencer, who had come on as a HIA replacement for Clarke, saw wide open space behind the Hurricanes defence when the ball came to him, putting through a cheeky chip which was dived on by his teammate Cole Forbes who was left untouched by all defenders in his vicinity, eventually passing the ball back to Spencer for him to stroll in for a try.

The Blues, despite keeping the score close, did look weaker with Clarke and AJ Lam forced off with failed HIAs and the Hurricanes could slowly build through the midfield as the half progressed.

Plenty of patient play put the Hurricanes in front of the posts just after the half hour mark when Xavier Numia picked the ball up from the base of the ruck and slipped through three tackles to give his team the lead again.

The Blues did look to be on the back foot as the first half drew to a close, conceding multiple penalties, but handling errors by the Hurricanes relieved that pressure time and again.

The Hurricanes started the second half with the same intensity they started the first and didn’t let up.

Roigard took advantage of impressive counter rucking on his team’s left flank with Peter Lakai popping the ball up to him before he wormed his way through to the try line for another five-pointer.

The attack was relentless and a well-placed kick from winger Josh Moorby put Beauden Barrett under too much pressure, with him being tackled behind his own try line.

The scrum that followed allowed the Hurricanes to pull off a well-worked routine that left the Blues too exposed and saw Moorby run in for his team’s 100th try of the season.

Ruben Love was taken off just after the 50th minute, possibly as a precaution for next week, but his kicking was not as smooth as it was last week with him only converting three of his five shots at goal.

It was Jordie Barrett’s boot, though, that unlocked the Blues defence yet again as he kicked the ball cross-field inside the Blues half to Kini Naholo who popped it back inside to Asafo Aumua.

Aumua looked like a freight train with the ball in hand, bowling through Stephen Perofeta to extend the Hurricanes’ lead.

Roigard, who looked a threat every time he touched the ball, was replaced by Ere Enari just after the hour mark, who soon joined in on the scoring action, finishing off a series of relentless runs by the Hurricanes forwards with a quick snipe to the side of the posts.

The Hurricanes started to look like a group of kids in the park throwing the ball around as they pleased whenever they were in attack, as Naholo capped off a dazzling display of pace to become the eighth try scorer for the Hurricanes on the night.

Blues substitute Eli Oudenryn probably thought he scored the last try of the night as he kicked through a loose lineout, outpacing everyone to slide over for a try of his own, but Moorby was able to fight his way over the line for his second try of the night right at the death.

The Hurricanes will play the Chiefs in Wellington in the grand final next week.

Hurricanes 57 (Josh Moorby 2, Jordie Barrett, Du’Plessis Kirifi, Xavier Numia, Cam Roigard, Asafo Aumua, Ere Enari, Kini Naholo tries; Ruben Love 3, Jordie Barrett 3 cons)

Blues 21 (Patrick Tuipulotu, Payton Spencer, Eli Oudenryn tries; Beauden Barrett 3 cons)

HT: 19-14