Hurricanes beat Sunwolves 62-15 in Super Rugby

 Winger Kobus van Wyk scored three tries on debut and fullback Chase Tiatia scored two Saturday as the Wellington-based Hurricanes pummeled Japan's Sunwolves 62-15 in Super Rugby.

After conceding the first try of the match after only four minutes, the Hurricanes ran in 10 tries and a bonus-point win.

The Hurricanes improved their record to 3-1 for the season, moving into second place in the New Zealand conference as the fifth round progresses.

The Sunwolves, now 1-4, were beaten 64-5 — 10 tries to one — by the Queensland Reds last weekend and face difficult matches against the ACT Brumbies and defending champion Crusaders over the next two weeks.

The Hurricanes looked a little bit rusty at first Saturday, coming off a bye and they allowed the Sunwolves to score first through lock Michael Stolberg. The Sunwolves still led, 10-7, after 19 minutes.

But Tiatia scored twice and Van Wyk once before halftime when the Hurricanes led 28-10. The second half was mostly one-way traffic as flanker Vaea Fifita, centers Vince Aso and Ngnai Laumape and winger Ben Lam were able to run freely and create tries from all parts of the field.

"We've got some pretty freakish athletes out there," Hurricanes captain T.J. Perenara said. "You see Ngani, Vince, (Ben) Lam, Vaea. When those boys get going it's quite hard to stop.

"The more we can get those boys in space and open it up for the rest of us the better it is."

The game opened up in the second half as the Hurricanes piled on 34 points. Wan Wyk had his hat trick after 56 minutes and Laumape and Aso both scored to reward their earlier playmaking efforts.

(Pic Credit: Pixabay)