Super Rugby Aotearoa: Hurricanes player ratings vs Chiefs

The Hurricanes travelled north to take on the Chiefs at FMG Stadium Waikato as round four of Super Rugby Aotearoa continued on Sunday. With both sides at the bottom end of the ladder, the winless Hurricanes were desperate to get some points on the board to give their season some credibility.

In recent times, these two proud franchises have produced some thrilling encounters and this afternoon promised to be another. Many of the Hurricanes players played with their respective clubs last weekend when they had the bye and perhaps the reconnection to the grassroots of the game was the antidote the Hurricanes coaching staff were looking for?

The visitors turned up and their defence won them the game 25-18 despite being a man down at the business end of the match. It was a tough, physical encounter and the Chiefs brought power through the middle but the Hurricanes would not die and deserved their victory.

So how did the Hurricanes rate today?

15. Jordie Barrett - 7.5

He didn’t take long to settle into the game and looked to create opportunities and not to play within himself. Committed a cardinal sin when giving away a breakdown penalty when his side were deep on attack but sough absolution by defending well and persistently looking to attack. A solid return.

14. Kobus van Wyk - 7.5

Scored a try that anyone could in the opening minutes but really enjoyed his efforts in attack. Despite having a bit of a shocker against the Crusaders, Van Wyk ran some intelligent attacking lines and went looking for work. Backed it up with solid chasing but positioned himself out of an attacking opportunity when cutting in off an Ardie Savea blindside run when there was ample space on the outside. Grabbed a second try in the second half and generally had a good afternoon.

13. Peter Umaga-Jensen - 7.5

Put in a very good shift without. Hard with the ball, hard off it. Dropped off the odd tackle but looks like he’ll maintain the 13 jersey with this performance after making a try saving tackle on his line. Impressed.

12. Ngani Laumape - 7

Worked well off the ball allowing for space to be created as he draws so much defence upon himself. Still had several good touches and backed up well. Didn’t let his side down in defence.

11. Ben Lam – 6.5

A fair shift with limited opportunity. Made a turnover in the first half and came in to work in defence. For every positive impact he tends to provide a negative. Would like him to be more consistent moving forward.

10. Jackson Garden-Bachop – 6.5

A decent shift but at times chose the lesser option evidenced by kicking when he had Van Wyk in open space on a counter attack. By no means a poor performance but would have liked him to back his own running game more.