The Hurricanes booked a home Super Rugby semi-final on Saturday by thrashing the Sharks 41-0 at Westpac Stadium.
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Outstanding Hurricanes scrumhalf TJ Perenara played a part in all four of those tries and added one of his own with a trademark snipe from close range on the hour mark.
Veteran Stormers loose forward Schalk Burger, in his last game for the team, said: “It was sort of a horror movie for us out there”.
The Chiefs were simply unstoppable with Damian McKenzie crossing over the white chalk for his side’s fifth try.
Sharks fly-half Garth April had three penalty attempts in the first spell and fell victim to the unpredictable wind each time.
Foul weather greeted the teams at the start when they ran out to swirling winds and a soggy surface which made the match a test to see who would handle the conditions better.
However, the Hurricanes’ win came at a cost, as they lost captain and All Blacks hooker Dane Coles just after halftime to what seemed a serious rib injury. Adding to the weight of pressure on the visitors was that New Zealand referee Glen Jackson blew more like a doting fan of the lovely rugby being produced by the Hurricanes than a neutral official and the first of many 50/50 calls against the Sharks came in the 13 minute when April was harshly penalised for falling on the wrong side of a ruck, allowing Beauden Barrett to put the first points on the board.
Two tries, a yellow card, the first ten minutes can’t get much worse.
Vaea Fifita then broke through an April tackle to score the fourth of the game, and the faces on the Sharks’ players told their own story as the match was over as a contest with over half-an-hour remaining.TJ Perenara was up next as he dived through a non-existent Sharks defence to make it 34-0 before Brad Shields made it the flawless night for the hosts.
The Hurricanes then put the match out of the Sharks’ reach with two tries immediately after halftime, both featuring breaks by scumhalf T.J. Perenara.
In the 47th minute, Perenara gave birth to the home side’s third try as he was allowed to run for miles down the blindside through some pathetic defence, gettiing rid of opposite number Claassens like a dirty rag, and then passing inside for Woodward to score.
Perenara and Uhila combined again for the Hurricanes’ fifth try in the 58th minute.
The second half opened up as many predicted with the Hurricanes forcing the Sharks into a kicking game and simply applying the pressure, pouncing on mistakes and punching through for those tries – plus those valuable points from the tee from Barrett. The Johannesburg-based Lions were for years the whipping boys of Super Rugby and were relegated in 2012, making their trip to the semis for the first time in 15 years one of the compelling stories of the season.
They made a flying start with wing Courtnall Skosan and center Rohan Janse van Rensburg crossing.
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In stark contrast, his opposite number Beauden Barrett led the Hurricanes’ challenge wonderfully with a superb all round display and nearly single-handedly laid the platform for his side’s eventual 13-0 halftime lead.
