Hurricanes v Brumbies Stat Attack

The Hurricane faced the Brumbies in Canberra on Saturday night.

Some facts and figures from the clash against the Horsemen by Hurricanes statistician Peter Marriott below.

Round 11 v Brumbies: Won 35-29

The Hurricanes and the Brumbies have now met on 33 occasions. The Hurricanes have won 14 matches and the Brumbies 19. There have been no draws.

The two sides have played 20 matches at the Brumbies home ground, GIO Stadium in Canberra. The home side has won 14 times to the Hurricanes six. This Hurricanes win brought an end to six successive losses in Canberra. Their last victory (35-16) had been the Quarter-final in 2017. Current player Brad Shields was in that match as was current assistant coach Cory Jane.

The Hurricanes have now twice scored 35 points at Canberra: their highest score against the Brumbies at that venue.

The Hurricanes have scored 35 points in a match 11 times, and never once lost. On the other hand they have conceded 29 points in a match, also 11 times, for five wins and six losses including being beaten 29-21 by the Brumbies at Wellington in 2014.

This was the Hurricanes 99th win in 212 matches played at away venues.

The Hurricanes have scored exactly 50 tries in Canberra. There are only four other grounds on which they have scored 50 or more tries. They are: Westpac/Sky Stadium in Wellington (609), McLean Park in Napier (62), Eden Park in Auckland (61) and Central Energy Trust Arena in Palmerston North (54).

Only at Westpac/Sky Stadium (406) have the Hurricanes conceded more tries than the 70 they have had scored against them by the Brumbies in Canberra.

The five tries scored by the Hurricanes brought up a new record for the number of tries they have scored against an Australian side. Before the match the record had been 102 against the Waratahs which the Hurricanes had established four matches beforehand. The Hurricanes have now scored 106 against the Brumbies.

The third of four tries scored by the Brumbies was the 600th conceded by the Hurricanes in matches played away from home. The total now sits on 601.

The Hurricanes have now won a match by six points on 19 occasions: their record for most matches won by a certain margin. Next up is the three-point wins achieved on 15 occasions.

During the match against the Brumbies the Hurricanes conceded their 10,000th point against all sides. The total now stands at 10,022 which works out at an average of 24 points per match.

The Hurricanes repeated their previous match by having three co-captains against the Brumbies. The players were Brad Shields, Du’Plessis Kirifi and Billy Proctor. Unlike last week though one of the trio was a back (Proctor). Of the three only Kirifi has never led the Hurricanes on his own.

The Hurricanes made seven changes to their starting line-up from the previous match against the Force. There were three changes in the backs and four in the forwards.

Ereatara Enari played his 50th Super Rugby match. It was just his eighth for the Hurricanes but he had previously played nine matches for the Crusaders and 33 matches for Moana Pasifika. He made his Super Rugby debut when he was with the Crusaders, against the Brumbies at Christchurch in 2017.

Billy Proctor started his first match of the season and scored his 18th try in his 63rd match. He also scored a try against the Brumbies in 2022.

Ngatungane Punivai scored two tries in a match for the first time. He is the 61st player to do so for the Hurricanes. He has now scored nine tries with four of those having been scored when he previously played for the Highlanders.

Kini Naholo scored two tries too: the fifth time he has scored two or more tries in a match. He also scored one against the Brumbies in their Quarter-final match in 2023.

Ruben Love kicked 10 points in the match. His first conversion brought up his 50th point for the Hurricanes and he now has a total of 59 points from 38 appearances. During the match Love went for a HIA which he passed.

Brumbies captain Allan Alaalatoa scored his first try against the Hurricanes.

Luke Reimer and Andy Muirhead both scored their second try against the Hurricanes. For Muirhead it was his first since 2018.

Len Ikitau has now scored three tries against the Hurricanes.

Noah Lolesio kicked nine points to take his tally in all matches against the Hurricanes to 64 points.

Tuaina Taii Tualima was shown a yellow card in the 57th minute.

Declan Meredith was on the Brumbies bench but did not get onto the field.

This week’s round was known as the ANZAC Weekend Round and before the match a ceremony was held to commemorate the Australian and New Zealand troops who fought in World War I. The Ode of Remembrance was read by Leading Seaman Boatswain’s Mate Lydia Kavoa and the Last Post was played by Sam Kennedy. The National Anthem of both nations was sung by Sergeant Deborah O’Toole.

A new trophy, the Captain Shout Cup, has been established to honour New Zealand born Alfred “Whisper” Shout who showed great courage on several occasions during the campaign in Gallipoli. He was posthumously awarded a Victoria Cross. The cup is to be played on an annual basis between the Brumbies and the Hurricanes. The latter are the first holders.

Paul Williams refereed his first Hurricanes match of the season and his 12th overall. It was his third which involved the Hurricanes and Brumbies. Interestingly Williams’s first match in charge of the Hurricanes was against the Force back in 2016. Then there was a gap until 2021 before he “popped” up again.

At the end of Week 11 the Hurricanes are fifth in the Standings, up two places from the previous week.

Overall, the Hurricanes have now played 417 Super Rugby matches. They have won 239 (57.3%), lost 171 and drawn seven.

Below. Flashback: when the Hurricanes played the Brumbies in 2012.