Canes shake up front row
At a glance
John Plumtree is not one to rest on his laurels.
The Hurricanes coach acknowledged his side was lucky to get away with a win over the Highlanders last weekend, bemoaning the poor performance of his forwards, particularly at scrum time.
Some coaches might have forgiven that and given the same players another crack against the Chiefs tomorrow.
Not Plumtree, who wielded the axe on both his props, with Chris Eves and Jeff Toomaga-allen removed from the 23, replaced by Toby Smith and Ben May in the starting XV.
Plumtree said both Eves and Toomaga-allen were in need of a freshen up, but his comments around his forward pack when naming his team yesterday suggested there was a bit more to it than that.
‘‘We’re just looking for solutions. It obviously wasn’t a good performance from us up front against the Highlanders. It’s [about] working hard really. I know they’ve all been doing that.’’
Plumtree viewed former Wallaby Smith, who missed the first four weeks with concussion, as his ‘‘No 1 loosehead prop’’ for scrummaging, so it might be tough for Eves to find his way back into the starting team.
The other major shift for a Hurricanes team chasing their first win in Hamilton since 2007 sees Vaea Fifita move from blindside flanker to lock, which sees Reed Prinsep start in the No 6 jersey and lock Liam Mitchell drop to the bench.
Fifita has expressed his desire for a prolonged run in the No 6 jersey, but Plumtree said the big loose forward was content with that run ending at two games.
‘‘He was fine. Like any player he wants to know if it’s performance based or a decision, and where has the decision come from.
‘‘I’m honest with him about that, he can play well at lock and well at six and that’s always going to be good for him.’’
The only other change to the XV comes via wing Ben Lam moving out of the 23 for a rest. Wes Goosen takes the No 11 jersey.
The rest of the Hurricanes’ leading players all start, including Dane Coles, Ardie Savea, Beauden Barrett, Ngani Laumape and Jordie Barrett, with the latter again on the right wing as Chase Tiatia continues at fullback.
There is a potential Hurricanes debut from the bench for former Crusaders loose forward Heiden Bedwell-curtis, while outside back Salesi Rayasi is in line for a Super Rugby debut, should he get on.
Alex Fidow and Fraser Armstrong provide the prop cover on the bench. Chase Tiatia, Jordie Barrett, Matt Proctor, Ngani Laumape, Wes Goosen, Beauden Barrett, TJ Perenara, Ardie Savea, Du’plessis Kirifi, Reed Prinsep, Vaea Fifita, James Blackwell, Ben May, Dane Coles (c), Toby Smith.
Asafo Aumua, Fraser Armstrong, Alex Fidow, Liam Mitchell, Heiden Bedwell-curtis, Finlay Christie, Jackson Garden-bachop, Salesi Rayasi.
Damian Mckenzie, Sean Wainui, Tumua Manu, Anton Lienertbrown, Ataata Moeakiola, Marty Mckenzie, Brad Weber, Tyler Ardron, Mitchell Karpik, Mitchell Brown, Michael Allardice, Brodie Retallick (c), Nepo Laulala, Nathan Harris, Aidan Ross. Samisoni Taukei’aho, Ryan Coxon, Angus Ta’avao, Taleni Seu, Luke Jacobson, Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, Alex Nankivell, Etene Nanai-seturo.
Plumtree said Vince Aso’s shoulder injury could see him out for multiple weeks, giving him concern about his depth in the backline.
‘‘It does worry me a bit.
‘‘It would be good to have some good news around the injury department, but it is what it is, it’s Super Rugby, your squad is so important, that you have depth.
‘‘What we’ll see is we’ll be relying on some young guys to do jobs for us. That will be great for the club in terms of gathering experience.
‘‘We’ve seen that with Du’plessis Kirifi around how he’s played this year, a new boy on the block getting a lot of time. We’ll see that with Billy Proctor and Peter Umaga-jensen as well.’’