Super Rugby Pacific: Rampant Hurricanes wallop Queensland Reds in Townsville

At Queensland Bank Stadium, Townsville: Hurricanes 47 (Billy Proctor try 31min, pen try 45min, Cam Roigard try 54min, Jamie Booth try 70min, Julian Savea try 73min, Tyrel Lomax try 78min; Jordie Barrett 3 con, 3 pen) Reds 13 (Jordan Petaia try 29min; Tom Lynagh con, 2 pen). HT: 16-13

Yellow cards: Ryan Smith (Reds) 34min, Seru Uru (Reds) 45min, Du’Plessis Kirifi (Hurricanes) 65min.

An excellent individual try by centre Billy Proctor summed-up the potency of the Hurricanes’ attack during their 47-13 bonus-point victory over the Queensland Reds in a steamy Townsville on Saturday night.

Just an important, too, the defence mirrored the Hurricanes’ threats with the ball, as they shut out the Reds to keep them scoreless in the second half at Queensland Bank Stadium.

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The challenge, now, for Hurricanes coach Jason Holland will be smooth off the rough edges to ensure his team can be a serious contender for the Super Rugby Pacific title.

After this effort against the ill-disciplined Reds, Hurricanes supporters, having watched key All Blacks such as captain Ardie Savea and Jordie Barrett put in big shifts, along with the hard-working Proctor, may be cautiously optimistic about what their team is capable of producing in the months ahead.

It was far from perfect, several players will stare at the carpet when some of the poor execution is highlighted during the post-match review, but it was a bright start.

The Hurricanes’ powerful scrum chewed up the Reds set-piece on several occasions, including securing a clean tighthead, replacement hooker Asafo Aumua impressed with his energy and awareness around the rucks when he replaced fellow All Black Dane Coles at halftime, and the decision-making in the clutch moments was encouraging.

While the Reds had two forwards, Ryan Smith and Seru Uru yellow carded for professional fouls, the Hurricanes also lost replacement flanker Du’Plessis Kirifi for 10 minutes – although the latter will argue he was given a rough deal by referee Angus Gardner.

The Hurricanes started their eventing with an error from No 10 Aidan Morgan, who kicked the ball out on the full from the kick-off.

It was a difficult way to begin a new season, and within a couple of minutes the Reds had their first points, via the boot of Tom Lynagh, when Coles didn’t release the ball quick enough in a ruck.

The Hurricanes conceded two more penalties in the first 12 minutes, enabling Lynagh to kick another penalty to put the Reds ahead 6-0 before Barrett got his hands on the kicking tee and replied with a couple of his own.

With Gardner putting the microscope on the rucks, and both sides making multiple errors in the humid conditions, the sound of his whistle was like being subjected to an annoying soundtrack at your favourite pub.

Finally, in the 29th minute, Reds fullback Jordan Petaia scored a try to give the locals something to hoot about; a cross-kick by Lynagh, the son of former Wallabies great Michael, who flew from his home in London to watch his son make his debut for the Queenslanders, off a penalty advantage was recycled and Petaia broke the deadlock.

Several minutes later the Hurricanes counter-punched with an excellent five-pointer of their own, thanks to Proctor using a combination of power, balance and determination to brush aside ineffectual tackles by Tate McDermott and Lynagh during a 24m dash to the line.

A third penalty by Barrett five minutes before the break, a consequence of Smith being yellow carded for a professional foul on the midfielder, put the Hurricanes in front 16-13.

Then, in the second half, the floodgates opened as the Hurricanes punished the Reds for missed tackles and poor discipline.

They were rampant; whether it was running the ball up the guts, or looking for daylight down the outside lanes the Hurricanes were always looking for ways to cane their opponents.

The big moment

The penalty try to the Hurricanes soon after halftime gave the visitors a 10-point buffer; replacement hooker Asafo Aumua was set to score off a lineout drive when Reds No 6 Uru cynically entered the maul from the side.

Match rating

6/10

Maybe if there had been less whistle from Gardner, and the Reds had been more competitive, you could be more generous with this mark. The slippery ball – sweat dripped from every pore of the players – made handling difficult too.

MVP

Proctor was capable in the midfield, and destructive with and without the ball. His ruck cleanouts were key on several occasions. Aumua made a massive impact off the bench as the Reds faded under the pressure of the big ball runners punching up the middle.

The big picture

The Hurricanes will meet the Rebels in the “Super Round” in Melbourne next Friday night. The Reds face the Force at the same venue on Sunday.

This was a solid start to 2023, but there’s work to do. Although the scrum was like a hungry monster, some of the passing and handling was untidy.