25 May 2014

Savea scores twice as Hurricanes blow away Chiefs

8:13 am on 25 May 2014

The All Blacks wing Julian Savea scored two tries as the Hurricanes moved back into playoff contention with a bonus point 45-8 victory over the Chiefs in their Super Rugby match in Wellington.

The Hurricanes again highlighted why they are considered one of the most potent attacking sides in the competition with their three-first half tries to Andre Taylor, Ben Franks and Savea all sparked by counter attacks from inside their own half.

The Hurricanes added three further tries after the break with Savea adding his second while Jack Lam, playing his 50th Super Rugby match for the side, and Brad Shields also scored as the Hurricanes moved to 36 points on the table.

First-five Beauden Barrett converted all six tries and slotted a penalty for 15 points, while the Chiefs, who are still in playoff contention on 35 points, were restricted to a Gareth Anscombe penalty and an early try to loose forward Liam Squire.

The Hurricanes captain Conrad Smith says his side simply wanted the win more.

The Hurricanes are now 1 point behind the New Zealand conference leading Crusaders who climbed to third in the overall standings with a tense 32-30 win over the Highlanders, who now sit sixth and in the final playoff spot.

The loss drops the Chiefs out of the playoff berths into 8th place.