Wainuiomata was treated to some superstar play on Friday afternoon as the reigning Super Rugby Pacific champion Blues and the Hurricanes came to town, bringing some All Blacks with them.
A tight first half made way for a Hurricanes takeover in the third quarter, with some of the new Wellington recruits shining the brightest. A late surge from the Blues only helped bring the scoreline to a more respectable margin of 31-19 by the full-time whistle.
The Blues dominated the territory game early, earning their opening try in the seventh minute through Taufa Funaki in the corner.
A long-range break from Brayden Iose got the Hurricanes deep into Blues territory where they tried to muscle their way over the line. The Blues resisted but couldn’t do so legally and after a number of penalties in quick succession, Che Clarke was handed a yellow card.
Down a man, Auckland’s scrum was destroyed and the Hurricanes were efficient in getting the ball wide to Kini Naholo who ran over the line untouched.
Cam Roigard’s introduction to the contested injected plenty of pace into the Hurricanes’ attack, putting the ball well in front of his runners and breaking the line himself in the 32nd minute, setting up Billy Proctor for a try.
The Blues were next to go close but Naholo was on the spot for a breakdown steal. With their next chance, the Blues’ lineout throw went long. The score was 12-7 in the Hurricanes’ favour at the break.
Soon after play restarted, Roigard caught the Blues napping with a quick tap, sprinting upfield before kicking the ball long. The kick bounced up just shy of the dead ball line and a far too casual Zarn Sullivan looked to tap it dead as the chasing Roigard caught him.
Sullivan was handed a yellow card but the following lineout drive was expertly defused by the Blues, who won a penalty.
Having survived that scare, the Blues continued to hold out while down a man. Sullivan made a positive impact soon after returning to the field with a linebreak.
Soon after knocking the ball on, ending his side’s attack, new Hurricane Rily Hohepa made amends by gathering his own chip and chase, with a superb offload as he dived for the ball. Cade Banks was the recipient chasing hard to score in the corner. Hohepa converted for a 19-7 lead 64 minutes in.
Former All Black Sevens speedster Fehi Fineanganofo was next to score, with another piece of individual brilliance seeing the 22-year-old also collect his own chip kick and burn the final Blues defender for the try.
Any hopes of a Blues comeback were dashed when new All Black Peter Lakai scored a runaway intercept try. The flanker found himself defending in the midfield but his defensive instincts were up to the task on the play.
Ofa Tu’ungafasi ended the game playing hooker, which certainly didn’t help the Blues’ lineout. Despite this, the Aucklanders were able to generate some momentum late in the game with a try to Cameron Suafua, then doubling down on their DNA of tough carries in tight for another score to Patrick Tuipulotu. Fulltime score: 31-19.
