The Hurricanes really are that good.
It's been tempting to play down what Super Rugby's top qualifiers have achieved in recent weeks. But you can't do that any longer after they thrashed the Sharks 41-0 to storm into the semi-finals. The Hurricanes were superb and earned the luxury of substituting most of their big guns, with 20 minutes to play. The only dampener was an injury suffered by captain Dane Coles.
In theory, the wind was blowing down the ground. In practice, the combination of rain and floodlights showed the gale was going all over the place. It's not often rain goes upwards, but this was one of those situations. It meant some passages of play became a lottery, as Sharks five-eighth Garth April would attest. He attempted three first-half shots at goal and couldn't get the ball within a bull's roar of the posts.
Hurricanes opposite Beauden Barrett wasn't having a lot more luck, kicking just one of his first three attempts. But he had the ball on a string the rest of the time, as the home side took a 13-0 lead into half-time. Barrett has been in extraordinary form for weeks and these crazy conditions only underlined how well he's playing. After he'd kicked an early penalty, Barrett then unfurled a crosskick that left winger Jason Woodward took expertly. After beating a tackler or two, Woodward unloaded for Matt Proctor, who was pulled down short of the Sharks line.
Prop Loni Uhila charged onto the ball from depth and over the tryline to extend the lead to 8-0. Four minutes later the Hurricanes led 13-0, after halfback TJ Perenara put fullback James Marshall over.
The going wasn't easy and errors were plentiful. But, in the circumstances, Barrett and the Hurricanes were putting on a clinic. Rain's one thing, but when it's combined with wind this fierce, it takes special players to continue executing their skills. Players such as Perenara, who produced two bits of magic to lay on tries for Woodward and lock Vaea Fifita. Barrett converted both and the Hurricanes suddenly led 27-0.
Perenara was next to score, after a Uhila quick tap, to make it 34-0.
Statements rarely come more emphatic than the one Perenara and his teammates made on a wild night.
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