Rebels captain Scott Higginbotham takes on the defence
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Matches: Hurricanes 36 - 12 Rebels

The Hurricanes have maintained their unbeaten start to the season and moved seven points clear at the top of the Super Rugby ladder following a comfortable win over Melbourne Rebels.

Chris Boyd's side were strong in defence throughout and punished the Rebels' turnovers with precision to record a bonus-point 36-12 victory in Wellington. The Hurricanes showed their defensive resolve when TJ Perenara was sent to the sin-bin late in the second-half, an incident that could have created some issues for the hosts in the run up to full-time.

"It was pivotal because if they'd scored again they would have got within seven points and it would have been a real arm-wrestle," Hurricanes skipper Conrad Smith said. "The fact we worked our way out and then scored ourselves, that was the game. The fact we did it with 14 was the most pleasing part of the game for me."

Both teams had earlier shown their intention was to try and keep ball in hand but the first points of the match came from the boot of Rebels fullback Mike Harris.

Celebrating his 50th Super Rugby game, Perenara didn't take long to ensure he'd take at least something from the milestone. After some fine work from fullback Jason Woodward, the Hurricanes found space down the short side through Ma'a Nonu and Victory Vito; Perenara receiving the final pass to dive over in the corner. Woodward added the extras to give the Hurricanes a 7-3 lead after 13 minutes.

Hurricanes fly-half James Marshall, in for resting All Blacks pivot Beauden Barrett, very nearly then caught the Rebels napping as he opted for a quick-tap inside his own half and kicked down field. Rebels winger Sefanaia Naivalu got back just in time however, and the visitors escaped the dangerous situation two phases later.

The Rebels finally began to enjoy some territory and possession and were rewarded for a nice passage of play up-field when Harris slotted his second penalty of the night, reducing the score to 7-6 after 27 minutes. And they would have the lead just a couple of minutes later as referee Stuart Berry found another Hurricanes breakdown infringement and Harris again made no mistake from right in front.

The two sides then traded penalties inside the final three minutes of the half with the visitors going into the break 12-10 to the good.

As had been the case in the first half, the Rebels were patient with ball in hand and they very nearly opened up the Hurricanes immediately after the break. But a dropped ball from Pat Leafa saw the Hurricanes charge up field through the Jason Woodward and, after they spurned three points and opted to kick for touch following a penalty, the hosts were rewarded for their endeavour when Cory Jane snuck over in the corner. Woodward nailed the sideline conversion to give the Hurricanes the ideal start to the second-half.

The hosts looked to be gaining the upper hand as they once again enjoyed extended periods of possession but simple handling errors inside the Rebels' quarter prohibited the Hurricanes from extending their lead.

They would eventually pick up their third try of the match and it again arose after a promising attacking raid from the visitors broke down, allowing the Hurricanes the chance to counter-attack. A Rebels turnover was quickly shifted wide for Marshall to kick high and long where a wicked bounce brought a mistake from Naivalu and Callum Gibbons picked up the scraps to race 35 metres and score next to the posts.

Jason Woodward was an assured presence for the Hurricanes at fullback © Getty Images

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The Rebels had probably deserved a try for their patience and ball control, but they couldn't find a way through the hosts' defensive line even after the sin-binning of Perenara. They went close first through Sean McMahon, and then Mitch Inman was ruled to have been held-up over the line after busting through a Ma'a Nonu tackle. Perenara's dismissal looked like being the point when the Hurricanes' defence would crack but it continued to hold, and the hosts eventually cleared their line after nearly 10 straight minutes of tackling.

Playing their first match of the season at Westpac Stadium, the Hurricanes then very nearly rewarded the fans' early-season patience with a flashy five-pointer. A crafty kick in behind the line was regathered by winger Nehe Milner-Skudder only for his wonderfully-speculative flick-pass to be grassed with the line wide open.

The Hurricanes wouldn't be denied the bonus point however with Milner-Skudder this time doing it all himself to cross despite the best efforts of two Rebels defenders. And the replacement winger then picked up a double as he iced a classy second-half effort from the Hurricanes with another try right on full-time.