Hurricanes player ratings vs Brumbies | Super Rugby Pacific
Coming off the bye, the Hurricanes have returned to winning ways after beating the ACT Brumbies 32-27 at Wellington’s Sky Stadium on Friday.
Brumbies lock Nick Frost scored a double inside the opening 30 minutes, as the two teams appeared destined to go into the half-time sheds locked at 14-all.
While a late Jordie Barrett penalty saw the Canes lead by three at the break, the hosts began to run away with it in the second half.
Tries to Cam Roigard and Aidan Morgan helped the Hurricanes record a much-needed win at the Cake Tin. Here’s how the Canes rated.
- Josh Moorby – 8
Josh Moorby can do no wrong in the No. 15 jersey for the Canes this season. The fullback has been sensational all season, and his impressive form continued this week. Moorby ran for 120 metres from 13 carries, and beat five defenders as well.
- Julian Savea – 6.5
Milestone man Julian Savea played his 150th Hurricanes match on Friday night, and capped it off with a solid performance. The winger ran for more than 40 metres, including an especially strong carry in the second half.
- Peter Umaga-Jensen – 6.5
After a quiet first half, centre Peter Umaga-Jensen came alive a bit after the break. While his night was cut short with about 15 minutes to play, Umaga-Jensen still managed to run for close to 50 metres from nine carries.
On the defensive side of the ball, the midfielder completed 60 per cent of his tackles.
- Jordie Barrett – 7
It was an uncharacteristically quiet first half from All Black Jordie Barrett, who ran the ball twice and made just one tackle. While it proved to be a game of two halves – to an extent, that is – it wasn’t the midfielders best performance in Hurricanes colours.
Barrett may have finished with a 10 point haul, but the star left a few points begging off the kicking tee. Around the field, the No. 12 came alive in the second 40 – finish with 9 carries for 17 metres.
- Salesi Rayasi – 7.5
Salesi Rayasi has been scoring tries for fun this season, so by that metric the winger was kept quiet during Friday night’s thriller. Rayasi didn’t come close to scoring himself, although he did set up teammate Devan Flanders with a brilliant kick early on.
While a try-scoring opportunity didn’t quite come his way, Rayasi was clearly eager to get involved. The winger finished with 79 running metres to his name from 13 carries, and he also made five tackles.
- Aidan Morgan – 8
This was Aidan Morgan’s best performance in a Hurricanes jersey. The rising star was sensational against the high-flying Brumbies, as continued to build on his exciting partnership with Cam Roigard.
It wasn’t all one way traffic, so we’ll start with the bad. Sometimes things don’t exactly come off as planned, as rugby fans saw in the first half. Morgan attempted to put a kick through, but Brumbies lock Nick Frost charged it down – and ended up running close to 80 metres to the house.
But enough off that, it was a great night for the young 10 and that needs to be rewarded. Morgan ran the ball 15 times for 94 metres, and also crossed for a try of his own. The 21-year-old didn’t overplay his hand in attack either.
- Cam Roigard – 8
Halfback Cam Roigard can do no wrong on the rugby field – well, that’s mostly true. Roigard may have made a few mistakes on Friday night, including a forward pass in the second half, but it didn’t exactly take away from what was another brilliant performance.
Roigard continues to stake his claim for All Blacks selection, having led the Hurricanes around the park with both poise and grace in round 10. The halfback has found a home in the Canes’ No. 9 jersey, and looks to be growing in confidence every week.
While the 22-year-olds kicking game was especially impressive, his running game continued to create moments of magic for the Canes – including another try for the halfback. Roigard scored his seventh try of the season in the 46th minute, having reached out from close range.
- Xavier Numia – 7
Prop Xavier Numia put in a solid shift on Friday night. Numia had made the second-most tackles out of any Hurricanes player at the half-time break, and ended up finishing with nine to his name. The 24-year-old also scrummed quite well – which is ultimately his core job.
- Asafo Aumua – 8.5
Player of the match – Asafo Aumua just has to be. Aumua was at his brilliant best against the Brumbies, having run over defender after defender at will. The All Black had a handful of impressive carries during the first 40, but there was one that stood out for obvious reasons.
This 🔗 up play from Asafo Aumua and Ardie Savea 😍#CultureRound #SuperRugbyPacific#HURvBRU pic.twitter.com/TUxXOUAlQ6
— Super Rugby Pacific (@SuperRugby) April 28, 2023
In the 14th minute, from a lineout as well, Aumua went short to captain Ardie Savea. Savea popped the ball back to the hooker immediately, who ended up running wild down the left edge – bumping off towering lock Nick Frost in the process. Aumua got an offload off to Savea – a pass that commentator Jeff Wilson described as “outstanding” – to set up the score.
Overall, the hooker was at his rampaging best. On top of that, he hit all but one of his lineout targets on the night.
- Tyrel Lomax – 6.5
All Black Tyrel Lomax works harder than a lot of props around the world. Purely going on his time out in the middle, the world-class front-rower worked tirelessly in the pursuit of victory once again in round 10.
Having played for almost an hour, Lomax had well and truly earned a rest by the time he was replaced. The prop had made an impact in both defence and at the set-piece, and had also carried the ball five times for a hard-earned 16 metres.
- James Blackwell – N/A
Hurricanes lock James Blackwell won a lineout on the Brumbies’ throw in the fifth minute, but left the field a couple of minutes for a HIA. Blackwell was replaced by Caleb Delany and didn’t return.
- Isaia Walker-Leawere – 7.5
Following a short stint on the sidelines, lock Isaia Walker-Leawere was back in the run-on side for the Hurricanes this week. When Blackwell went off, and then his replacement Delany, the Canes needed Walker-Leawere to stand up – and he did just that.
In the end, the lock finished with an impressive nine tackles to his name, and also carried the ball 11 times. Walker-Leawere was busy around the park, and certainly made an impact during a tense contest.
- Devan Flanders – 7.5
Devan Flanders seems be getting better and better every week for the Hurricanes. For the second game in a row, the blindside flanker crossed for the Hurricanes’ first try of the match – reaping the rewards of a brilliant Salesi Rayasi kick to score in the 10th minute.
But his performance goes well beyond that one moment of glory. The loose forward finished with 100 per cent tackle accuracy from 11 attempts, and also carried the ball 11 times.
- Du’Plessis Kirifi – 7.5
It’s almost a given that every week Du’Plessis Kirifi is going to make the most tackles for the Hurricanes, and round 10 was no exception. Kirifi topped the tackling charts with 12, which was one more than next-best Devan Flanders.
- Ardie Savea – 8
Captain Ardie Savea led by example against the Brumbies, having made his mark on both sides of the ball. Savea crossed for his fourth try of the season during the first half, having linked up with teammate Asafo Aumua for a clever try – something truly special out of nothing.
But his effort didn’t stop there. Not only was the All Black tough to stop every time he carried the ball, but he was a menace at the breakdown. The world-class loose forward won a penalty at the breakdown in the 43rd minute, and also impressed on the defensive side of the ball.
Replacements:
- Jacob Devery – 5
- Tevita Mafileo – 6
- Owen Franks – 6
- Caleb Delany – 6.5
- Brayden Iose – 7
- Jamie Booth – 6.5
- Harry Godfrey – N/A
- Kini Naholo – 7
Comments on RugbyPass
It was a pleasure to watch those guys playing with such confidence. That trio can all be infuriating for different reasons and I can see why Jones might have decided against them. No way to justify leaving Ikitau out though. Jorgensen and him were both scheduled to return at the same time. Only one of them plays for Randwick and has a dad who is great mates with the national coach though.
53 Go to commentsBrayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
5 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.
29 Go to commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
5 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to comments