Hurricanes player ratings vs Highlanders | Super Rugby Aotearoa
The Hurricanes have won their first match of the 2021 Super Rugby Aotearoa season, defeating the Highlanders 30-19 at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin.
Jordie Barrett scored the first points of the night with a penalty, before adding a try to his tally soon after, and then a conversion. His 10-points in the first 10 minutes basically sums up the tale of the match, with Barrett actually scoring all of the Hurricanes’ 30-points.
The visitors defended for a lot of the match, with the Highlanders having had 62% of possession at the half-time break. At that stage, the Canes had been down to 14-men for 10 minutes, but it didn’t disrupt them in the end.
Overall the Canes performed when they needed to, earning a much-needed win.
Here’s how the Hurricanes rated against the Highlanders.
- Xavier Numia – 7/10
The Highlanders had the better of the Hurricanes’ scrum, and that’s got to reflect in both Numia and Tyrel Lomax’s ratings. That being said though, Numia did make 10 tackles, without missing any. The loosehead prop also claimed a turnover at the breakdown in the 11th minute.
- Dane Coles – 7.5
Coles was impressive in his first Super Rugby Aotearoa match for the 2021 season, making his mark around the field and at the set-piece. The Hurricanes’ captain was nearly perfect when throwing into the lineout, completing seven from eight on the night. Coles was also involved in the lead-up to Jordie Barrett’s opening try, firstly, he was a core part of the play which led to the Canes having a lineout five metres out from the line. He also won a crucial penalty at the breakdown in the 25th minute, with the Highlanders only a metre or so out from the line – and just after the Canes had gone down to 14-men.
- Tyrel Lomax – 6.5
Lomax made a literal big impact to start the match, basically sending Highlanders centre Michael Collins into next week with a solid tackle. He then jumped back onto his feet and helped his side secure the turnover. From there, he kept busy around the field. However, he was yellow-carded in the 24th minute for incorrectly entering a maul.
- Scott Scrafton – 8
In my opinion, Scrafton was one of the best performing Hurricanes players in the match. He’s regularly a tireless performer for his side and we saw that again against the Highlanders, with some great efforts, especially in defence. He was also the go-to man for the visitors at the lineout and also won one against the throw in the 15th minute.
- Isaia Walker-Leawere – 7.5
Walker-Leawere put in a lot of effort to get involved, including on defence where the Canes spent most of their time as a team. The lock made 12 tackles but did miss three. He did, however, give away a penalty in the 32nd minute which led to Bryn Evans’ try for the Highlanders, when he had a Canes penalty reversed for pushing. Still, generally, I thought he performed well, as he made his mark on the contest.
Fans have taken to social media to express their outrage over a ludicrous penalty reversal during Friday’s Super Rugby Aotearoa clash between the Highlanders and Hurricanes in Dunedin. #HIGvHUR #SuperRugbyAotearoa https://t.co/28am3p2bhm
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 26, 2021
- Reed Prinsep – 7
This week, Prinsep put in another solid shift for the Canes, in a match which saw the visitors spend most of their time on defence. He made 10 tackles and missed none, as well as having five carries.
- Du’Plessis Kirifi – 8
Kirifi was one of, if not the hardest working Hurricanes player in round four. Not only did he make the most run metres of any Canes forward with 24, but he also topped the charts for the most tackles of any player on the night with 19.
- Ardie Savea – 7.5
Once again, Savea showed his elite work rate around the field, including at the breakdown and in attack. While he did have the most carries of any Hurricanes forward (seven), he came in fourth from their starting forwards for metres run with eight. He was made to work for every metre but it didn’t stop him from giving it his all.
- Luke Campbell – 7
Campbell was reliable for the Hurricanes, providing his side with accurate ball when they needed it in attack. He was of course involved in Jordie Barrett’s first try, helping spread the ball wide-right.
- Orbyn Leger – 6.5
Coming into the side, Leger performed good enough in a match which was dominated by Jordie Barrett. As a flyhalf though, he only had three passes in attack, and made a further three runs. That being said, defensively, he made the equal second-most tackles of any Hurricanes back (seven).
- Salesi Rayasi – 8
Rayasi was another one of the Hurricanes’ top performers this weekend, having run the most metres of any player Canes player with 47 metres from six carries. But two standout moments from his performance have to be noted. In the first-half, the Landers looked as if they were about to cross for a try in the corner, but after Vahaakolo was dragged down by Jordie Barrett, Rayasi got over the ball and won a penalty just a metre or so out from the line. Then, just before the break, he threw a classy offload to Barrett for a try.
- Ngani Laumape – 8
In my opinion, Laumape was particularly impressive in the second-half, where I thought he made more of an impact on the match. He had a try assist early in the second term, with a strong run laying the foundation for the phases that would lead to Barrett’s second try. He then threw the pass to Barrett. The inside centre made the most tackles of any Canes back with nine, and ran for the second-most metres of any Canes player with 31.
- Billy Proctor – 7
Arguably Proctor’s standout moment from the match came 13 minutes in, when he became the second Hurricanes player that night to put a big tackle on Collins. Other than that though, he struggled to really make a significant impact on the match.
- Wes Goosen – 6.5
Sometimes being a winger can be tough, with the ball just not going Goosen’s way. While he did make seven tackles, he only had one run.
- Jordie Barrett – 9.5
If you didn’t watch the match, 9.5 probably seems like a simply unbelievable rating. But Jordie Barrett scored all of the Hurricanes’ 30-points, in an individual performance that couldn’t really be faulted. His points scoring haul included a hat-trick of tries, starting with his first in the ninth minute. Jumping ahead to his third try, it was a massive spiral kick which was dropped by Mitch Hunt, which led to the score. His kicking both out of hand and off the tee was pretty well perfect. Add a try-saving tackle to that as well – incredible. He was the star without a question for the Hurricanes this week.
Jordie Barrett has scored a hat-trick and all of the Hurricanes’ points in a 30-19 victory over the Highlanders in Dunedin. #HIGvHUR #SuperRugbyAotearoa https://t.co/vG0AbeDVkm
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 26, 2021
Replacements:
- Ricky Riccitelli – 7.5
Came on for Dane Coles in the 49th minute and stood out, especially on defence. Riccitelli actually made 11 tackles, which is quite impressive considering he only played for just over half an hour.
- Fraser Armstrong – n/a
- Tevita Mafileo – n/a
- Liam Mitchell – 6.5
Made eight tackles off the bench. Impressive.
- Devan Flanders – 6
- Jonathan Taumateine – 6
- Peter Umaga-Jensen – n/a
- Ruben Love – n/a
Comments on RugbyPass
Farcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
7 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
7 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
61 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
7 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
61 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
55 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
61 Go to comments