After blowing hot and cold, the Hurricanes find form in Super Rugby

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The Hurricanes have been late to the party in Super Rugby this season.

While other teams shone in the first weeks of a tight competition, the Wellington-based Hurricanes lacked their usual luster.

But with a 57-12 win over the New South Wales Waratahs in Round 7, the Hurricanes catapulted themselves into playoffs contention, finally grabbing a place in the spotlight.

The Hurricanes had a 1-3 record through their first four games, which contained only flashes of their usually inspired attacking play.

While their set piece generally has been reliable, ball security and control of possession has not. While the Hurricanes have been able to create opportunities, they haven’t always been able to finish.

In a season in which all advantages appear to be with the team in possession, the Hurricanes have been too careless of possession. Their defense has been solid but they have been imprecise and impatient on attack.

On Friday everything clicked. The Waratahs scored first before the Hurricanes seized control and ran in nine tries.

The effort started at the back with strong defense and the outstanding ability of Hurricanes captain and open side flanker DuPlessis Kirifi to win breakdown turnovers. Kirifi is pressing a strong case for All Blacks selection this year.

Lock Isaia Walker Leawere was a standout performer and winger Kini Naholo produced the finishing touch with three tries.

The Hurricanes got back their confidence and with it their creativity in attack which was seen at its best in the reverse pass from fullback Ruben Love which created a 57th minute try for winger Ngane Punivai.

The first green shoots of the Hurricanes’ revival were seen in their 20-18 win over the Highlanders in Round 5 and two rounds later it has come into full bloom.

“It was nice rugby wasn’t it?” coach Clark Laidlaw said. “If you watched that Highlanders game, we had to work hard for everything we got, so it’s always pleasing when you get a half chance and you take it.

“If you back it up with another one quickly then you can get a bit of daylight (on the opposition).”

The Waratahs lost Max Jorgenson to injury then Joey Walton to a yellow card which also cost a penalty try. That helped the Hurricanes to take control of the match, especially when they scored twice close to halftime.

“The game is won and lost around the physical collision and the Hurricanes dominated that area,” Waratahs coach Dan McKellar said. “We turned the ball over too much, both at the breakdown and at the set piece and they got on a roll.

“They’ve got some talent in that group and they showed that tonight, so some harsh lessons for us.”

On the subject of revivals, Moana Pasifika’s magnificent 45-29 over the much higher-ranked Crusaders was another example of a team which had hinted at better form than it had produced.

Again, confidence played a key role. The Moana Pasifika players felt that they were on the verge of a complete performance and produced that on Saturday, going out with the intention of starting well, then keeping up the tempo and pressure when the Crusaders tried to rally.

Moana Pasifika’s kicking game was outstanding, implemented by flyhalf Patrick Pellegrini. Sydney-born and of Tongan heritage, Pelligrini played for Coventry in England’s RFU Championship and for Tonga at the 2023 World Cup.

All Blacks backrower Ardie Savea, who moved from the Hurricanes to Moana Pasifika between seasons, has played a major role in the team’s improvement. Savea scored two tries and Pellegrini touched down once in Saturday’s victory.

As with the Hurricanes, a strong performance in their last match — a narrow loss to the Chiefs, who led the competition after Round 6 — laid the foundation for a win in this weekend.

“We talked about moments and winning each moment," Savea said. "I felt like the boys stacked a lot of those moments together tonight.

“We knew no one was expecting us to win so the message was for the boys just to jam and play with nothing to lose.”

AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby

FILE - Argentina's Lucio Cinti, right, tackles New Zealand's Ardie Savea, left, during their rugby union test match in Wellington, New Zealand on Aug. 10, 2024. (Andrew Cornaga/Photosport via AP, File)

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Four years after showing up late for the Beijing Olympics and missing one of his races because of a case of COVID-19, U.S. long track speedskater Casey Dawson is enjoying what he jokingly terms his “villain arc,” peaking at the right time ahead of the Milan Cortina Games.

Dawson secured a spot for next month in the men's 5,000 meters — an event he was forced to skip in 2022 while sick — by winning at that distance at the U.S. Olympic trials in 6 minutes, 12.857 seconds on Friday night.

“I actually got COVID two or three weeks before going to the competition. Tested positive for 50 straight tests,” said Dawson, a 25-year-old from Park City, Utah. “Couldn’t go over to the Games. I missed the opening ceremonies. Missed the 5,000 meters. Showed up 12 hours before my 1,500 meters. So I kind of got a little screwed over from that point of view. But this time around, I’m just looking forward to getting there smoothly and just getting a little bit of redemption.”

And then, with a chuckle, Dawson added: “It’s kind of fun to have, like, my villain arc, I would call it. Just coming back and having some fun.”

Ethan Cepuran was about 6 1/2 seconds back Friday, finishing next in 6:19.335.

The last American man to medal in the 5,000 at an Olympics was Chad Hedrick at the 2006 Turin Games.

Dawson already had secured the lone U.S. place for Milan in the men’s 10,000 — a race not being contested at these trials — and also will be part of the trio for men’s team pursuit at the Olympics.

Dawson, Cepuran and Emery Lehman took the bronze in that event in Beijing four years ago, set the world record in 2024 and claimed gold in the team pursuit at the world championships in March.

In the other race Friday, the women's 3,000, Greta Myers won in 4:06.799. As of now, the United States does not have a berth in Milan for that distance, but one of its athletes could end up in the field if another country relinquishes an opening.

“It's hard to wait,” said Myers, a 21-year-old from Lino Lakes, Minnesota. “But I'm very hopeful. I think it's at least a 50-50 chance that it'll happen.”

The U.S. Olympic roster for long track won't become official until the four-day trials at the Pettit National Ice Center wrap up on Monday. One element that could come into play is that the Americans are allowed to bring a maximum of eight men and six women to these Winter Games.

The biggest star of the team — and the sport — is scheduled to make his trials debut Saturday in the men's 1,000 meters: Jordan Stolz. The 21-year-old from Kewaskum, a town about 40 miles north of Milwaukee, is not just competing at home this week; he's racing at the same rink where he first began taking lessons as a kid.

He made his Olympic debut at age 17 in Beijing four years ago, finishing 13th in the 500 and 14th in the 1,000.

At both the 2023 and 2024 world championships, Stolz earned titles in each of the 500, 1,000 and 1,500 meters.

He's already pre-qualified for the Olympics based on performances at those three distances. All he really needs to do to lock down berths on the squad for the Feb. 6-22 Milan Cortina Games is show up at the starting line this week.

The 500 and 1,500 are slated for Sunday, and the mass start is Monday.

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Casey Dawson, of Park City, Utah, right, and Ethan Cepuran, of Glen Ellyn, lllinois, left, compete in the men's 5,000 meters at the U.S. Olympic trials for long track speed skating at the Pettit National Ice Center in Milwaukee, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Howard Fendrich)

The Pettit National Ice Center is seen in Milwaukee on Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, the first day of the U.S. Olympic trials for long track speedskating. (AP Photo/Howard Fendrich)