The Hurricanes locked in top spot and a quarter-final against the Melbourne Rebels next Saturday after a thumping the Highlanders 41-14 on a blustery evening in the capital.
The Blues finished second after beating the Chiefs 31-17 with five tries to three, one try short of what they needed for a bonus point in the final round.
The Hurricanes dominated throughout and were rewarded when Salesi Rayasi took advantage of his opportunity to start on the left wing, showing his ability to in empathic fashion bagging a hat-trick. The same could be said for Du’Plessis Kirifi, who was at his explosive best and was rewarded with two well-taken tries. TJ Perenara was also at his best diving over early in the first half.
The Highlanders however were largely on the defensive for the opening stages – though they did open the scoring through centre Matt Whaanga. For the most part however, the flow of the game played right into the Hurricanes’ hands and this was evident in the second half as hosts added two more tries and keeping the Highlanders from adding to their tally to close out a vitally big win to seal top spot in the table and seal a quarter-final clash against Melbourne Rebels next Saturday. Whilst the second Blues take on Fijian Drua in Auckland. The only blot on an otherwise perfect night in the capital was the injury sustained to TJ Perenara who was forced off late in the second half.
Result:
Hurricanes 41-14 Highlanders
Photo's were taken for Speed Media AU
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