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| - Former All Black Julian Savea starred in the Wellington Hurricanes' 35-13 victory over the Melbourne Rebels, while unbeaten Otago Highlanders overwhelmed the Western Force in the Super Rugby Trans-Tasman on Friday. The results to start round two continued the early domination of New Zealand teams, who remain unbeaten in the new-format tournament. Savea, dubbed "The Bus" during his 54-Test international career, stole the show in Wellington with a brace as the Hurricanes scored five tries to two. Captain Dane Coles said the hosts had to work hard for a victory in which late tries blew out the scoreline. "I thought they hung in there real good but we kept chipping away," he said. "We kept turning up, we let in a couple of soft tries but it was a hell of an improvement on last week." Rebels captain Matt Toomua was also pleased with the gains made by his team after being held try-less during the opening round in a 50-3 drubbing by the Blues. "We were a bit disappointed on the transitions there, but the game had everything," he said. "There were lots of tries and even a streaker, so I think everyone got their money's worth." Savea, 30, opened the scoring with an intercept try that saw him sprint home from near the halfway line. Stade Francais-bound Ngani Laumape then found space to set up Billy Proctor for the Hurricanes' second. It was 14-3 at the break and flanker Michael Wells scored for the Rebels seven minutes after the restart. The Hurricanes responded in style through Savea, who outpaced a flailing defender on the wing for his second. A Campbell Magnay try gave the Rebels a glimmer of hope before five pointers to Wes Goosen and Asafo Aumua sealed the win for the Hurricanes. In the later fixture in Perth, the Highlanders backed up their impressive thrashing of Australian champions Queensland Reds with a 25-15 road victory over the winless Force. The visitors prevailed in a physical contest with four tries to two. "We put a lot of pressure on them but our execution wasn't there at times," Highlanders co-captain Ash Dickson said. The Force, the big improvers in the recent Super Rugby AU, were gallant but could not reel in an early 20-3 deficit. "We just couldn't get there in the end and we weren't clinical enough," Force stand-in captain Kyle Godwin said. It was an arm-wrestle early before the home fans were silenced in the 12th minute when Aaron Smith found a dashing Jona Nareki for a sizzling try. Force fly-half Jake McIntyre exited the game after a hit to the head and the Highlanders compounded the misery when Ayden Johnstone crashed over the line. The aggressive Highlanders stretched their lead further with a try through Scott Gregory only for Mitchell Hunt's tardy boot keeping the Force within range. Against the tide, the Force hit back with Tomas Cubelli celebrating his 50th game in style before the break. They made a determined charge early in the second half but a yellow card to Greg Holmes stymied the Force's momentum and Gregory made them pay with his second try. The Highlanders were never threatened despite a late Force push to notch consecutive victories for the first time in more than two years. ns-tl/axn
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