The Hurricanes blew away the Cheetahs 61-7 with a nine-try romp in Round 13 of Super Rugby at Westpac Stadium on Saturday night.
Just why the hapless Cheetahs are still competing in Super Rugby beggars belief.
What will hurt them the most is they were still in the game at half-time. They stood their ground, making big hits and even stopped a couple of rolling mauls near their try line.
Their front and second row players led ably by hooker Elandre Huggett stopped wave after wave of attack mostly in their own half while first five Fred Zeilinga who scored his side’s waves his magic around the fringes with clever grubber kicks and deceptive running.
Had they not conceded needless penalties and had they played in the right areas of the field, the Cheetahs could have gone to the sheds with their tails up.
At halftime, coach Franco Smith gave his players credit for the way they defended which he hoped would reap rewards in the second spell.
Nope. Their defending became worse than school boys and once they were forced to play two thirds of the match in their own half, it was always going to be an uphill battle.
The stats don’t lie. The hosts scored nine tries, completed 158 passes to Cheetahs 63, and gained 683 metres to the visitor’s 287.
League convert Ngani Laumape put in a man-of-the-match performance, scoring a hat trick while openside flanker Ardie Savea was at his menacing best at the breakdown.
The ease with which the Hurricanes were able to counter and finish off set piece moves from their own half was breathtaking.
Even their coach Chris Boyd cut a forlorn figure in the coaches’ box at the tail end of the match, perhaps surprised at just how hopeless a side the Cheetahs are.
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