Super Rugby Aotearoa: Hurricanes player ratings vs Chiefs
The Hurricanes travelled north to take on the Chiefs at FMG Stadium Waikato as round four of Super Rugby Aotearoa continued on Sunday. With both sides at the bottom end of the ladder, the winless Hurricanes were desperate to get some points on the board to give their season some credibility.
In recent times, these two proud franchises have produced some thrilling encounters and this afternoon promised to be another. Many of the Hurricanes players played with their respective clubs last weekend when they had the bye and perhaps the reconnection to the grassroots of the game was the antidote the Hurricanes coaching staff were looking for?
The visitors turned up and their defence won them the game 25-18 despite being a man down at the business end of the match. It was a tough, physical encounter and the Chiefs brought power through the middle but the Hurricanes would not die and deserved their victory.
So how did the Hurricanes rate today?
15. Jordie Barrett – 7.5
He didn’t take long to settle into the game and looked to create opportunities and not to play within himself. Committed a cardinal sin when giving away a breakdown penalty when his side were deep on attack but sough absolution by defending well and persistently looking to attack. A solid return.
14. Kobus van Wyk – 7.5
Scored a try that anyone could in the opening minutes but really enjoyed his efforts in attack. Despite having a bit of a shocker against the Crusaders, Van Wyk ran some intelligent attacking lines and went looking for work. Backed it up with solid chasing but positioned himself out of an attacking opportunity when cutting in off an Ardie Savea blindside run when there was ample space on the outside. Grabbed a second try in the second half and generally had a good afternoon.
13. Peter Umaga-Jensen – 7.5
Put in a very good shift without. Hard with the ball, hard off it. Dropped off the odd tackle but looks like he’ll maintain the 13 jersey with this performance after making a try saving tackle on his line. Impressed.
12. Ngani Laumape – 7
Worked well off the ball allowing for space to be created as he draws so much defence upon himself. Still had several good touches and backed up well. Didn’t let his side down in defence.
11. Ben Lam – 6.5
A fair shift with limited opportunity. Made a turnover in the first half and came in to work in defence. For every positive impact he tends to provide a negative. Would like him to be more consistent moving forward.
10. Jackson Garden-Bachop – 6.5
A decent shift but at times chose the lesser option evidenced by kicking when he had Van Wyk in open space on a counter attack. By no means a poor performance but would have liked him to back his own running game more.
9. TJ Perenara – 7.5
Another intelligent performance, if anything his box kicking let him down a bit this afternoon. That aside, he rallied his troops well and generally directed the side to where it needed to be. Didn’t really feature in running the ball but made a number of vital tackles including a try saver with Umaga-Jensen on the line.
8. Ardie Savea – 8
It was always going to be won upfront and Savea took it to the Chiefs in every aspect of the match. Was ferocious in defence and in possession worked in tight for metres, but also linked prodigiously out wide. Starting to come back into some dominant form. Building each week.
7. Du’Plessis Kirifi – 8
Like Savea, he was on today. Despite infringing out the breakdown, he balanced it up with turnovers, a try saving tackle on the Canes’ line and wanted to impose himself in everything he did. Gave Sam Cane a real battle and one of his better performances in a Hurricanes jersey.
6. Reed Prinsep – 8.5
My man-of-the-match. He was simply epic in defence making 21 tackles and stopped the Chiefs’ momentum time and time again. Defence wins matches and this win was built on the shoulders of his efforts today. A definitive performance.
5. Scott Scrafton – 6.5
Was sent off for two yellow cards yet I thought the first yellow was a bit harsh as it appeared he was looking to play the ball, not the man in the lineout. He worked hard and had some good involvements and ran the Canes’ lineout well. Made the cardinal sin of turning his back on the attack which no doubt contributed to his second yellow and playing offside. Will be better for this.
An impactful return from injury by Jordie Barrett has handed the @Hurricanesrugby their first win of the #SuperRugbyAotearoa campaign. #CHIvHURhttps://t.co/iH1Rc0aykY
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 5, 2020
4. James Blackwell – 8
Another typical Blackwell performance. Hard work and more hard work. There was nothing exceptional about his performance apart from his ability to do the hard work. 15 tackles to his credit and supported Prinsep in that wall.
3. Tyrel Lomax – 7
Went about his business quietly but as always did his job and looked to impose himself in tight.
2. Dane Coles – 8
A typical Dane Coles performance and sent Codie Taylor a message that he still has plenty of game about him. Doesn’t appear to have lost any speed and grabbed an intercept down the left edge to turn the momentum of a Chiefs attack that several phases later lead to a Hurricanes try.
1. Fraser Armstrong – 7
Only lasted 21 minutes after injuring an ankle early in the match, but within that time scrummaged well, worked hard coming off the line in defence and made a number of raids into the defensive line of the Chiefs in attack. The type of player you want to play with, not against as he’ll give you nothing but come at you all day.
Replacements:
16. Ricky Riccitelli – 5.5
On in the 68th minute. Did his job.
17. Ben May – 7
On in the 21st minute and struggled in the first few scrums but hung in there and made a big contribution in general play, even securing a turnover. A credible performance full of character.
18. Alex Fidow – 6
On in the 70th minute and made a near half field dash for the line but was felled meters out.
19. Vaea Fifita – 6
On in the 56th minute. Had some positive involvements without providing potent impact.
20. Liam Mitchell – 5.5
On in the 70th minute. Did his job.
21. Jamie Booth – 6.5
Came on for a blood bin and later for Garden-Bachop. Had a sweeping run for the line working off Savea off a scrum move. Like this player, has a big future.
22. Billy Proctor – 6
On the 70th minute. Did his job.
23. Wes Goosen – 6.5
On in the 66th minute. Looked to work with limited opportunity.
Comments on RugbyPass
Brayden 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 commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to comments