Rieko Ioane, Beauden Barrett and Mark Tele'a against the Waratahs at Eden Park on Saturday. Photo: Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
The Hurricanes will have an unlikely set of cheerleaders tonight - the Blues.
The defending Super Rugby Pacific champions have beaten the Waratahs 46-6 at Eden Park, which now means a Hurricanes win over Moana Pasifika at Sky Stadium will send them into the playoffs next weekend.
However, the feeling among the Blues and their fans is that it should never have come to these circumstances - especially on the evidence of tonight's win. Their clinical performance showed just what this side are capable of and even the best teams in the competition would've struggled to keep pace with them.
Unfortunately for the Waratahs, they didn't fall into that category. While they kept it tight in the first half and looked destined to trail by only four points at the break, Mark Tele'a and Rieko Ioane completed doubles to suddenly push the score out to a match-defining 24-6.
Things didn't get any better for them after the break, when a comedy of errors saw the 'Tahs shift the ball 40 metres in the wrong direction and then give it to the Blues, who quickly passed it to the hardworking Corey Evans to score.
Ricky Riccitelli then drove over from a lineout to make extra sure it wouldn't be his final game for the Blues.
Ioane completed his hattrick in the 70th minute, after collecting a Beauden Barrett kickthrough, delighting the crowd that had showed up for the last home game the Blues will play this season.
Their fate now hangs on the result of the Hurricanes v Moana game, which is laden with emotion for Ardie Savea and brother Julian on their homecoming. They can still knock their crosstown rivals out, but the Hurricanes have plenty to play for too.
They need a win to lock in an all-important fourth spot that would come in very handy next weekend, given the new playoff format that gives the highest-ranking losing team a second chance.
Read how the game unfolded with RNZ's live blog:
