Analysis: How the Hurricanes can rejuvenate their 'Air Raid' attack and give the Stormers nightmares again
Fresh off the back of a maiden Super Rugby title and back-to-back final appearances, the Hurricanes came into the 2017 season full of confidence.
They immediately took the Super Rugby competition by storm with a dynamic attack led by Beauden Barrett and his younger brother Jordie, with tries raining down through cross-field kicks as part of the most prolific scoring team in Super Rugby history.
Their 596 points is the most ever in a season, and perhaps the 2017 Hurricanes are the best side to not win the Super Rugby title.
Just as quickly as the cross-field kicks became the hottest trend of 2017, they subsided, and in 2018 were used less and less. The times they were used weren’t finding their mark as much as the year before.
The ‘hot ball’ scenarios off turnovers and long breaks were key to this. The opposition back three often becomes compromised in these situations making it ideal to kick over the top, and this wasn’t happening as much last year, reducing the number of chances to deploy the kick-pass.
Against the Chiefs last Friday night, we can see this is still in the back of Barrett’s mind and part of the Hurricanes identity.
From a midfield scrum, Barrett comes in motion from the open side to attack the blind channel and creates a two-on-one to free Wes Goosen (11) down the left edge.
After the line break, they have the Chiefs back three under pressure and down to two men.
At the very least, they have a one-on-one aerial contest out wide with Jordie Barrett (14) on an isolated Ataata Moeakiola (11), so Barrett (10) decides to chance his arm with the kick-pass, but duffs it with the three iron.
It falls well short of being contestable and the Hurricanes come away with zero points from the entry into Chiefs’ 22. It is likely that teams are more conscious of this scenario in 2019 and won’t have the wingers high in the line all the way up, even after an initial breach.
Another profitable cross-kick scenario the Hurricanes rely on is when the opposition is coming out of an exit situation. This is where Ngani Laumape deliberately makes a beeline for the wing as part of a deliberate plan to get involved from the edge.
If the opposition has a poor exit and the ball is kept in play, often the opposite wing is coming up in kick-chase leaving the space in behind.
Against the Highlanders on the stroke of halftime, the exit kick fails to make touch and Barrett brings it back on the counter.
He immediately spots Richard Buckman (14) pushing up as part of the kick-chase line and drops the ball over the top into the path of Laumape who beats the cover defence to score.
These situation-dependent kicks, either off a quick turnover in attacking position, a poor exit kick or after a decent line break downfield, are still reactionary kick plays.
If the Hurricanes don’t get those scenarios then the chances never materialise to use Barrett’s attacking kicking game.
Set-piece options
When the Hurricanes had Julian Savea and Cory Jane on the wings, the ‘wipers’ kick from set-piece became a calculated risk with good odds. Both were adequate jumping options that had a good chance to win the ‘all-or-nothing’ one-on-one contest.
With Jordie Barrett now playing on the right wing the Hurricanes now have both a kicking and jumping option to work with and can start using the set-piece to cross-kick again.
The next area of growth in the Hurricanes attacking kicking game can come from this area by implementing switch-kick plays using more guise to create more room for the catch.
Beauden Barrett often aligns directly behind a midfield scrum before the play to hedge his bets and keep the defence guessing. Using the threat of TJ Perenara’s running game on the short side we can run a bluff, before bringing it back to Barrett on the open side using this same formation.
Using an 8-9 to break to the blind, the Hurricanes can pull the attention of the opposition halfback, the number 8 and possibly more open side players in this direction.
The winger, Wes Goosen (11) in this instance, can drop underneath Perenara while fullback Chase Tiatia (15) offers an outside option to attract further interest in the blind side raid.
Perenara plays Goosen underneath who passes back across the scrum to Barrett, now drifting to open side who can then pull the trigger on the cross-kick to Jordie Barrett out wide.
If the switch succeeds in getting the defence to start the ‘rolling coverage’ most back threes employ, the window for Barrett’s kick will be even larger as the defending winger on that side will have moved to the middle of the field.
With Jordie Barrett offering a kicking option as well, we can use Beauden Barrett as a decoy and work Jordie into the play as the kicker.
From the same situation but on the opposite side, Beauden Barrett (10) could run an early switch line across to the blind side in anticipation of the 8-9 break that way, drawing the interest of the defence.
After the 8-9 break down the blind, TJ Perenara has Beauden Barrett and Chase Tiatia as options outside him, but again plays the winger underneath.
This time it would be Jordie Barrett (14), our kicker, who can either try a mid-range kick to the open side for the midfielders or attempt a booming long-range kick-pass to the left wing.
These ‘switch kicks’ can be built into the playbook out of existing formations, offering another option for the play callers. If they identify teams where wingers often react early to the break at scrum time, these could be perfect plays to prey on that vulnerability and incorporate the kicking skills of the Barrett boys.
The visiting Stormers wore torn to pieces by the Hurricanes kick-game on their last visit by the high-flying Hurricanes in 2017. The first four tries were scored from the boot, with three from cross-field kicks and another long-range try was sparked by another Barrett cross-kick.
With the Bulls picking apart the Stormers 40-3 in round one this year with tactical kicking, don’t be surprised to see the Hurricanes look for the same formula, and for the ‘Air Raid’ attack to surface again.
Comments on RugbyPass
It is crystal clear that people who make such threats on line should be tried and imprisoned. Those with responsibility in social media companies who don’t facilitate this should be convicted. In real life, I have free speech to approach someone like Reinach and verbally threaten him. I am risking a conviction or a slap but I could do it. In the old days, If someone anonymously threatened someone by letter the police would ask and use evidence from the postal system. Unlike the Post, social media companies have complete instant and legal access to the content in social media. They make money from the data, billions. Yet, they turn a blind eye to terrorism, Nazi-ism and industrial levels of threats against individuals including their address and childrens schools being published online all from ananoymous accounts not real speech. They claim free speech. The fault is with the perps but also social media companies who think anonymous personas posting death threats constitutes free speech.
1 Go to commentsSo if this ain’t the best Irish team ever then who exactly is? I don’t remember any other Irish team being this good & winning a series in the Land of the Long White Cloud. Yes I may rip them often for 8 X QF RWC exits & twice not even making it to the QF, but they’re a damn good team who many think can only improve, including me!
67 Go to commentsNot a squeek out of Leinster for weeks about this match. So quiet. The first team have been quitely building for this encounter under Nienaber’s direction. All fresh, all highly motivated. They are expecting a season’s best performance from Northhampton. They will match that. They will be fresher and apparently they will have 80,000 out of the 83,000 shouting for them. I do expect Northhampton to turn up big time. Not to be missed. On a tangent it is evident how the loss of a few Premiership teams has in some respect helped other Premiership teams and England. More quality over less teams makes the teams better, which has a knock on effect on England. Not the only factor contributing to England’s rise but one of them.
1 Go to commentsOur very own monster teddy bear Ox😍💪
17 Go to commentsThis is might be the most generalised, entitled, patronising, out-of-pocket cultural indictment on a group of people you’ll ever see on what is supposedly a sports publication. I can only assume the author is weak like a woman or homosexual. I’m feeling an incredible range of emotions but I am not quite sure how to express them. I might go beat up a hockey player - assuming that’s okay with Duane and the boys? 🙂
9 Go to commentsBest thing the Welsh clubs could do is apply to join Gallagher prem surely be more exciting matches for there support than they have now.
2 Go to commentsRugbyPass writers are useless! you guys should get a real job because you all suck at writing about rugby!!!
9 Go to commentslooking forward to RWC2027 …. Boks on mission impossible for the Three-in-a-row, ABs to prove they being on par, France wishing to crown the “DuPont-era”, Ireland knocking on the Semi-Door ….. until then we’ll probably have to deal with Weird Ben’s fantasy-RWC23 (fun fact is, the drivel always creates a flooding of comments) …..
221 Go to commentsBen Smith you really make some good points in this article, the Springboks were not close to perfect and good still beat the All Blacks, imagine if they were as good as they were against France what a hiding the All Blacks would have gotten… maybe another Twickenham drubbing
221 Go to commentsIt is a good argument to keep the Rebels for one more year but also isnt this just opening the door as well for keeping them beyond 2025. If they can create some sort of financial stability in the next year and if their performances lift as they have this season then how would RA even cull them after that? It might be the most cost effective decision at this stage and perhaps many people are guilty of keeping relationships going because of the cost to decouple but then again when does that ever work out well?
24 Go to commentsDear Ben Smith you are a genius! God please become the next all blacks coach that can take on the mighty BOKS. Your rugby acumen is second to none - imagine your dads sperm bounced as unfortunately as that oval ball did….we would not be blessed with your presence. Just as the all blacks were missing a man you too are missing a chromosome for 80% of your life, so your insights are not only profound but ring true from your own experiences. Just as the TMO interfered with citing an illegal pass I am sure your local authorities interfere with your illegal passes you make on women - How dare they!!! God forbid that rugby be officiated fairly. You are the right man for the job. Next all blacks coach is here ladies and gentlemen Miss Ben Smith (He/She/They/IT)
221 Go to commentsHuge engine this guy and great to see him back ..The amount of clean outs he does at the ruck are ridiculous !!
3 Go to commentsThe level of desperation in this article is just embarrassing.
221 Go to commentsSome silly trolling in the comments.
9 Go to commentsEverywhere you turn some irish journo is advocating Ireland as the greatest, reasoning that the wc is a 4 year cycle event so, they say wc doesn’t matter it’s the rugby in between that should account for the accolade. If there was no wc then some substance could be gained, however in my opinion the moment that defined Ireland’s fate against the abs was 37 phases of repeated head bashing against a brick wall. If a change in strategy or a tinker with the game plan was executed then things could've been vastly different. And to point a finger the let down was in the hands of the number 10.
67 Go to commentsI have heard it asked if RA is essentially one of the part owners and I suppose therefor should be on the other side of these two parties. If they purchased the rebels and guaranteed them, and are responsible enough they incur Rebels penalties, where is this line drawn? Seems rough to have to pay a penalty for something were your involvement sees you on the side of the conned party, the creditors. If the Rebels directors themselves have given the club their money, 6mil worth right, why aren’t they also listed as sitting with RA and the Tax office? And the legal threat was either way, new Rebels or defunct, I can’t see how RA assume the threat was less likely enough to warrant comment about it in this article. Surely RA ignore that and only worry about whether they can defend it or not, which they have reported as being comfortable with. So in effect wouldn’t it be more accurate to say there is no further legal threat (or worry) in denying the deal. Unless the directors have reneged on that. > Returns of a Japanese team or even Argentinean side, the Jaguares, were said to be on the cards, as were the ideas of standing up brand new teams in Hawaii or even Los Angeles – crazy ideas that seemingly forgot the time zone issues often cited as a turn-off for viewers when the competition contained teams from South Africa. Those timezones are great for SR and are what will probably be needed to unlock its future (cant see it remaining without _atleast _help from Aus), day games here are night games on the West Coast of america, were potential viewers triple, win win. With one of the best and easiest ways to unlock that being to play games or a host a team there. Less good the further across Aus you get though. Jaguares wouldn’t be the same Jaguares, but I still would think it’s better having them than keeping the Rebels. The other options aren’t really realistic 25’ options, no. From reading this authors last article I think if the new board can get the investment they seem to be confident in, you keeping them simply for the amount of money they’ll be investing in the game. Then ditch them later if they’re not good enough without such a high budget. Use them to get Jaguares reintergration stronger, with more key players on board, and have success drive success.
24 Go to commentsYeah, and ours is waaay bigger than yours. Just as you's get a semi…oh hold on that never happens
67 Go to commentsLove watching
1 Go to commentsThe Melbourne Rebels lineout is a complete disaster so not surprisingly a kiwi coach of the Wallabies hires the worst lineout coach in the country and a foreigner to boot. No surprises whatsoever here…….
6 Go to commentsThank your for wasting 2 minutes of my life Daniel. There is a useful message in there somewhere but your delivery sucks.
9 Go to comments