Hurricanes v Blues player ratings: Who took the penultimate chance to impress All Blacks selectors?

How the players rated in the Hurricanes’ 57-21 win over the Blues in Wellington.

Hurricanes

1. Xavier Numia - 7

Threw himself into the contest at the ruck and showed he has the same power with ball in hand, taking some strong carries and bumping off two tacklers on his way to a try. He was also solid in his core roles in a 55-minute shift.

2. Asafo Aumua – 8

While he wasn’t always accurate at the lineout, this was another display of power from Aumua as he punched his way through tackles and made plenty of ground. Capped the night off with a second-half try.

3. Pasilio Tosi – 7

Gave away a free kick at the scrum for engaging early but for the most part had good success there and drew a penalty against fellow All Black Ofa Tu’ungafasi. He was busy in the tough stuff through his stint too in a strong outing.

4. Caleb Delany – 6

Made his mark on the game early, drawing a penalty that ultimately led to a Du’Plessis Kirifi try. Outside of his core roles, Delany consistently works to put pressure on the halfback and isn’t afraid to take a carry.

5. Warner Dearns – 7

Japan have a good one here. Dearns is consistently disrupting opposition lineouts and forced a few messy moments from the Blues in that area. Made plenty of tackles and carried with intent.

6. Brad Shields – 5

Did some good work in the contact areas. The sort of performance you’d expect from the veteran loose forward in a 57-minute outing.

7. Du’Plessis Kirifi - 7

Some strong defensive work helped his side to extra possessions and he put his hand up for plenty of carries into contact. Scored from the back of a powerful lineout drive in a quality contribution, though was penalised a couple of times.

8. Peter Lakai – 8

A beast at the breakdown, Lakai was constantly putting pressure on the Blues and got over the ball to force a few turnovers. Add to that a high tackle count, equally high number of carries and some strong clean-out work, Lakai played his role superbly.

9. Cam Roigard - 7

Always a threat to take off – even when he’s on the ground and appears injured. Made a sneaky play after being taken out in the air, taking a quick tap which set up the first try. Made a few errors in the match but was as influential as ever.

10. Ruben Love – 5

Was replaced 50 minutes into the contest after a relatively quiet night. Was solid off the kicking tee with three of his five attempts sailing through the sticks.

11. Fehi Fineanganofo – 4

Back in the squad after some time on the sidelines with injury, Fineanganofo struggled to get into the attack, though he defended well. Can he break the try-scoring record in next week’s final?

12. Jordie Barrett - 7

Strolled over the line for the game’s first try. Was solid under the high ball and on the defensive end, kicked well – including a beautiful cross-field kick in the lead-up to a try - and slotted a few conversions after Love had left the field.

13. Billy Proctor - 7

While he didn’t make a whole lot of metres when he got the ball in his hands, Proctor had some lovely touches on attack with quality distribution helping to shift the ball out wide.

14. Josh Moorby – 8

Returning to the side this season after a stint overseas, it feels like Moorby’s play has progressed with every outing. Two tries in this one, with plenty of carries and over 100m with ball in hand. That’s what you want from your winger.

15. Callum Harkin – 5

Made the most of his time with ball in hand with some good carries, though he missed more tackles than he made.

Bench

16. Raymond Tuputupu – 4

Had a mixed night after entering the action for the final 20 minutes.

17. Siale Lauaki – 5

Tackled well and had one strong carry after being injected into the fray for the final 25 minutes

18. Tyrel Lomax – 5

A solid 28 or so minutes of work off the bench in all areas of his game.

19. Isaia Walker-Leawere – 6

Entered the game for Delany at halftime and picked up where his teammate left off.

20. Brayden Iose – 5

Got stuck in after being called upon for the final 20 minutes. Made some tackles and got over the ball at the breakdown.

21. Ereatara Enari – 5

Scored a try soon after entering the contest and continued to provide the Hurricanes with a reliable deputy to Roigard.

22. Jone Rova – 4

Limited impact in limited game time.

23. Kini Naholo – 7

Talk about a super sub. Naholo has been terrific since returning from injury and he was again here. Strong on both ends, with a try and a couple of turnovers to his credit.

Blues

1. Ofa Tu’ungafasi - 7

Had some impact with ball in hand and wore a couple of good shots for his troubles. Conceded a scrum penalty late in the first half in a good set-piece battle against Tosi, but he had a good night outside of the scrum pressure.

2 Bradley Slater - 6

What he lacks in lineout accuracy, he makes up for in work rate. Again, the Blues lineout was unconvincing – the first throw of the night picked off and the second disrupted – but he got around the park well to defend and hit the ruck.

3. Marcel Renata - 5

Did some good clean-up work to keep his side in possession when things got a bit loose and got to plenty of rucks, though was not always effective there, and also had moments where he was tested at the scrum by his opposite.

4. Patrick Tuipulotu - 7

Finished a well-constructed try for his side, running a nice line to power through the Shields tackle on the try line. He made strong first-up contact with his tackles in a much more accurate showing than his quarter-final performance.

5. Sam Darry – 4

Stole a lineout early in the contest but didn’t really find a win to make a meaningful impact on the contest beyond the set piece and a high tackle count.

6. Torian Barnes - 5

Carried well and made metres after contact. He worked hard to get across the park and be in a position to make tackles. Was penalised for a pretty blatant obstruction early in the first half and had a few inaccurate moments; fell off an attempted tackle on Aumua in the second half allowing the Hurricanes hooker to score.

7. Anton Segner – 5

In a season where he has put together some eye-catching performances, the Hurricanes had Segner’s number on this occasion. Got to work in the collision areas, but had little opportunity with ball in hand and was replaced after 53 minutes.

8. Hoskins Sotutu - 6

Conceded a couple of penalties and was guilty of turning the ball over. He featured regularly in the attack with some good carries though and at one point affected a tackle on Harkin despite facing the wrong way, which was really quite impressive.

9. Finlay Christie – 6

Limited to 40 minutes as a head knock forced him to be replaced at halftime. Had a mixed night defensively but was solid with his side on attack and assisted on a try.

10. Stephen Perofeta – 6

Had some nice touches in the attack, particularly in the first half, though he didn’t always get his kicking right.

11. Caleb Clarke – 5

Made one eye-catching run early in the contest, but left the field for a head injury assessment inside the opening 20 minutes and did not return to the field.

12. Xavi Taele - 7

Showed strength to hold Moorby up and force a turnover in the first half. Overall Taele was defensively sound with a big tackle count and forcing a couple of turnovers and found plenty of work on attack.

13. AJ Lam – 4

Looked baffled when he was forced off for an HIA within the opening 15 minutes of the contest, with his smart mouthguard lighting up. But he failed the HIA. Made a couple of tackles but didn’t get a chance to impact the game.

14. Cole Forbes – 5

Showed good composure to gather a loose ball and let the covering tacklers scream past him before setting up Payton Spencer. Tried to get involved in the attack but had little impact with ball in hand.

15. Beauden Barrett – 5

Returning from injury, Barrett injected himself into the attacking line at times with limited success. Helped to relieve the pressure with some clearing kicks, and was on point from the tee.

Bench

16. Eli Oudenryn – 7

Consistently brings energy to impact the game from the bench. Showed his speed to beat a couple of Hurricanes in a foot race to score a try. A prospect Blues fans should be excited by.

17. Mason Tupaea – 4

Made some tackles but entered the contest for the last 20 minutes when the game had got away from his side.

18. Flyn Yates – 5

Had one good carry and made a few tackles but had limited impact elsewhere.

19. Josh Beehre – 4

Made a late cameo off the bench

20. Che Clark – 5

Had his best moments in the contest with ball in hand, with some strong carries testing the Hurricanes’ line.

21. Taufa Funaki – 4

Played the second half as Christie was forced off with an HIA, but had limited impact.

22. Pita Ahki – 7

Another to enter the game early, Ahki was strong defensively with double-digit tackles and played his part in the attack both as a distributor and with a handful of carries.

23. Payton Spencer – 6

Did some good work after entering the game early and was rewarded for backing up in support when set up by Forbes. Another one who looks like a promising prospect for the future.

Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.