Salesi Rayasi scored two tries as the Hurricanes made it 11 wins out of 11 for New Zealand sides in Super Rugby Trans-Tasman when they opened round three with a record 43-6 victory over Western Force in Napier on Friday.
Hurricanes Salesi Rayasi. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Rayasi's fellow winger Wes Goosen, flanker Du'Plessis Kirifi, hooker Asafo Aumua, centre Ngani Laumape and fullback Jordie Barrett also nabbed tries as the home side ran out convincing bonus-point winners at Maclean Park.
The Perth-based Force raced out to a 6-0 lead on the back of two Domingo Miotti penalties but were outmuscled in the tackle area and made mistakes at crucial moments.
Aumua made the most of one of those errors to score the best try of the match, latching onto an overcooked lineout throw 10 metres inside his own half and showing former Ireland fullback Rob Kearney a clean pair of heels in a race to the line.
The Force thought they had finally got a try on the board through former All Blacks lock Jeremy Thrush in the 72nd minute but the score was chalked off because of an obstruction in the lead-up.
"We just weren't good enough tonight," said Force skipper Kyle Godwin.
"Full credit to the Hurricanes, they're a classy outfit, and they pounced on our mistakes and capitalised. We got beaten well and truly."
It was the biggest winning margin in 12 Super Rugby meetings between the teams going back to 2006, bettering a 41-6 win for the Hurricanes in 2016.
- Reuters