After one month of Super Rugby Pacific, co-captain Du’Plessis Kirifi understands the Hurricanes desperately needed to beat the Highlanders on Friday night. It was tense and the result could’ve gone either way, but in the end, the Canes were left celebrating a 20-18 triumph in Dunedin.
Few fans would’ve tipped the Hurricanes and Blues to occupy the last two spots on the ladder going into the fifth round, but that was the reality for those fallen giants of the competition. The Canes finished first after last season’s round-robin, and the Blues later won the Grand Final.
The Hurricanes’ tough start to the fresh campaign began with a 33-25 loss to the Crusaders in Christchurch, followed by a thrilling win over the Fijian Drua in Napier the following week. But the Canes would drop their next two back-to-back, including a shock loss to Moana Pasifika.
That 1-3 start to the season saw the Hurricanes sit in last place. With only six teams making the playoffs, it wasn’t all doom and gloom for the men from New Zealand’s windy capital just yet, but their season already hung in the balance.
Beating the Highlanders at Forsyth Barr Stadium seemed like the only option for the Hurricanes in a bid to surge up the ladder. Sam Gilbert had a drop goal to win it for the Landers but with that last-gasp attempt missing the mark, the Canes began to celebrate.
“It took a lot and we knew it would take a lot,” Kirifi said post-game on Sky Sport. “As we all know, we’ve been going alright for parts of the season and then we’ve been letting ourselves down.
“The challenge tonight was to put together 80 minutes and we knew we had to go to another level and dig deep for ourselves and each other.
“I don’t know how many phases it was at the end there but it’s got to be 20-plus. That’s what we want from our group. We want our boys to keep it simple, keep the ref out of the game and defend like our season depends on it which it does.”
With so much riding on this match, the Hurricanes couldn’t have started any better.
Ruben Love sent Kini Naholo over for the opener in just the third minute. It was a nail-biting first half, with the Canes holding a two-point lead deep into the 40-minute period before young winger Caleb Tangitau raced away for an almost full-field intercept try.
Much to the delight of the thousands of university students watching on from The Zoo, the hosts took an 11-8 lead into the sheds at the break, but the Canes wrestled their way back in front soon after as All Black Cam Roigard dove over in the 42nd minute.
Some more Tangitau magic helped set up Ajay Faleafaga midway through the second term, but the Canes struck back through Ruben Love – quite an incredible, somersault finish – only a few minutes later.
With the clock in the red, it came down to that Gilbert drop goal.
“We’re happy with the win, we needed it obviously, and we’ve been working extremely hard so to come out here and put a performance out there that represents the work that we’ve been doing is really pleasing,” Kirifi added.
“I’m not sure if the bye week next week is a good thing now that we’ve won a couple of games but it gives us another opportunity to go away, reset, and go build again.
“We’ve have a couple of quiets in the shed, a couple of debuts, and Tevita Mafileo is playing 50 games for the Hurricanes tonight so plenty to celebrate.
“At the end of the day, we’re just footy players so put it into perspective. Just grateful to be here with everyone.”
