Sunwolves
23
Match Complete
Hurricanes
29
| 68 |  | F. Smith | ||
| 67 |  | W. Goosen | ||
| 59 | | F. Smith | ||
| 58 | | C. Tiatia | ||
| 48 | | B. Lam | ||
| 41 |  | F. Smith | ||
| H. Parker | | 29 | ||
| S. Masirewa | | 27 | ||
| H. Parker | | 26 | ||
| H. Parker | | 21 | ||
| 15 | | F. Smith | ||
| 14 | | T. Perenara | ||
| H. Parker | | 12 | ||
| H. Parker | | 7 | ||
| S. Masirewa | | 5 |
| 2 | Tries | 4 | ||
| 2 | Conversions | 3 | ||
| 3 | Penalty Goals | 1 | ||
| 0 | Field Goals | 0 |
Desperate to rewrite their poor history vs the Hurricanes, the Sunwolves will gear up for an exciting Friday night clash in Tokyo. Join The Roar for live scores and a blog from 8pm AEST.
The two teams have only played twice, but the Hurricanes have dominated the Sunwolves in their short history; a 83-17 win in the 2017 season opener, before a 43-15 victory last year.
Both teams are coming off the bye, with the Canes in a favourable ladder spot. They hold fourth place, the last hosting position for a quarter-final, however they trail the ladder-leading Crusaders by 11 points.
With a win tonight, they could jump into second place, provided the Rebels lose, with the second-placed Bulls on a bye.
A loss could cost them however: should the Sharks and Stormers win at home, preferably with a bonus point, and the Blues win in Dunedin, they’d fall to seventh.
This year, the Wellington locals have only lost to the Crusaders, albeit twice, while they took a draw and five wins from their other six matches.
The same can’t be said for the hosts: they’d need to pick up the bonus point in an already unlikely win, and if the Highlanders, Reds and Brumbies were all to lose by eight or more, they’ll jump to 12th.
With two victories from eight games, it’s been another disappointing season from Japan, but with three of those losses by under nine points, they’ve not been far off.
In team selections: regular backrower Rahboni Warren-Vosayaco will wear 12 for the hosts, in a radical choice.
The visitors will field an under-strength lineup, as Dane Coles’ calf strain keeps him out of action, while Ardie Savea, Beauden and Jordie Barrett won’t tour.
That tasks Fletcher Smith with the job of playing flyhalf, likely for the full match.
Given the Hurricanes’ history, it’s really hard to see them be beaten in Tokyo. Canes to win by 15.
Remember to join The Roar for live scores and the blog from 8pm AEST.
Venue: Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium.
Time: 8pm AEST.
Odds: Hurricanes $1.15, Sunwolves $5.50.
Referee: Angus Gardner.
Sunwolves
1. Pauliasi Manu, 2. Nathan Vella, 3. Hiroshi Yamashita, 4. Mark Abbott, 5. Luke Thompson, 6. Ben Gunter, 7. Dan Pryor, 8. Hendrik Tui, 9. Jamie Booth, 10. Hayden Parker, 11. Semisi Masirewa, 12. Rahboni Warren Vosayaco, 13. Josh Timu, 14. Gerhard van den Heever, 15. Ryohei Yamanaka.
Bench: 16. Atsushi Sakate, 17. Masataka Mikami, 18. Takuma Asahara, 19. Tom Rowe, 20. Shuhei Matsuhashi, 21. Fumiaki Tanaka, 22. Jason Emery, 23. Jamie Henry.
Hurricanes
1. Fraser Armstrong, 2. Ricky Riccitelli, 3. Ben May, 4. James Blackwell, 5. Liam Mitchell, 6. Vaea Fifita, 7. Du’Plessis Kirifi, 8. Reed Prinsep, 9. TJ Perenara (c), 10. Fletcher Smith, 11. Ben Lam, 12. Ngani Laumape, 13. Matt Proctor, 14. Wes Goosen, 15. Chase Tiatia.
Bench: 16. Asafo Aumua, 17. Xavier Numia, 18. Jeff To’omaga-Allen, 19. Isaia Walker-Leawere, 20. Sam Henwood, 21. Richard Judd, 22. James Marshall, 23. Billy Proctor.
Harry Jones
Expert
Thank you for finally noting this. He's punctilious to the point of no-pointalism.
Daveski 2.0
Guest
That was three minutes of rubbish time wasting by the canes at the end. Gardner had a right to be annoyed by it.
Danny
Roar Pro
Ok I'm biased, but Gardner is seriously rubbish. Whistlehappy, overbearing presence on the field and always plays favourites. Canes scrum got straight penalties, SW got warnings. Refused to police the ruck/maul. Then that last play - wtf was that? Canes dawdled for 15 seconds for sure but he had no right to tell them they couldn't tap and kick out after the siren to end the game. They could have tapped and run across the park for ten seconds as an alternative. He was just annoyed that the Canes were idling, as they were perfectly entitled to do for 15 seconds. I pray he doesn't butcher an important RWC game but he's the SH equivalent of Barnes.
Die hard
Roar Rookie
Good character shown by the team missing a few of their leaders. They will grow from this game. The set pieces did it for them in the end. That they didn't rely on a flash of brilliance from the backs bodies well for them.
Tom English
Roar Guru
Well the Hurricanes came out in that second half and went head down, bum up, and really bridged that 13 point gap to win by a small margin! Enjoyed that game a lot. Unfortunately I've only seen the second half, but I'll try to do a bit better next time. Cheers for joining me, till another time. FULLTIME Sunwolves 23 Hurricanes 29
Tom English
Roar Guru
Won, back to Perenara who dribbles it into touch! Hurricanes win! FULLTIME Sunwolves 23 Hurricanes 29
Red Rob
Roar Rookie
ahhhh farrrrk. Aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhooooooooooooooooooo!!!!! Congrats Canes.
Tom English
Roar Guru
Penalty Hurricanes! After a few resets, and that'll do it for us. Siren! Except they kick for touch without tapping, so we have a lineout. '81 Sunwolves 23 Hurricanes 29
Tom English
Roar Guru
Scrum reset now. 90 seconds on the clock. '79 Sunwolves 23 Hurricanes 29
Tom English
Roar Guru
Tapped back, Perenara tappped it back, and the Hurricanes are three out. Smith clears, doesn't pass the 22 again. Lineout 21 out. Throw was won, in a way, but lost ball! Scrum Canes, and they're the favourites from here, no doubt. Two minutes to go. '79 Sunwolves 23 Hurricanes 29
Tom English
Roar Guru
Lineout won, Sakate burst down the sideline, but was put into touch! So close there, but just not cashing in. '77 Sunwolves 23 Hurricanes 29
Tom English
Roar Guru
Penalty Sunwolves! Is that the one needed for the card? Nope, maybe a penalty in open play needed. They choose the scrum. Fed now, turned over! Hurricanes win it! Back to Smith who kicks away, but doesn't pass the 22. Lineout Sunwolves. '76 Sunwolves 23 Hurricanes 29
Tom English
Roar Guru
Scrum opted. Okay, 6 1/2 left, Sunwolves need a try here. '75 Sunwolves 23 Hurricanes 29
Tom English
Roar Guru
What a win this would be for the hosts, but they need a try first! Scrum here. Won, and Tanaka finds Parker, who goes over to Henry and Thompson barges it up. Phase by phase, and they're 15 out. Helu wove forward. Penalty, they tap and go! 7 out, and they creep forward. Penalty again, could this be something more? Warning, yes. Any more penalties and a card to the Sunwolves. '74 Sunwolves 23 Hurricanes 29
Tom English
Roar Guru
Kick goes deep, and the Canes return before losing the ball. Couple of runs, but they return for the original advantage 23 out. Scrum to the hosts. '71 Sunwolves 23 Hurricanes 29
Tom English
Roar Guru
Here's Smith: kick down the middle! '70 Sunwolves 23 Hurricanes 29
68
Red Rob
Roar Rookie
aaaaahhhhhhg ...noooooo
67
Tom English
Roar Guru
Penalty! Reversed!? Wow, let's see how much that means, penalty for standing up in the scrum, but Tanaka was thrown onto the ground after the play. Good touchfinder, and they're 28 from the Canes line. Ball won by Aumua, across to Goosen who puts the kick through, toes it through again...TRY HURRICANES. Wow!! '67 Sunwolves 23 Hurricanes 27