The Hurricanes have rebounded decisively from their first loss of the season in Super Rugby Pacific, scoring seven tries in a 41-12 bonus point win over the Waratahs.
The Hurricanes’ unbeaten start to the season came to an end after eight matches last weekend when they lost in Canberra to the Brumbies.
The Hurricanes fielded a much-changed team Friday — and were forced to call on their fourth-string hooker after a series of injuries in that position — but made an emphatic return to form, scoring four tries to lead 26-0 after 27 minutes.
“I think we came out and started the game really strong which was what we wanted and went a long way to winning this game.”
The Hurricanes’ scrum again was a strong part of their performance and they used it as a lever to score their first try.
The Waratahs chose to take a scrum from a differential free kick and the Hurricanes shoved them off their own ball and moved the ball wide quickly for Proctor to score.
Another solid scrum featured in their second try to flyhalf Brett Cameron but there were 10 phases of strong running and support play between the set piece and try.
The Hurricanes ball-running, offloading and support play was exceptional in that first 30 minutes when they had almost 95 per cent of territory. They found weak shoulders in defence and were able to pass to support players in gaps.