Brothers In Arms Keep Kiwi Sides Riding High

THE Barrett and Ioane brothers were on fire yesterday with standout performances to hand the Hurricanes and the Blues wins over Australian opposition.

- Nick Verdier

Reigning champions Hurricanes, led by All Black fly-half Beauden and younger sibling Jordie, beat the Reds 34-15 in Brisbane while Reiko and Akira Ioane helped the Blues dominate the Force 24-15 in Auckland.

Full-back Jordie scored 14 points from a try, three conversions and a penalty goal, while World Player of the Year Beauden scored the clinching try in the final minute.

Tries from Julian Savea and TJ Perenara gave Hurricanes a 14-0 lead after 19 minutes but the Reds clawed back to trail 14-12 at half-time after tries from winger Chris Kuridrani and No 8 Scott Higginbotham.

The Hurricanes dominated territory and possession in the second half and had three tries disallowed by the television match official before the Barrett brothers added to Vince Aso’s try in the second half with one each late on.

“It’s always tough coming here and the Reds have pushed most teams this season so we knew we were going to have our hands full,” said skipper TJ Perenara, who scored an 80-metre intercept try in the first half.

“We started well and the Reds put us under the pump for a big period and we have to be more clinical in what we’re doing and execute a bit better.”