Four-try Laumape steer Hurricanes to 42-24 win over Blues

Hurricanes 42-24 Blues, Westpac Stadium
Scorecard

Ngani Laumape scored four tries as Hurricanes completed a 42-24 win over Blues in their Super Rugby encounter at Westpac Stadium on Saturday.

Hurricanes now have 11 wins from 15 games as they consolidate their second position in New Zealand Conference which also has Blues languish at the bottom.

Blues were the first to get off the block with Stephen Perofeta kicking a seventh-minute penalty goal but the response from Blues came six minutes later when Laumape breached the defence of the visitors to send Julian Savea over the line. Jordie Barrett kicked the conversion to take the score to 3-7.

The dominance from Hurricanes and in particular Laumape continued when he capitalised on a pass from Nehe Milner-Skudder for their second try that came in the 23rd minute and 13 minutes later he crossed over once again to take them to a 21-3 lead.

Rieko Ioane helped Blues gather some momentum with tries on either side of the break and with Perofeta kicking conversions on both the occasions, the gap between the two teams narrowed down to four points.

Hurricanes responded back when Beauden Barrett beat the defenders of Blues before eventually dotting down in the 54th minute but the visitors did not relent as Akira Ioane touched down in the 66th minute as the scoreline remained 28-24 by the end of the 69th minute.

As all three results were possible heading into the final 10 minutes, it was Laumape, who helped Hurricanes complete a 42-24 victory with back to back tries in the 70th and 72nd minutes.

HIGHLIGHTS: 2018 Super Rugby Week 18: Hurricanes v Blues
The @Hurricanesrugby secure second place in the New Zealand conference, proving too strong for the spirited @BluesRugbyTeam with a 42-24 win in a high scoring contest in Wellington. #HURvBLU #SuperRugby #Week18 pic.twitter.com/nHcCNJJM2o

— Super Rugby (@SuperRugby) July 7, 2018