LIVE: 'Men against boys': Rebels whacked for ugly effort

It's full-time in Palmerston North and it's the Hurricanes who win 54-28.

It's a mammoth win for the team who are no doubt among the favourites to win the title after putting the Rebels to the sword.

"It's great to be back," said Jordie Barrett, who was influential in the result returning from a SANZAAR sanction.

"We had a massive challenge tonight. The Rebels are a great side. They play a lot of rugby and have been going through a bit of adversity as a franchise and we knew they were just going to keep turning up for each other. It's tough mettle."

Returning captain Brad Shields was just as jubilant.

"It's pretty special. I wasn't sure if I was ever going to make it back to the Canes but as it turned out I get to come back and have a little run around, blow the cobwebs out," he said.

"I'm extremely proud to put the Hurricanes jersey on. It's pretty special, not just for me but for my whole family as well, so it's awesome."

While it was all smiles for the Hurricanes, the Rebels were left to rue yet another week in which they conceded 50-plus points,

"We knew it was going to be tough coming over here but we had a real focus on ourselves to really build on last week's performance," said Rebels captain Rob Leota.

"Just those big moments, we've just got to stay in it. We know that's a big work on for us.

"There were some positives to take out of today. It's just those big moments where we're fatigued."