The Hurricanes reasserted themselves as the Super Rugby Pacific benchmark on Anzac Day, dismantling the ACT Brumbies 45-12 in front of a sold-out crowd at Christchurch's brand new One New Zealand Stadium. Wing Feleti Fihaki Nofoa was the star, finishing with four tries in a performance the Brumbies had no answer to.
It was the second match of the league's inaugural Super Round, and it was a hammering from start to finish. The Hurricanes ran in seven tries to two, with six of those coming from their starting wingers, in a defensive and attacking masterclass. Despite a shock loss to the Chiefs the previous week, Wellington made an emphatic statement that they remain the team to beat ahead of the playoffs.
Fihaki Nofoa opened the scoring inside the opening exchanges, finishing a wide pass from Proctor after a sustained period of Hurricanes territory. He was over again moments later, going around Meredith from a lineout move that left the Brumbies 14-0 down with barely a quarter played. His third — the hat-trick try — came from another Proctor link to make it 19-0 at half time.
The Brumbies had chances of their own, repeatedly entering the Hurricanes 22, but came away with nothing in a first half ravaged by handling errors and lineout malfunctions. They missed nearly 50 tackles in total — finishing with a tackle success rate of just 76 percent against the Hurricanes' 91 percent. Their lineout completed only 75 percent of throws, while Wellington's was at 94.
Reviewing the match on his Two Cents Rugby YouTube channel, the host did not hold back in his assessment of the visitors. He described the Brumbies as being "at sixes and sevens", with passes thrown "to the dirt or the fine Canterbury grass", and argued that while the Hurricanes deserved enormous credit defensively, the Brumbies' execution was at times "so bad" that the home side were free to play with abandon.
The Hurricanes had other heroes besides their man of the moment. Wing Toa Moorby grabbed a brace, finishing a slick blindside grubber from Enari midway through the second half before snapping up a late turnover, while Kuridrani's 17 tackles led the Hurricanes defensive shift. Fihaki Nofoa himself ended the night with six defenders beaten and the four-try haul to seal a clear man-of-the-match award.
For the Brumbies, Wallabies wing Corey Toole did pull off one of the moments of the night, intercepting a loose Hurricanes pass and racing roughly 80 metres untouched to score. But by then the Brumbies trailed 33-12 and the contest was effectively over.
"The Hurricanes are still the benchmark despite last week's loss away to the Chiefs," the Two Cents Rugby host argued, suggesting Wellington had simply outclassed Australia's leading side. "Imagine if they're playing at home."
The result restores the Hurricanes to title-favourite territory after their Chiefs hiccup, and it leaves the Brumbies with serious questions to answer about their handling, lineout reliability and tackle technique with finals just weeks away. The pre-match billing was of two top-of-the-table contenders going at it; the actual contest looked nothing of the sort.
Wellington will take confidence from the way they reset after the previous week's defeat, while the Brumbies — outhit, outpassed and outsmarted — head home with plenty of work to do before they host the Western Force next round.
