The kiwis left the Force reeling, racing to a 22-0 lead by halftime and never looking back as they clinched a bonus-point victory despite a spirited second-half comeback attempt by the home team.
The Force, debuting six new players including the star Wallabies halves duo Nic White and Ben Donaldson, felt the absence of their towering lock Izack Rodda, sidelined with a quad injury.
But the real story of the night was the Force’s disastrous first half, where penalties, handling errors, and missed tackles spelled doom for Simon Cron’s squad in front of 7,855 dismayed fans.
The drama kicked off early when winger Harry Potter found himself in the sin bin for taking out Hurricanes’ Ruben Love in a mid-air collision. The Hurricanes quickly capitalised on their numerical advantage, with Jordie Barrett’s pinpoint kick setting up Josh Moorby for a spectacular try.
The Hurricanes’ debutant Jordi Viljoen and lock Caleb Delany added to the Force’s woes with tries of their own, showcasing their team’s offensive firepower and leaving the Force’s defense in disarray. Despite a late first-half defensive stand, the Force’s 15 missed tackles compared to the Hurricanes’ two told the story of a one-sided affair.
Emerging from the break with renewed determination, the Force showed flashes of brilliance. Potter’s powerful run set the stage for White to score, injecting a glimmer of hope into the Force’s comeback dreams. Winger Chase Tiatia’s heroic try-saving tackle on Moorby was special, but a yellow card for prop Marley Pearce for a dangerous tackle, which also left him with a broken nose, added to the night’s challenges.
The Force narrowed the gap to 29-14 with a dazzling try by Tiatia, but that was as close as they got. The Hurricanes responded with two more tries, exploiting the Force’s crumbling line-out and capitalising on a series of unforced errors to seal a dominant victory.
Post-match, Cron rued the early yellow card and panic, praising the initial second-half effort but acknowledging the team’s late-game falterings at set-piece time.
The Force’s night of misery was compounded by their inability to maintain discipline and composure, allowing the Hurricanes to storm to a resounding win and leaving the Force to reflect on what might have been in a match dominated by mistakes and missed opportunities.
Clinical Canes 🎯#SuperRugbyPacific #FORvHUR pic.twitter.com/ScOT5LFXXw
— Super Rugby Pacific (@SuperRugby) February 23, 2024
