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Waratahs vs Hurricanes takes: Canes looked like champions, Proctor's night
By Ben Smith
The Waratahs big name Joseph Suaalii was a late scratching as they hosted the Hurricanes at Allianz Stadium in Sydney.
After coming off the bye, this was going to be a title Test for the previously undefeated Waratahs but they were blown off the park in the second half as the Hurricanes’ backs ran rampant.
Billy Proctor bagged a second-half hat-trick while Jone Rova had a big impact role, two line breaks and a try off the bench, to put the Tahs to the sword. A two-try effort for Max Jorgensen added some respectability to the score, but the Tahs’ credibility took a massive blow in this one.
Here are the takeaways from the Hurricanes big win over the Waratahs.
Tahs power game meets Canes Big D
The Hurricanes have one of the fiercest defences in the competition, two man hits, high impact physicality and turnover generation. They like to pound teams backward.
The Tahs power game looked good early, and so it was a tit-for-tat game early as the home side tested out the Canes. The new back row addition of Pete Samu balanced out a lean-looking pack of ball carriers, with openside Charlie Gamble, number six Leafi Talataina all capable. Close to the line the Waratahs like to do things one way, which is carry through the big men.
The Canes stood tall repelling the Tahs multiple times on their own line before they finally cracked with Tristan Reilly on a quick pick and go. The next time around they scored through Jorgensen in the corner after building for numerous phases through the forwards. The Hurricanes defence held well, couldn’t hold forever under that pressure, but otherwise left with a good account of themselves.
That would bode well later for the visitors.
Classy hand from Harkin
Labelled the most underrated player in Super Rugby after their opening game against Moana Pasifika, the dynamic playmaker has moved from fullback to first five solve the crisis at No.10.
He once again proved valuable in Sydney, having a hand in two first half tries. The first was just a classic touch early in the shape to put Josh Moorby into half a gap, who linked with Asafo Aumua in the wide channel who went over untouched.
The second was all class with a piece of unscripted vision to setup Bailyn Sullivan. Under pressure with the line up cutting down his passing options, Harkin summed up the picture and put a crossfield kick over to the right flank. An unusual bounce gave Sullivan the chance to pull in a difficult chance and he obliged, scoring to put the Canes up 17-12.
Right on half-time after claiming a free kick, Harkin pumped a banana-type kick from his own 22 to just outside the Tahs’ 22, narrowly missing a 50-22. The Hurricanes’ coaching staff protested the mark as the booming punt did look like bouncing out inside the Tahs’ 22.
A big kick return from a poor Jorgensen kick by Harkin gave the Hurricanes a 22 entry, from which they scored a couple phases later when Billy Proctor coast through the line outside Jordie Barrett.
Canes pack got ball, Kirifi’s turning point
After going up by 24-12 less than 10 minutes into the second half, the Waratahs were building on attack only for Du’Plessis Kirifi to force a holding on penalty. He latched on as three Tahs tried to clean him out.
The big moment only proved even more so when from the set-piece the Canes hit the Tahs with a short chip kick over the top, executed by Jordie Barrett, exploiting a weakness in their set-piece defence. The soft bounce sat up for Billy Proctor, who did a good job pulling it in before scoring his second within as many minutes. Kirifi’s turnover quickly became points.
The 31-12 scoreline quickly put the game out of reach for the Tahs, who kept getting turned over in good field position. Kirifi and two others forced a collapsed maul on the next trip to the Canes’ half, while Walker-Leawere came up with a big lineout steal on their next 22 entry.
The Hurricanes forward pack continually forced turnovers which killed the Tahs.
Second half meltdown for Tahs
The home side were blown off the park in the second half, particularly in the last 20 where the Canes broke the line seemingly at will. In what seemed like humid conditions, the Tahs ran out of puff. The Hurricanes power runners out wide continually found space through offloading or winning one-on-one match ups.
One important cameo was that off Jone Rova, the ex-Crusaders product who proved dynamic off the bench. He took a short ball at the line right through around halfway, before linking with halfback Ere Enari to finish a walk-in try. He had a second similar line break with Enari looming, but tried to dummy and possibly bombed a try in that situation. But he made up for it with one of his own, as the Canes pounced on another dropped ball and the centre scored under the sticks.
Rova, Fehi Fineanganofo, Josh Moorby, Billy Proctor all looked like superstars out there, with the Canes’ starting centre even bagging a hat-trick on the night. As defeat became inevitable for the Waratahs, the floodgates opened for the Hurricanes.
Joseph Suaalii missed greatly
There was lots of talk about Joseph Suaalii’s underutilisation at No.13 after the first two rounds of Super Rugby. There are a lot of believers he would be better suited to fullback. He may well be a great fullback, but he’s also a great centre prospect and the Waratahs missed his athleticism out there. Even as a decoy, Suaalii attracts attention.
They missed the nous of a 6’5 international centre out there, one who could make the reads in defence to stop the simple. Billy Proctor basically walked through the Tahs line on his first try, a simple line outside his No.12. The chip kick regather for his second, a smart defensive centre would have found a way to slightly obstruct Proctor or read the kick option early and trace back for it.
Suaalii’s quick touches in attack are often brilliant and create space for those outside. While Jorgensen scored two tries, one was from two metres out and the other was an intercept. He had limited opportunities out there.
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