Cape Town - The Hurricanes overcame a spirited Sunwolves side in picking up a bonus-point victory in their Super Rugby clash in Wellington on Friday.
As it happened: Hurricanes v Sunwolves
The Hurricanes won 43-15 after leading 21-10 at half-time.
The Hurricanes scored seven tries through wing Julian Savea, scrumhalf Finlay Christie, No 8 Reed Prinsep, fullback Jordie Barrett, centre Vince Aso (2) and flank Brad Shields. Flyhalf Beauden Barrett added three conversions, while brother Jordie added a late two-pointer.
The Sunwolves replied with tries by SA-born skipper Pieter Labuschagne and wing Kenki Fukuoka. Flyhalf Hayden Parker added a penalty and conversion.
The Hurricanes picked up a full-house of five points for their win and moved to the top of both the New Zealand Conference and the Overall log.
The Sunwolves, despite their brave showing, left empty-handed and remained rooted to the bottom of both the Australian Conference and Overall standings.
In next weekend's Round 12 action, the Hurricanes welcome the Lions to Wellington (Saturday, May 5 at 09:35 SA time), while the Sunwolves have a bye.
Teams:
Hurricanes
15 Jordie Barrett, 14 Julian Savea, 13 Matt Proctor, 12 Vince Aso, 11 Ben Lam, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Finlay Christie, 8 Reed Prinsep, 7 Ardie Savea, 6 Brad Shields (captain), 5 Murray Douglas, 4 Michael Fatialofa, 3 Ben May, 2 Ricky Riccitelli, 1 Toby Smith
Substitutes: 16 James O’Reilly, 17 Chris
Eves, 18 Jeff Toomaga-Allen, 19 Sam Lousi, 20 Gareth Evans, 21 Jamie
Booth, 22 Jackson Garden-Bachop, 23 Nehe Milner-Skudder
Sunwolves
15 William Tupou, 14 Hosea Saumaki, 13 Timothy Lafaele, 12 Michael Little, 11 Kenki Fukuoka, 10 Hayden Parker, 9 Fumiaka Tanaka, 8 Kazuki Himeno, 7 Pieter Labuschagne (captain), 6 Yoshitaka Tokunaga, 5 Grant Hattingh, 4 James Moore, 3 Takuma Asahara, 2 Shota Horie, 1 Craig Millar
Substitutes: 16 Jaba Bregvadze, 17 Shintaro Ishihara, 18 Nikoloz Khataishvili, 19 Wimpie van der Walt, 20 Edward Quirk, 21 Yutaka Nagare, 22 Yu Tamura, 23 Semisi Masirewa