Easy does it for Hurricanes

A 20-point margin and no significant injuries would be an acceptable outcome.

On their best day the Hurricanes ought to beat the Sunwolves by 50 points or more. But away in Tokyo, in week one of the Super Rugby season and with Beauden Barrett stationed on the bench, you can probably pare the expectations back a bit.

It’s fashionable to try and talk games up as much as you can. Today’s match at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium is a small one and the Hurricanes are treating it as such.

‘‘Our scouting hasn’t been thorough, but it’s been as good as could be expected for round one,’’ Hurricanes head coach Chris Boyd said.

Wing Cory Jane and scrum coach Dan Cron are familiar with some Sunwolves players and that’s about the extent of the Hurricanes’ knowledge. Or as much as they’re admitting too, anyway.

Either way, they should be much too good to get embarrassed on this occasion.

With the result all but a foregone conclusion, this amounts to a continuation of the Hurricanes’ pre-season.

In those games Boyd wanted to see individuals perform their roles with accuracy and clarity and for the overall team structures to emerge.

They then host the Rebels at Westpac Stadium next Saturday before meeting the Chiefs in Hamilton on March 10. You would expect the team to begin playing at a reasonable level by then.

In the meantime it will be interesting to see how one or two individuals go. Injuries – plus Mark Abbott’s unavailability for this match – mean things are thin

at lock and loosehead prop, so Boyd can’t afford for people such as Michael Fatialofa or Chris Eves to get dinged up in Tokyo.

Ngani Laumape has a good chance to establish himself at second five-eighth and there is a genuine curiosity about how Otere Black and Jordie Barrett might go in this game.

Black’s battled to even get on the bench in recent times, having proved an able back up to first fiveeighth Beauden Barrett in 2015, while a lot is expected of Jordie Barrett after he went away as an All Blacks apprentice last year.

‘‘I think Otere, by his own admission, hasn’t had magnificent Mitre 10 Cups [for Manawatu] in the last couple of years and it’s time for him to put a stick in the sand and say ‘don’t forget that I’m available as well’,’’ Boyd said.

With Beauden Barrett being rested, Black starts at first-five and Jordie Barrett’s in the No 15 jumper.

‘‘If I was honest, if Nehe [Milner-skudder] was fit, Nehe would’ve started [at fullback] and then it would’ve been a question of whether Jordie was on the bench or whether Vince Aso was on the bench,’’ Boyd said.

‘‘We’ve still got a bit of a jigsaw to sort out around our bench [and] how we best cover 10, midfield and wing with two players, given that you have to have a halfback on the bench.’’

Jordie Barrett has the skills and speed to cover those spots but, one, he’s just turned 20 and only making his debut this week and, two, is going to become unavailable at some point in May.

‘‘We’re committed to let Jordie go away with the New Zealand 20s to the world tournament in Georgia later this year, so we’ll just monitor him and use him as appropriate for the team and for him,’’ said Boyd.