Josh Moorby scores four in sodden Hurricanes romp over Moana Pasifika

A rainy Albany hosted Moana Pasifika and the Hurricanes in round 13 of the Super Rugby Pacific season, but the conditions wouldn’t stop tries from being scored.

Josh Moorby had himself a game with four tries, while Kini Naholo’s Hurricanes return couldn’t have gone much better with two tries off the bench. Moana, whose playoff hopes have been extinguished, fired some shots of their own with a standout performance from Israel Leota, but couldn’t keep up with the visitros’ onslaught, ultimately falling to a 17-50 defeat.

Possession was hard to hold down in the opening eight minutes, with Moana Pasifika’s execution caught short in the first scoring opportunity of the game. Israel Leota then broke the line and threatened to go one better before tripping.

The Hurricanes built some momentum with the ball when Du’Plessis Kirifi provided a strong carry, and Moana Pasifika were called for being offside, allowing the visitors a chance in the attacking 22. Once there, the Canes used two carries in centrefield before sending the ball wide to Josh Moorby, who rode the tackle of Tuna Tuitama and scored his first in the corner.

Moorby had his second in the 21st minute, with the Hurricanes again in strong field position, but this time thanks to an opportunistic pick-and-go from Isaia Walker-Leawere on the halfway line.

Du’Plessis Kirifi had the Hurricanes’ third try in the 28th minute at the back of a dominant rolling maul.

It took Moana Pasifika just one minute to respond, though, with Miracle Fai’ilagi picking up a fumbled restart before the ball was sent wide left, with Tuitama darting through a broken defensive line to get his team’s first points of the evening.

Moana Pasifika had the ball for much of minutes 30 through 40, with Faletoi Peni providing positive play, including one of two superbly executed 50/22s during the period. A misthrown lineout and a Kirifi breakdown penalty saw the attacking opportunities go begging. The halftime score remained 5-19.

A loose pass from Jone Rova provided Moana with the first scoring opportunity of the second half, but after chipping the ball ahead, Leota couldn’t gather the ball cleanly to finish the play.

Leota’s aerial skills and Moana’s kicking ability featured again in the next 10 minutes as they kept play in the Hurricanes’ half. But again, the finishing execution was lacking.

It was the Canes who were next on the board when a scrum penalty five metres from their own line preceded a huge clearance beyond the halfway line, a well-taken lineout, and a break down the right edge that brought play five metres from Moana’s line. Once there, a Billy Proctor draw and pass opened up the corner, and Josh Moorby completed his hat-trick.

Kini Naholo made his way onto the field for his first minutes in 12 months, and the winger proceeded to score two tries with his first two touches in the space of two minutes. The first came when Naholo fended off the defence to muscle his way over the line, and the second was pure speed as he won the race to a chip kick from Brad Shields.

Glen Vaihu took a page out of Leota’s book to give Moana their next attacking opportunity, winning a high ball contest and making his way into the Hurricanes’ 22. A minute later, it was Leota who powered over the line for Moana’s second try of the night.

Jone Rova got himself on the scoresheet in the 66th minute, and Naholo broke the game open moments later with another break that led to Moorby’s fourth of the evening. Moana weren’t done yet, though, and Tuitama had a second on a strike play off a scrum.

That final score from the hosts brought the scoreline to 17-50, which would persist to the final whistle.