Hurricanes player ratings vs Brumbies | Super Rugby Pacific

Coming off the bye, the Hurricanes have returned to winning ways after beating the ACT Brumbies 32-27 at Wellington’s Sky Stadium on Friday.

Brumbies lock Nick Frost scored a double inside the opening 30 minutes, as the two teams appeared destined to go into the half-time sheds locked at 14-all.

While a late Jordie Barrett penalty saw the Canes lead by three at the break, the hosts began to run away with it in the second half.

Tries to Cam Roigard and Aidan Morgan helped the Hurricanes record a much-needed win at the Cake Tin. Here’s how the Canes rated.

15. Josh Moorby – 8

Josh Moorby can do no wrong in the No. 15 jersey for the Canes this season. The fullback has been sensational all season, and his impressive form continued this week. Moorby ran for 120 metres from 13 carries, and beat five defenders as well.

14. Julian Savea – 6.5

Milestone man Julian Savea played his 150^th Hurricanes match on Friday night, and capped it off with a solid performance. The winger ran for more than 40 metres, including an especially strong carry in the second half.

13. Peter Umaga-Jensen – 6.5

After a quiet first half, centre Peter Umaga-Jensen came alive a bit after the break. While his night was cut short with about 15 minutes to play, Umaga-Jensen still managed to run for close to 50 metres from nine carries.

On the defensive side of the ball, the midfielder completed 60 per cent of his tackles.

12. Jordie Barrett – 7

It was an uncharacteristically quiet first half from All Black Jordie Barrett, who ran the ball twice and made just one tackle. While it proved to be a game of two halves – to an extent, that is – it wasn’t the midfielders best performance in Hurricanes colours.

Barrett may have finished with a 10 point haul, but the star left a few points begging off the kicking tee. Around the field, the No. 12 came alive in the second 40 – finish with 9 carries for 17 metres.

11. Salesi Rayasi – 7.5

Salesi Rayasi has been scoring tries for fun this season, so by that metric the winger was kept quiet during Friday night’s thriller. Rayasi didn’t come close to scoring himself, although he did set up teammate Devan Flanders with a brilliant kick early on.

While a try-scoring opportunity didn’t quite come his way, Rayasi was clearly eager to get involved. The winger finished with 79 running metres to his name from 13 carries, and he also made five tackles.

10. Aidan Morgan – 8

This was Aidan Morgan’s best performance in a Hurricanes jersey. The rising star was sensational against the high-flying Brumbies, as continued to build on his exciting partnership with Cam Roigard.

It wasn’t all one way traffic, so we’ll start with the bad. Sometimes things don’t exactly come off as planned, as rugby fans saw in the first half. Morgan attempted to put a kick through, but Brumbies lock Nick Frost charged it down – and ended up running close to 80 metres to the house.

But enough off that, it was a great night for the young 10 and that needs to be rewarded. Morgan ran the ball 15 times for 94 metres, and also crossed for a try of his own. The 21-year-old didn’t overplay his hand in attack either.

9. Cam Roigard – 8

Halfback Cam Roigard can do no wrong on the rugby field – well, that’s mostly true. Roigard may have made a few mistakes on Friday night, including a forward pass in the second half, but it didn’t exactly take away from what was another brilliant performance.

Roigard continues to stake his claim for All Blacks selection, having led the Hurricanes around the park with both poise and grace in round 10. The halfback has found a home in the Canes’ No. 9 jersey, and looks to be growing in confidence every week.

While the 22-year-olds kicking game was especially impressive, his running game continued to create moments of magic for the Canes – including another try for the halfback. Roigard scored his seventh try of the season in the 46^th minute, having reached out from close range.

1. Xavier Numia – 7

Prop Xavier Numia put in a solid shift on Friday night. Numia had made the second-most tackles out of any Hurricanes player at the half-time break, and ended up finishing with nine to his name. The 24-year-old also scrummed quite well – which is ultimately his core job.

2. Asafo Aumua – 8.5

Player of the match – Asafo Aumua just has to be. Aumua was at his brilliant best against the Brumbies, having run over defender after defender at will. The All Black had a handful of impressive carries during the first 40, but there was one that stood out for obvious reasons.

In the 14^th minute, from a lineout as well, Aumua went short to captain Ardie Savea. Savea popped the ball back to the hooker immediately, who ended up running wild down the left edge – bumping off towering lock Nick Frost in the process. Aumua got an offload off to Savea – a pass that commentator Jeff Wilson described as “outstanding” – to set up the score.

Overall, the hooker was at his rampaging best. On top of that, he hit all but one of his lineout targets on the night.

3. Tyrel Lomax – 6.5

All Black Tyrel Lomax works harder than a lot of props around the world. Purely going on his time out in the middle, the world-class front-rower worked tirelessly in the pursuit of victory once again in round 10.

Having played for almost an hour, Lomax had well and truly earned a rest by the time he was replaced. The prop had made an impact in both defence and at the set-piece, and had also carried the ball five times for a hard-earned 16 metres.

4. James Blackwell – N/A

Hurricanes lock James Blackwell won a lineout on the Brumbies’ throw in the fifth minute, but left the field a couple of minutes for a HIA. Blackwell was replaced by Caleb Delany and didn’t return.

5. Isaia Walker-Leawere – 7.5

Following a short stint on the sidelines, lock Isaia Walker-Leawere was back in the run-on side for the Hurricanes this week. When Blackwell went off, and then his replacement Delany, the Canes needed Walker-Leawere to stand up – and he did just that.

In the end, the lock finished with an impressive nine tackles to his name, and also carried the ball 11 times. Walker-Leawere was busy around the park, and certainly made an impact during a tense contest.

6. Devan Flanders – 7.5

Devan Flanders seems be getting better and better every week for the Hurricanes. For the second game in a row, the blindside flanker crossed for the Hurricanes’ first try of the match – reaping the rewards of a brilliant Salesi Rayasi kick to score in the 10^th minute.

But his performance goes well beyond that one moment of glory. The loose forward finished with 100 per cent tackle accuracy from 11 attempts, and also carried the ball 11 times.

7. Du’Plessis Kirifi – 7.5

It’s almost a given that every week Du’Plessis Kirifi is going to make the most tackles for the Hurricanes, and round 10 was no exception. Kirifi topped the tackling charts with 12, which was one more than next-best Devan Flanders.

8. Ardie Savea – 8

Captain Ardie Savea led by example against the Brumbies, having made his mark on both sides of the ball. Savea crossed for his fourth try of the season during the first half, having linked up with teammate Asafo Aumua for a clever try – something truly special out of nothing.

But his effort didn’t stop there. Not only was the All Black tough to stop every time he carried the ball, but he was a menace at the breakdown. The world-class loose forward won a penalty at the breakdown in the 43^rd minute, and also impressed on the defensive side of the ball.

Replacements:

16. Jacob Devery – 5
17. Tevita Mafileo – 6
18. Owen Franks – 6
19. Caleb Delany – 6.5
20. Brayden Iose - 7
21. Jamie Booth – 6.5
22. Harry Godfrey – N/A
23. Kini Naholo – 7