The Poua made their now-trademark fast start, as they have scored within the first 10 minutes of all of their matches so far this season. Taking advantage of some broken play, the impressive Iritana Hohaia made a great break up the middle of the park, her pass wide found Autumn-Rain Stephens-Daly for the opening try inside five minutes.
The Blues almost struck back straight away through Eloise Blackwell, but she was held up over the line in a good tackle.
Monica Tagoai then stamped her class all over the game with a double inside 10 minutes. The Poua second five first spotted a half gap to scoot through and score after a good switch of play. Tagotai then backed up perfectly to finish off a chance started by Isabella Waterman and Shakira Baker, running in under the posts to make the score 21-0.
The Blues were let down by poor ball security, but finally got things going after half an hour. Jayme Kolose, who has led the competition in line breaks, cruised into the corner after a well worked backline move from an attacking lineout. Krysten Cotrell nailed the sideline conversion. Sensing a period of dominance, the Blues struck again through a smart quick tap penalty, then a good offload by Sophie Fisher saw her front row partner Grace Gago score.
The Blues didn’t let up after the break, Tafito Lafaele scoring in the corner after a break by Patricia Maliepo was shifted well back the other way.
However, just when it looked like the Poua were falling apart, they scored the try of the match. Great hands through the backline gave Crystal Mayes space down the wing, she then threw an incredible offload as she was tackled over the touchline that was finished by Waterman. Not long after, Mayes did brilliantly on the other side of the ball, cutting down a flying Kolose and gaining a crucial turnover on her team’s line.
Going into the last 20 minutes, it was clear that the Poua wanted to atone for the last time they played the Blues. In that match a fortnight ago, they let the Blues score three tries in the last 10 minutes to snatch the game away from them.
Victoria Subritzky-Nafatali managed the game perfectly, not letting the Blues out of their half while the rest of the Poua side showed patience and control until Waterman made it an insurmountable two score lead with a penalty. It turned out to be crucial, as the Blues scored through debutant Holly Williams just before the hooter went.
This was the Poua’s most complete performance of Super Rugby Aupiki, a survivor series of a win that showed just how capable a team they are when they commit to an 80-minute effort. The Blues will be disappointed with their campaign, however over their five games several players – Kolose, Cottrell, Mel Puckett and Katelyn Vahaakolo in particular – have presented excellent cases to the Black Ferns selectors.
BLUES WOMEN 24 (Jayme Kolose, Grace Gago, Tafito Lafaele, Holly Williams tries; Krysten Cottrell 2 con)
HURRICANES POUA 29 (Monica Tagoai 2, Autumn-Rain Stephens-Daly, Isabella Waterman tries; Isabella Waterman 3 con, pen)
HT: 21-14 Hurricanes Poua