Nutshell: Cheetahs suffer severe Hurricane(s) damage

It’s simply going from bad to worse for the out-of-sorts Cheetahs after they were hammered 61-7 by the Hurricanes in Wellington on Saturday.

It is the Canes’ biggest ever score against the central franchise as a nine tries to one massacre told the full story.

The Cheetahs, who simply disappeared in the second half, scored their only try by flyhalf Fred Zeilinga in the 25^th minute of the first half to trail just 14-7, but the floodgates opened in the second half.

The home side ran in 47 unanswered points, with centers Ngane Laumape and Vince Aso – who helped himself to a hat-trick – causing havoc and breaking the Cheetahs’ brittle defence down almost at will.

Who was the star in this match?

Hurricanes captain and All Black scrumhalf TJ Perenara played a crucial in both his team’s first two tries. First he blocked a quick attempted kick-in from the 22, which led to the try of lock Vaea Fifita. He then also launched a quick throw-in which opened the space for Aso to score two minutes later, while Perenara scored the fourth try himself from close range.

Key moments of the match

• After the Cheetahs initially showed great improvement on defence, where their quick linespeed held the Hurricanes scoreless in the first 17 minutes, they gifted a try to Fifita when a suicidal pass from fullback Clayton Blommetjies was claimed by the Canes lock.
• With the Cheetahs trailing just 14-7 the Hurricanes scored their third try by flank Ardie Savea on the stroke of halftime, while hooker Cheetahs Elandre Huggett was yellow-carded four minutes after the break. It was two incidents that saw them lose any semblance of control.
• The Cheetahs lost centre and captain Francois Venter as early as the 21^st minute to a suspected ankle injury. He was replaced in midfield by Niel Marais, who is not a recognised centre. The Cheetahs missed Venter’s leadership.
• It should be a major concern for Cheetahs coach Franco Smith how the Cheetahs showed a lack of intensity on defence in the second half. The players are clearly not working for each other as they need to.

Point scorers

Hurricanes – Tries: Vince Aso (3), Vaea Fifita, Ardie Savea, TJ Perenara, Jeff Toomaga-Allen, Ben Lam, Leni Apisai. Conversions: Beauden Barrett (5), Otere Black (3).

Cheetahs – Try: Fred Zeilinga. Conversion: Zeilinga.

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