After their 31-24 Super Rugby Pacific loss to the Crusaders at Sky Stadium in Wellington, here’s how the Hurricanes team performed on Friday.
15 Ruben Love: The one-Test All Black looked lively on attack early on but made little headway and battled to break down the Crusaders defence. Continued to give his all in that department and was also solid under the high ball. 5
14 Ngatungane Punivai: The 26-year-old had few attacking opportunities and was restricted mostly to defensive duties. 5
13 Bailyn Sullivan: Not much to report here as he did not do much with ball in hand and was caught out on defence on a few occasions. 5
12 Peter Umaga-Jensen: One of a few Hurricanes players to emerge with credit from this clash as he asked some questions of the Crusaders defence and was rewarded with a brace of tries for his efforts in his 50th match for the Wellington-based outfit. 7
11 Kini Naholo: The 25-year-old showed his class when he won a crucial turnover early on but went quiet as the match progressed and had little impact on attack. 5
10 Riley Hohepa: The former Crusaders playmaker battled against his former team-mates and had little influence on the game. Could not get his backline firing and was replaced by Callum Harkin early in the second half. 4
9 Cam Roigard: It was a tough day at the office for the All Blacks star as his forwards were on the back foot for long periods but he toiled manfully and had some good attacking moments in the final quarter. 6
One shining light in the forwards
8 Peter Lakai: The All Blacks rookie was solid during the game’s early stages but got better as the match progressed and was at his best as the Hurricanes chased the game in the second half. Lakai‘s superb attacking efforts saw him gaining 68 metres and he was rewarded with a well-taken try. 8
7 Du’Plessis Kirifi (cc): The Hurricanes co-captain was his usual busy self on defence and at the breakdown and won a crucial turnover in the game’s latter stages. Got through plenty of work on defence but less visible on attack. 6
6 Brayden Iose: He gave his all on attack and eventually finished with 26 metres gained from eight carries. Was also busy on defence before being replaced by Brad Shields in the 57th minute. 6
5 Zach Gallagher: Another former Crusaders representative, he came into the run-on side after Isaia Walker-Leawere was a late withdrawal. Gallagher made little impact though as apart from winning some lineout balls, he was fairly quiet. 5
4 Caleb Delany: Like his second-row partner, he won his fair share of lineout balls but also put his body on the line in defence. 6
3 Tyrel Lomax: The All Blacks star did what was expected of him in the scrums but made little impact in other facets of play. Replaced along with the rest of the starting front-row early in the second half. 5
2 Asafo Aumua (cc): It was a quiet game by the Hurricanes co-captain’s standards as he was kept in check by the Crusaders defence who gave him few attacking opportunities. 5
1 Xavier Numia: He was solid in the scrums but, like most of the Hurricanes forwards, fairly quiet in other areas. 5
Replacements: The Hurricanes battled for most of the match and head coach Clark Laidlaw rang the changes early in the second half when the Crusaders held a 31-10 lead. That had the desired effect as they finished stronger and the likes of Pasilo Tosi, Shields and Harkin impressed when they entered the fray. 8
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Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/hurricanes-player-ratings-all-blacks-rookies-superb-attacking-efforts-in-vain-in-crusaders-defeat
