The Hurricanes moved right back into play-off contention with an impressive 34-11 win over a sloppy Stormers team in their Super 14 Round 10 match in Wellington on Saturday.

The four tries to one win put the Hurricanes back into the top four, but more importantly left the South African side in disarray.

The Stormers lost captain Jean de Villiers early in the game with an injury and there was a late change when prop Brian Mujati was ruled out.

The Hurricanes were also forced to make a late change and started without All Black Piri Weepu, who failed a late fitness test.

But it was what happened in the 80 minutes on the field that will please the Hurricanes and will be of concern to Stormers coach Rassie Erasmus - who is reportedly set to be replaced at the end of the season, despite administrative protestations to the contrary.

Both teams' line-outs were rickety, very sloppy, while the Stormers' scrum was a right royal mess.

The Hurricanes certainly had the ascendancy - both in terms of territory and possession - throughout the match. It was at the breakdown and in the scrums where they had their biggest advantage.

What will be of most concern to the Stormers is the poor form of some key players, mostly their Springboks, who appeared disinterested.

The Stormers suffered an early injury setback when they lost captain Jean de Villiers within the first five minutes with an injury. There was no clarity of the exact nature of the injury.

Despite this the Stormers were the first to score, when - from a counter just outside their 22 - replacement back Dylan des Fountain scored the first try, after following up his own kick. Peter Grant couldn't add the conversion, but 5-0 was a good start for the visitors.

The Hurricanes had the next, clear, scoring opportunity - a penalty in the 15th minute - when the Stormers went offside five metres from their own line. Willie Ripia made no mistake and the Hurricanes were on the board - 3-5.

The pace and power of David Smith soon saw the Hurricanes add to the scoreboard, when he bust through in the midfield -with a couple of passes putting Jeremy Thrush over for the try. Ripia's conversion made it 10-5.

There was a scoring opportunity for the Stormers, a penalty for offside in the 20th minute, but Grant missed his second shot at goal.

David Smith again provided the initial thrust for the next score - a try by right wing Tamati Ellison - as the Hurricanes stretched their lead at a very crucial stage. Ripia made it 17-5 with the conversion, in the 33rd minute.

Grant had another shot at goal three minutes from the break, as the Hurricanes were penalised for repeated offences at the breakdown, and this time landed the penalty to narrow the gap to 8-17.

It stayed that way to the break.

The early advantage after half-time went to the Hurricanes, with the Stormers conceding a penalty for offside. Ripia made no mistake and the Hurricanes had a 12-point lead - 20-8.

Grant soon had a chance to take back the three points conceded earlier, and he did as he slotted a penalty in the 49th minute to make it 11-20.

But the Stormers were soon standing behind their tryline again, when a Peter Grant chip-kick went horribly wrong and Cory Jane launched a blistering counter - which resulted in a try by Ma'a Nonu. Ripia's conversion made it 27-11 and left the Stormers with a mountain to climb.

It appeared there was no way back for the Stormers and the big question was whether the Hurricanes would get a fourth, bonus-point, try.

And it came in the 63rd minute, when Ma'a Nonu bust through several half-hearted tackles to put the game beyond doubt with his team's fourth try. The conversion made it 34-11.

The game then played itself out to a very untidy end, as the Hurricanes were content to sit on their lead and the Stormers tried, but failed to put anything of note together.

Man of the match: Schalk Burger tried and Peter Grant had one sniping run, but for the rest it was a sorry bunch of Stormers. Rodney So'oialo was his usual aggressive self, Victor Vito had his moments, Jeremy Thrush was the spark up front, Cory Jane had some good runs and Willie Ripia had a good day at the office. But our vote goes to Hurricanes left wing David Smith, who had a big hand in two of his team's most crucial tries and was a constant threat.

The scorers:

For the Hurricanes:
Tries: Thrush, Ellison, Nonu 2
Cons: Ripia 4
Pens: Ripia 2

For the Stormers:
Try: Des Fountain
Pens: Grant 2

Teams:

Hurricanes: 15 Cory Jane, 14 Tamati Ellison, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 David Smith, 10 Willie Ripia, 9 Alby Mathewson, 8 Rodney So'oialo (captain), 7 Scott Waldrom, 6 Victor Vito, 5 Jason Eaton, 4 Jeremy Thrush, 3 Neemia Tialata, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Jacob Ellison.
Replacements: 16 Dane Coles, 17 Tim Fairbrother, 18 Bryn Evans, 19 Karl Lowe, 20 Mathewson/Daniel Kirkpatrick, 21 Jason Kawau, 22 Zac Guildford.

Stormers: 15 Conrad Jantjes, 14 Wylie Human, 13 Gcobani Bobo, 12 Jean De Villiers (captain), 11 Sireli Naqelevuki, 10 Peter Grant, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Luke Watson, 7 Duane Vermeulen, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Adriaan Fondse, 4 Hilton Lobberts, 3 Wicus Blaauw, 2 Tiaan Liebenberg, 1 JD Moller.
Replacements: 16 Schalk Brits, 17 Brok Harris, 18 AJ Venter, 19 Pieter Louw, 20 Ricky Januarie, 21 Willem de Waal, 22 Dylan des Fountain.

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