Hurricanes and Brumbies secure home semi -finals in Super Rugby

The Hurricanes have secured a home semi-final after beating the Highlanders 56-20 in Napier on Friday.

There were two tries from scrum-half TJ Perenara as well as another from All Black winger Julian Savea as the Hurricanes secured top spot in the overall Super Rugby standings.

The Hurricanes, who held a minute of silence following the tragic passing of former player Jerry Collins, secured the bonus point in the first half, as hooker Dan Coles crossed over in the 35th minute to give the Hurricanes a 30-13 lead at half-time.

There were four more tries to the table-topping Canes, with Savea dotting down in the first minute of the second period before Perenara scored his second five minutes later.

The win was sealed by a pair of tries from New Zealand's star inside centre, Ma'a Nonu, his second coming nine minutes from the end. Full-back James Marshall played well for the home side, kicking 16 points with the boot to go with a first-half try.

His performance was almost matched by Highlanders fly-half Lima Sopoaga, who kicked a drop goal and a conversion as well as crossing over for one of the Highlanders' three tries, but it was not enough to stop the Hurricanes from bulldozing their way to their 13th win in the competition.

Brumbies 33-20 Westorn Force

The Brumbies secured a finals berth and returned to the top of the Australian conference with a polished 33-20 win over the beleaguered Western Force in their Super 15 clash in Perth on Friday night.

The Canberra-based side went into the penultimate round in sixth spot on the ladder, and on equal points with defending champions the Waratahs in the Australian conference.

They ran in the five tries of the match to secure a vital bonus point and rise to second on the table.

A loss could have been fatal for the Brumbies, who had their 2013 campaign derailed by a shock defeat at the hands of the Force in the final round.

However, there were no such problems for the visitors this time around, as they controlled the match from the outset and dismantled the bottom team in the competition.

It has been a shocking season for the Force, and the Brumbies piled on the misery by running in the only three tries in a lopsided first half.

The Force barely touched the ball early in the match, and enjoyed an early escape when Joe Tomane was narrowly denied the game's opening try by the outstretched hand of Luke Morahan in the third minute, but it mattered little.
Former Force star David Pocock scored two tries in the first half, both from driving mauls, and added a third in the second half.

Christian Lealiifano also scored a try in the opening half, as well as producing four conversions.

Up 21-6 at the break, the Brumbies secured the bonus point they wanted when Allan Alaalatoa dived over under the posts for his team's fourth try, and his first in Super Rugby, in the 59th minute.

They led 33-6 before the Force ran into two late consolation tries in their final home match of the season.