The Hurricanes may not make the play-offs of Super Rugby. But their last-gasp 28-25 win over the table-topping Chiefs last night shows how far Mark Hammett's young charges have come this season. A late try by hooker-come-number 8 Dane Coles gave the 'Canes a thrilling win, and broke Chiefs supporters' hearts.
This time a year ago, the Hurricanes were in disarray. They were the easy-beats of the New Zealand conference. They were a shambles both on and off the field. there was a definite disconnect between the palyers and management, possibly fuelled by the egos of senior players.
Cutting Ma'a Nonu, Piri Weepu and Andrew Hore was not popular, but hindsight shows that it was the right decision. Conrad Smith has become an outstanding captain who leads by example. And the team is now a close brotherhood; one only needed to see the colective joy when Dane Coles scored the winner last night to know that.
We'll assess the team in greater depth when we have a moment later in the weekend. But for now we simply applaud a great come-back story; so here's a song for the Hurricances (v2012):
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