Hurricanes 2017
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Looking at the Canes twitter feed, that first try was not scored by Lowe but by Aumua. Damn head bands! Anyway, according to the official twitter feed, the Canes' first half tries were scored by Hugh Renton and Asafo Aumua (2), and the second half tries by Ben Worthmulller and Will Tremain.
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The rebels are rubbish so hard to say too much ...
However, this Canes team looks exceptionally well coached. Every player seems to have a clear idea of the game plan and their role in it. In particular dirt is great to all the Backs pass in front of the man running onto the ball.
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Hurricanes 20s Match Report
FALCON THE HERO AS YOUNG HURRICANES BEAT ARGENTINA U20 33-31 AT WESTPAC STADIUM
17.03.2017First five Tiaan Falcon showed nerves of steel to kick a match winning penalty for the Hurricanes 20s in the final play of an entertaining match against Argentina 20s at Westpac Stadium.
Falcon's penalty, from about 35 metres on the angle in tricky winds, came four minutes after the fulltime hooter, and sealed a 33-31 win for the young Hurricanes squad's first international fixture.
It was a dramatic finish to an action-packed match that appeared to have tipped Argentina's way when Tomas Albornoz slotted what appeared to be the deciding penalty with less than a minute to play.
Referee Vincent Ringrose rightly ruled there was time for one final play.
The Hurricanes 20s were awarded a penalty from the kick off, turned down the shot at goal from a wide angle into the wind, and kicked to the corner in a bid to score the match winning try.
Instead, the ball went wide after several phases where Ringrose penalised the visitors for a deliberate knock down, and Falcon stepped up and nailed the match winning kick.
Hawke's Bay pivot Falcon wasn't the only player to stand out for the Hurricanes 20s with Wellington wing Tuitama showing pace, smarts and skill throughout.
Tuitama charged down a kick in the first minute to score the first try of the match and used his pace to shut down several promising attacks from the talented Pumas backline, but the visitors dominated the first half.
Argentina were particularly dangerous in the backs where centre Facundo Ferrario and first-five Juan Daireaux impressive as their team built an 18-11 halftime lead.
First half tries to wings Lopolodo Herrera and Tomas Malanos, the team's captain, and fullback Santiago Carreras summed up the young Pumas expansive approach.
Hurricanes 20s replacement hooker Asafo Aumua swung the momentum shortly after the break when he rumbled over to tie the scores at 18-18 and a see-saw battle ensued.
Tuitama grabbed his second try, but Argentina responded with a penalty to Ferrario, and a second try to Herrera, as both sides continued to give the ball plenty of air.
When Hurricanes replacement fullback Luther Hirini scored it was all tied up again at 28-28, Falcon's conversion pushing his side ahead by two points as the clock wound down.
In the 68th minute Argentina lost a player to the sin bin, but rallied to control possession and territory to set up replacement Tomas Albornoz for what appeared to be the winning penalty kick.
Instead, Falcon had the final say, the young playmaker finishing with a personal tally of 13 points as his teammates swarmed over him to celebrate a memorable win.
Scorers:
Hurricanes 20s: 33 (Malo Tuitama 2, Asafo Aumua, Luther Hirini tries; Tiaan Falcon 3 pen, 2 con) Argentina Under-20: 31 (Lopolodo Herrera 2, Santiago Carreras, Facundo Ferrario, Tomas Malanos tries; Ferrario pen, Tomas Alboronoz pen). HT: 18-11 (Argentina)Link to match report (with photos): http://www.hurricanes.co.nz/the-canes/news/single/item/falcon-the-hero-as-canes-20s-beat-pumas-20s-33-31/
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Good to see Ben Lam playing again. He's been a slow developer but his NPC form was great before the injury and he was looking very good for the Blues Dev team when the injury happened.
The Hurricanes have recruited well and have a ridiculous amount of talent out wide. I would much rather a local talent like that in the Blues squad than Declan O'Donnell
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Just came back from the Canes v Crusaders Development teams game. The Canes won 36 to 24.
Ben Lam didn't play and was replaced in the starting XV by Malo Tuitama.Similar to the U20s against the Blues, the Canes had a very slow start. Within 13 minutes, the Crusaders Knights had scored 3 tries. The first one was scored by Inga Finau and converted by Brett Cameron. The second (unconverted) try was scored by Heiden Bedwell-Curtis. Caleb Makene scored the third and again, Cameron converted: 0-19.
Then the Canes woke up and most of the game was played on the Crusaders half, without resulting in many points. In the 20th minute, Toa Halafihi went over for the Canes' first. Tiaan Falcon converted the try. This passage of play saw several scrums and line-outs, and there were a couple 'near tries' for the Canes, ultimately leading to nothing either through knock-ons or giving away penalties to the Saders. A penalty goal scored by Falcon was the only thing the Canes got out of that part of the game and it was 10-19 to the Saders at half time.
After the break, the Canes continued attacking well and the Saders were again pushed back into their own half. In the 47th minute, Asafo Aumua scored his first try of the afternoon. Again, Falcon's boot was accurate: 17-19, still in favour of the Saders. Five minutes later, it was Halafihi who scored his second try and the replacement first-five Ben Wyness was on target: 24-19 Canes. In the 60th minute, Jonah Lowe scored in the corner and Wyness added the extras: 31-19. Not sure what happened to Wyness, but I noticed that Falcon was back on the field a couple of minutes later.
Although the Canes were clearly stronger, the Saders were no push-overs and were finally rewarded when they scored at the other end 8 minutes later (don't know who scored the try): 31-24 Canes.
The Canes kept going until the final whistle and Aumua went over for his second. Full time: 36-24.
Only a few comments about the game (the Blues' game has already started):
- Aumua was impressive in the second half and, just like in the Mitre 10 Cup games he played last year, he knows how to find the try line. That lad can run! I'm not sure for how long Leni Apisai is going to be the third Canes hooker. After having been overtaken by Riccitelli at the end of last season, he definitely now needs to look over his shoulder to who's behind him in the queue.
- the line-outs and scrums went reasonably well for both teams, although there were a couple of throws that were overthrown.
- Falcon has an incredible boot, and both his kicking game and his goal kicking were very good (not sure whether the Canes see Peter Umaga-Jensen as a back-up first-five or fullback, but he's another one to look over his shoulder, because Falcon (only 19 years old) has shown several times now that he's a good prospect. Is PU-J injured? He seems to be most of the time).
- I'm more and more convinced that Sean Wainui shouldn't play higher than Mitre 10 Cup level; both Pita Ahki and Jonah Lowe got him good a few times.
- Sam Lousi is a big lump of a man
- Ambrose Curtis didn't impress
- both nos. 14, Tuitama and Makane, were easily the best of the outside backs. Include Jonah Lowe after he moved to the left wing. I'm still not sure whether I prefer him at 13 or wing.
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@Stargazer said in Hurricanes 2017:
Peter Umaga-Jensen
He was at FB for Wellington last year. Does he cover 1st 5. I thought it was midfield and FB. But he is only 19 still so a long time for him to step up
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@mimic said in Hurricanes 2017:
Yeh, PUJ is injured a lot.. Where is Vaa these days?
He played one game for Wellington last year and went to do a sidestep and that was it. He wasn't even tackled
I doubt after seeing this if it is wise for him to even play NPC rugby this year. He needs to get his body right as he's always injured
