Hurricanes beat Sharks 41-0 in Super Rugby quarter

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) The Wellington-based Hurricanes booked a place in Super Rugby's semifinals for the second straight year when they crushed South Africa's Sharks 41-0 on Saturday in a quarterfinal played in hurricane-force winds.

Last year's beaten finalists became the first team in Super Rugby history to hold an opponent scoreless in a playoffs match. The Hurricanes made the game safe by halftime when they led 13-0 after playing the first half into the teeth of a storm which had wind gusts of up to 140 kph (86 mph) and driving rain.

The defending champion Highlanders became the first team to reach the semifinals when they beat the ACT Brumbies 15-9 on Friday and the Hurricanes kept alive the prospect of a repeat of last year's final and a New Zealand clean sweep of the quarterfinals.

However, the Hurricanes' win came at a cost, as they lost captain and All Blacks hooker Dane Coles just after halftime to what seemed a serious rib injury.

Undeterred by the weather conditions, the Hurricanes played the adventurous style of rugby they have pursued all season to qualify for the playoffs in first place. They ran the ball at every opportunity, varying the point at which they attacked the defensive line and always having players ready to run off teammates who broke tackles.

That led to tries in the first half to local favorite Loni Uhila - the prop known as the Tongan Bear - and fullback James Marshall.

The Hurricanes then put the match out of the Sharks' reach with two tries immediately after halftime, both featuring breaks by scumhalf T.J. Perenara. In the first, Perenara passed to winger Jason Woodward for the try, and in the second Perenara found Uhila. He then passed to lock Vaea Fifita, who ran 20 meters to score.

Perenara and Uhila combined again for the Hurricanes' fifth try in the 58th minute. From a tapped penalty, Uhila drove at the line and when the ball came free All Blacks scrumhalf Perenara found no opposition as he dived through a gap on the openside.

The Sharks' ordeal ended when flanker Brad Shields scored the Hurricanes' last try after the final hooter and Woodward added the conversion.

''We changed a few things with the weather,'' Hurricanes' co-captain Perenara said. ''We knew we couldn't be too expansive.

''But when we got an opportunity with a little bit of space we took it and that's what we need going forward. We're not going to get many opportunities against the top teams in this competition and when we get those opportunities we've got to take them.''

The Hurricanes' attack was complemented by an outstanding defensive performance. Facing the wind in the first half, they spent long periods in their own half and had to defend against the Sharks' repeated attempts to score from rolling mauls established at lineouts.

The Hurricanes met that threat with skill and determination, both repelling and forcing turnovers when mauls broke down.

The Sharks' performance was a further condemnation of a tournament format which allows a team with a mediocre regular season form to contest the playoffs. They qualified in eighth place but were hopelessly outclassed, bringing nothing to the match in terms of skill or attacking ambition.

They came closest to scoring in the first half when captain Tendai Mtawarira rolled over the line, only for his try-scoring attempt to be disallowed for a double movement.

''I think we made a lot of costly errors, a lot of defensive errors,'' Mtawarira said. ''We allowed in some soft tries in the first half and obviously they got a lot of momentum.

''They capitalized on that in the second half and in the end it was an embarrassing effort on our end.''