The Hurricanes continued their march up the Super 14 ladder when they recorded a 29-12 bonus-point win of a sloppy Cheetahs team in New Plymouth on Saturday.

There will be positives for the Cheetahs to take from this game, such as the fact that they continued to have a go right to the end, but in the end the four-tries-to-two margin is a fair reflection of the Hurricanes' superiority.

For the Hurricanes, despite not being at their best, they will be happy with the five valuable points they took from the game.

For the Cheetahs, as has been the case all season, their high error rate put them under pressure — the sign of a team that lacks confidence — as silly mistakes cost them good field position.

The Hurricanes will be concerned about their rickety line-outs — which cost them in terms of possession and continuity throughout the match — as they lost 11 on their own throw.

However, the Hurricanes' hard-running backs showed what they can do with quality ball.

Neither team managed to stamp their authority on the game in the first 10 minutes, as a succession of errors resulted in a stop-start affair.

The first real scoring chance came in the 16th minute, as the Cheetahs conceded a penalty at the breakdown and Piri Weepu had a shot from 45 metres out — but it was wide of the mark.

Another penalty soon afterwards gave Weepu a second shot at goal and he made no mistakes as the Hurricanes took a 3-0 lead after 17 minutes.

The Hurricanes made the Cheetahs pay for their high error count, when a shocking kick by Jacques-Louis Potgieter went nowhere and the Hurricanes collected the bouncing ball to start a counter — with wing Hosea Gear rounding off a fine movement. Weepu added the conversion as the Hurricanes took a 10-0 lead at the 25-minute mark.

Potgieter's kicking woes continued when the Cheetahs won a penalty almost from the restart, but the flyhalf's shot at goal was nowhere near the target.

The Hurricanes were made to pay for their poor line-out form, when Cheetahs scrumhalf Sarel Pretorius pounced on a loose ball near the Canes' line and went over for his team's first points. The conversion was again wide, but the Cheetahs had the morale booster they needed.

Right on the half-time hooter the Cheetahs' defence was caught napping as the Hurricanes went on the blindside from a scrum and fullback Tamati Ellison ran over almost unopposed for his team's second try.

Weepu's conversion made it 17-5 at the break.

The Cheetahs got off the mark very quickly in the second half, as they started a great counter from a turnover on the Hurricanes' 10 metre line, with wing Bjorn Basson masking the crucial break and flank Wayne van Heerden rounding off the move. Potgieter's conversion narrowed the gap to 12-17.

But the Cheetahs were again made to pay for silly mistakes and sloppy work at the breakdown, as the Hurricanes launched a counter from just outside their 22 when the Cheetahs turned the ball over. Hosea Gear used his blistering pace and sprinted almost 70 metres for his team's third try. The conversion was wide, but at 22-12 the Cheetahs were still playing catch-up rugby.

The Hurricanes' bonus-point try came in the 64th minute, when replacement prop John Schwalger drove over on the short side after a succession of pick-'n-drives. Replacement Willie Ripia added the conversion for a 17-point (29-12) lead - a seemingly safe margin.

The Cheetahs, for once, did not roll over and they launched a series of late raids. However, as has been the case throughout the season, their high error rate put paid to several great scoring opportunities.

And the game ended with an error, by the Hurricanes — who took home five very valuable points.

Man of the match: Cheetahs scrumhalf Sarel Pretorius was nippy and causing the Hurricanes defence a few problems, flank Heinrich Brussow was a menace at the breakdown and fellow flank Wayne van Heerden showed the value of pace in a big frame. Hurricanes flyhalf Piri Weepu directed the traffic intelligently and fullback Tamati Ellison was always dangerous on attack. However, our awards goes to Hurricanes wing Hosea Gear — who used his speed to great affect and showed his international qualities.

The scorers:

For the Hurricanes:
Tries: Gear 2, Ellison, Schwalger
Cons: Weepu 2, Ripia
Pen: Weepu

For the Cheetahs:
Tries: Pretorius, Van Heerden
Con: Potgieter

Teams:

Hurricanes: 15 Tamati Ellison, 14 Zac Guildford, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Hosea Gear, 10 Piri Weepu, 9 Alby Mathewson, 8 Rodney So'oialo, 7 Scott Waldrom, 6 Karl Lowe, 5 Jason Eaton, 4 Jeremy Thrush, 3 Tim Fairbrother, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Neemia Tialata.
Replacements: 16 Andrew Hore, 17 John Schwalger, 18 Api Naikatini, 19 Faifili Levave, 20 Willie Ripia, 21 Jason Kawau, 22 David Smith.

Cheetahs: 15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Bjorn Basson, 13 Piet van Zyl, 12 Hanno Coetzee, 11 Jongi Nokwe, 10 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Hendro Scholtz (captain), 7 Wayne van Heerden, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 6 David de Villiers, 5 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Bees Roux, 2 Richardt Strauss, 1 Wiaan du Preez
Replacements: 16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Jean Botha, 18 Francois Uys, 19 Kabamba Floors, 20 Tewis de Bruyn, 21 Meyer Bosman, 22 Danwell Demas

Referee: Paul Marks (Australia)
Touch judges: Vinny Munro (New Zealand), Glenn Newman (New Zealand)
TMO: Michael Fraser (New Zealand)

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