Hurricanes vs Highlanders

Here's how the Hurricanes rated in their 21-14 Super Rugby Pacific victory over the Highlanders at Sky Stadium in Wellington.

Struck the upright with his first attempt off the tee from a handy position and followed up a lot of his good work with a less than desirable action. The skipper amassed a dozen tackles, a few of which were made as a covering defender, to go along with a number of rampaging carries and a pair of turnovers. His pass also appeared to be crisper than Judd’s service, but bear in mind the Canes’ work at the breakdown was tidier during his cameo. On a positive note, he stopped what should’ve been a try by pulling Coombes-Fabling down just short and carried with vigour when he had two mitts on the seed. Late arrivals to the breakdown are on him though, and his side’s attack suffered as a result. Made himself enough of a nuisance to disrupt the Highlanders fluidity and seems to be picking his moments at the breakdown better than in years past. Showed off his stride lengths with a few nice gallops after popping up in support and got stuck into the action on both sides of the ball. Back in the action after a week on the side-lines and showed no signs of carrying a niggle. Didn’t get as much front foot ball as he would’ve liked and spent most of the evening directing play. It’s also worth mentioning that the timeliness of his second pinch was crucial as the Highlanders were on a roll inside the red zone. Was sent backwards for most of the night at scrum time and gave away a very kickable three points in the opening quarter. Does a lot of work that goes unappreciated by casual fans and doesn’t shy away from a tough carry despite being on the receiving end more often than not.