Hurricanes storm to victory

The Stormers' Sireli Naqelevuki, right, runs into the Chiefs' Brendon Leonard during their Super 14 rugby match in Hamilton, New Zealand, yesterday. PHOTO: AP

Backrower Chris Masoe scored two second-half tries to propel the Wellington Hurricanes to their fourth consecutive Super 14 win with a 33-15 defeat of the ACT Brumbies yesterday.

Wellington one try and led 7-3 after a stop-start first half that was marred by errors and free kicks, but ran in four tries in the second period that earned them a bonus point.

The 18-point margin equaled the Brumbies' worst at home.

The Hurricanes outmuscled the understrength Brumbies at the breakdown and were aggressive in defense, contributing to two length-of-the-field counter-attacking tries.

The Brumbies lead 3-0 via an early Mark Gerrard penalty, but a try to Shannon Paku from turnover ball near halfway gave the Hurricanes a four-point buffer at the interval.

The Hurricanes dominated for most of the second half and hooker Andrew Hore spun over in the 55th minute following sustained pressure.

Hosea Gear and Masoe gave the Hurricanes a 33-8 lead before Brumbies center Tyrone Smith ran in a late consolation try to reduce the final margin.

In Hamilton, flyhalf Peter Grant scored a try among 20 points to guide South Africa's Stormers to a 35-26 win over the Waikato Chiefs in their Super 14 match yesterday.