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Winger Hosea Gear scored three tries as Wellington maintained their unbeaten run in the Air NZ Cup rugby competition with a 64-7 win over a hapless Counties-Manukau team in Wellington last night.
They earned their bonus point by the 24th minute when lock and captain Jeremy Thrush scored their fourth try and crossed for nine tries in all, with first five-eighth Fa'atonu Fili kicking nine goals from 10 for 19 points.
Wellington's commanding performance by both the forwards and the backs lost a little momentum when they made a few substitutions later in the second.
But they finished as they started, with a flourish, with Gear scoring his third try and replacement Tomasi Palu crossing as well in the last five minutes of the match at WestPac Stadium.
The early domination by Wellington's forwards resulted in five converted tries in the first half, with Gear crossing for their first in just the third minute following a powerful surge by loose forward Thomas Waldrom.
Flanker Serge Lilo was next over, when Thrush stole a lineout close to the Counties line.
The Wellington forwards and backs looked too strong for the opposition in a 60m combined attack that saw another loose forward and national sevens player, Victor Vito, outstrip the defence for Wellington's third try.
Lilo picked up a loose ball from a lineout and turn a pass inwards, opening the way for Thrush to dot down for the bonus-earning fourth try in the 24th minute.
Wellington kept their foot on Counties' throat and 10 minutes later halfback Alby Mathewson turned over the ball inside his own 22 in a tackle and Gear finished the counter-attack for his second try.
Prop Jacob Ellison was stopped close to the line by the Counties cover defence on the stroke of halftime.
Counties depended on one-off excursions which Wellington contained in a canter and whatever they managed to scrape from set pieces were either stopped or spoiled by the Wellington loose forwards or inside backs.
Dangermen Lelia Masaga, Niva Ta'auso and Romi Ropati found little or no space and often lacked quick support to make any real impact. But they did show some of their wonderful running and stepping skills to stretch Wellington's defence at times.
Wellington maintained their momentum in the second half and first across the line then was 20-year-old Michael Hobbs, son of former All Blacks captain and New Zealand Rugby Union chairman Jock, to make his mark on the game. He was part of the loose forward combination that had a major influence in the home team's performance.
Counties managed to score following a lineout but it resulted from individual efforts, with Ropati cutting back at an angle to take the ball at high speed from Ta'auso to beat the defence.
Only minutes later Mathewson was rewarded for his tigerish effort behind the scrum with Wellington's seventh try.
Wellington's changes appeared to upset their rhythm a little midway through the second half, but they finished with two more tries through Gear and Palu in the last five minutes to maintain their lead in the competition.