Canes face their mirror image
‘‘It’s like we’re playing ourselves,’’ reckoned Hurricanes captain Brad Shields.
Which was about the highest compliment he could pay to the Highlanders, ahead of Saturday’s Super Rugby clash at Westpac Stadium.
Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd said the same. Just in a few more words.
‘‘The Highlanders and Hurricanes, to me, are similar,’’ Boyd began.
‘‘They’ve both got high-profile names in their backline and everyone says ‘great backlines’. But both sides have very tradesmanlike forwards packs that are genuinely under-rated, so I think the Highlanders have been really good over the last three or four years with a pack that hasn’t got a lot of names in it and I think the Hurricanes are exactly the same.’’
The question at that point, obviously, is if two identical teams meet, which one wins?
‘‘Patience is a big part of that. If we can hold on to the ball for long periods of time, history shows we can score points,’’ said Shields.
But so can the Highlanders. The one thing that will probably set the teams apart is approach.
The Highlanders kick a lot. For territory, or for players such as Waisake Naholo to contest, and Hurricanes wings Ben Lam and Julian Savea could be in for busy nights. Particularly given neither is a noted high-ball catcher.
‘‘[We’re expecting] a lot of high ball contests so, for us, it’s about getting up as early as we can and running those escort lines [to impede the kick chasers] and helping the guys at the back. So we’ve done a lot of work on that high ball, kick, catch and chase as well,’’ Lam said.
Provided the Hurricanes can haul in Lima Sopoaga and Aaron Smith’s kicks, running it back will be their preferred option. Then it comes down to having the patience and accuracy Shields mentioned.
And the performance of those unfancied forward packs.
It’s rare for players for players to say things unprompted. But Hurricanes hooker Ricky Riccitelli this week brought up the lack of credit he and the rest of the pack tend to get.
If we accept that the Crusaders are Super Rugby’s benchmark team, especially up front, it’s worth noting that the Hurricanes have won eight of the last 11 clashes between them. That’s not bad for a pack of powderpuffs. As Riccitelli noted.
‘‘The reason I say that is just because we have such a good backline,’’ Riccitelli said.
‘‘As a pack, each week we work with Watty [technical coach Richard Watt] on our mindset and stuff and we feed off that [disrespect]. We love having teams think they can take us up front. It gets us eager and helps us rise to the occasion.’’
Lock Vaea Fifita (shoulder) is replaced by Scotsman Murray Douglas. The bench has been bolstered, though, by the return of tighthead prop Jeff To’omagaallen.