Source: Radio New Zealand
Hurricanes celebrate a try against the Chiefs. DJ Mills
The Hurricanes insist Saturday’s 22-17 golden point loss to the Chiefs hasn’t dented their confidence.
The two teams are now tied at the top of the Super Rugby standings on 31 points, though the Chiefs have played one more match.
“It was a classic Kiwi derby and we came out on the wrong side, unfortunately. But yeah, it was a bloody good game,” Hurricanes flanker Brad Shields told Morning Report.
The visitors were never allowed to play the kind of rugby they wanted to play in Hamilton, with a dogged Chiefs defence keeping them contained. Shields said the Hurricanes were disappointed by the result, but not downcast.
“We sort of addressed a lot on the field straight after the game when emotion is quite high and fresh,” Shields said.
“The boys are pretty disappointed, but you’ve kind of got to step back a little bit and just say like, OK, we’re pretty proud of the effort.”
Brad Shields on the charge for the Hurricanes. Kerry Marshall / www.photosport.nz
The defeat ended a five match winning run for the Hurricanes, who face the fourth placed ACT Brumbies in this weekend’s Super Round in Christchurch, where ten of the 11 Super Rugby teams will play five games over three days.
Former England international Shields said the Hurricanes were within a whisker of victory last weekend and he said their confidence remains high. He believes they will win more close games than they will lose this season.
“The boys’ intent, physicality, we did most of the time what we wanted to do going up there. It’s a fortress up there going up to Hamilton, it’s not an easy place to go and win.
“In this competition, coming into the back end of the season, especially when we play New Zealand teams and other top sides like the Brumbies this weekend, it’s going to be big moments,” Shields said.
“We got a couple of moments slightly off and didn’t quite get it right, but I can’t fault the effort of the boys at the moment, and we’re turning into a team that can win ugly and can win in good style.
“I think we’re going to win more of those games, like the one in the weekend, than we’re going to lose this year.”
Shields said the team will review the defeat to the Chiefs on Monday and he said there will be some brutally honest conversations.
“The only way we’re going to get better is by showing the boys (where they went wrong) and seeing how we get better. The best thing about our group this year is that we’re turning into a group that can take the lessons from the week before. We can then see those lessons being implemented during the week and then the next game we rectify some of those things.
“We didn’t get it completely right against the Chiefs, but it’s really exciting because we know there are one or two things that we can get better in our game. We can have slightly better game management or accuracy and then this weekend (against the Brumbies) we can rectify that. That’s a real positive.”
Billy Proctor celebrates scoring a try with team mates. MARK EVANS
Shields said that hasn’t always been the case for previous Hurricanes sides.
“In past we’ve kind of hung around and dwelled on the mistakes too long and it’s taken too long to fix it. So as long as we get it right towards the back end and we keep growing then we should be fine.”
The Hurricanes haven’t won a title since 2016 and haven’t played in a final since that year. They have been beaten semi-finalists three times since then, with their most recent final four appearance in 2024.
Shields said the Hurricanes want to become more consistent performers and he believes the “great team culture” they’ve developed under head coach Clark Laidlaw has increased their chances of success.
“We want to compete in the biggest games of the season and that’s where we’ve sort of come short the last couple of years. So if we can take all of our culture and character that we’re building and put it in the right direction when it comes to these big games, then we’re going to come out better off,” Shields told RNZ.
“The environment we’re creating is driven from the top from Clarkie. We’ve also got alignment from our board and our chairman and they’re obviously trying to push us in the right direction. The players need to play well, there’s no doubt about that, but when you’ve got things lined up off the field, it makes it a lot easier for us to turn up each week and put our best foot forward.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
