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After a disappointing loss in last year’s Super Rugby final, the Hurricanes of 2016 went one better, surging to a convincing 20-3 win against the Lions in Wellington on Saturday.
Conceding plenty of possession in the first half to the visitors, the Hurricanes upped the ante in the second, their power defensive game shutting the Lions out, to the point where the South Africans were never a realistic winning chance.
While the weather was never as brutal as in the first final against the Sharks, in the context of the added edge of a final, the damp and slippery conditions meant fluid ball movement was a difficult proposition – particularly for the halves.
This was never going to work in the visitors’ favour.
Little play has gone the way of Cory Jane over the playoffs, but it only took six minutes for Beauden Barrett to find him with a kick-pass, for what initially appeared to be a sharp opening try; until Brad Shields was busted for a knock on two phases prior.
It was no surprise that when Jane’s try eventually came it was also from a kick. But this time it was a misfire from Lions centre Lionel Mapoe, which Jane, at close range, plucked superbly with his left hand, before holding off Franco Mostert for the score.
The real architect of the try though was defensive pressure, with too many retreating Lions players transferring that pressure onto a teammate, when the situation demanded that one of them take responsibility for shoring things up and playing more directly.
Chief culprit was the man the Lions could least afford to be disengaged from the tempo and physicality of the match, playmaker Elton Jantjies.
A week is a long time in rugby, and where everything turned to gold against the Highlanders, the slippery surface and greasy ball negated Jantjies’ twinkle toes and sapped his confidence.
As my nana always said, grease your cake tin first for the best results!
Jantjies simply didn’t bring the right game plan for the conditions. There was no authority to his kicking and, save for an early pop pass to the once-again excellent Malcolm Marx, no run or inventive ball play to probe in behind the Hurricanes’ rushing defence.
Everybody knew that the Canes would sprint up in midfield looking to knock the Lions ball carrier over behind the advantage line; Jantjies kindly kept shovelling the ball on and obliging them.
While Barrett had some tentative moments, he was, by comparison, far more assured and finals ready, varying his game, kicking some nice goals, and ghosting in to score the match-sealing try.
His partner in crime, halfback TJ Perenara, grew into the match, his defensive intensity and leadership infectious as the Hurricanes took a second-half chokehold.
Whenever praise is given to the halves, it usually means that the workers up front have done the business, and the Hurricanes middle row and back row earned a clear points-win on the night.
Shields was a popular choice for man of the match, although a couple of handling errors and a panicky kick from a maul turnover took a wee bit of the gloss off. Loni Uhila was again impressive; a 76-minute shift for a front rower is rare in these days of pre-determined replacements.
A motivated Victor Vito deservedly achieved something that so few players are allowed to do, bow out a winner – on his milestone 100th game to boot. No doubt he will have found a moment of quiet celebration too for Canes legend Jerry Collins.
Those looking for a turning point will identify the 34th minute, the Lions turning down an almost-certain three points in favour of backing their, until then, superior scrum.
From somewhere deep, the Hurricanes pack found the necessary collective spirit and grunt, shunting the Lions off their own ball. And with that, the idea of the Lions scrummaging their way to victory was put to bed.
To the Lions’ credit, their defence for the most part matched the home side, with line breaks scarcer than a shower curtain in the Olympic athlete’s village. The two tries conceded were from defensive errors under extreme pressure and they will be better for the experience should they, like the Hurricanes last year, find themselves in a repeat final.
The irony is that, as gracious as Johan Ackermann and Warren Whiteley were in defeat, the premise that ‘you have to lose one to win one’ is pure poppycock. They were ready and good enough to win this year – provided they believed it themselves, and maintained home-ground advantage through the finals.
Crowded House’s ‘Weather With You’ booming through the PA in the second half was not so much in recognition of the Hurricanes’ familiarity with local conditions, but a reminder to Ackermann that he could, and should, have been enjoying his own weather, at an Ellis Park final.
Sunny and dry, with a fast track, to suit the Lions’ high-paced game, in the Republic they wouldn’t have been playing for a respectable second place, but for the win.
Things went south immediately after the final whistle; I’m not sure the Hurricanes’ glory moment was enhanced by a tired and cliched Queen anthem being rammed into everyone’s senses – hardly ‘uniquely Wellington’, and far better kept for the rugby sevens. Or bad ’80s theme parties.
Then amateur hour kicked in, the host television producer giving away the secret of how a sponsors backdrop could be erected so quickly, a shot from behind revealing – depending on your viewpoint – either Kiwi ingenuity at work, or a whole bunch of embarrassed people straining to hold the damn thing up.
The sounds of Queen gave way to the clatter of chattering teeth, as players became visibly and uncomfortably cold, left to stand around and shiver while MC Jeff Wilson stuck to the script, instead of demonstrating a better feel for the moment and moving things along.
Little things matter at times like this; hanging something around the neck of 40 runners-up, one at a time, chews up a lot of minutes, and is a surefire way to kill the winning vibe, even when it isn’t near freezing.
Fox Sports commentator Phil Kearns was quick to lay the slipper into Hurricanes captain Dane Coles for not acknowledging the Lions in his podium speech – partly because Kearns can’t help picking a fight with Kiwis, and partly because the omission was immediately obvious and grating.
Post-match forums and social media subsequently came down heavily against Coles, but on reflection – without making excuses for a man who, after coming back onto the field despite suffering obvious discomfort from his rib injury, doesn’t court sympathy – there was a simple enough explanation.
Whiteley and Coles did not give after-match speeches at all. They were, for want of a better description, ‘interviewed’ by Wilson; Whiteley responding to questions which shaped his response, and Coles, similarly, directly answering Wilson’s two questions, which were pointedly about his own side.
Wilson should have torn up the script and simply handed the two captains the microphone and let them say their own thing. If he had, the right words would have been said.
If that’s the worst thing that can be said about the Hurricanes, then it sums up what a great season they’ve had. They were smart enough to get their worst game out of the way early, at Canberra in Round 1, and have built steadily ever since.
To go through three sudden-death finals matches without conceding a try is a special achievement. To do it with a ‘no name’ midfield and middle row is also testament to shrewd coaching and support, and a special spirit within the group.
And it’s no coincidence that their playmaker, Beauden Barrett is, by some distance, the stand-out Super Rugby player of 2016. What Steve Hansen does with him from here will be hugely interesting.