Barrett brothers, Savea out
The Barrett brothers and Ardie Savea are serving their second and final All Blacks rest weeks this week.
The Hurricanes’ star trio did not make the trip to Tokyo to take on the Sunwolves tomorrow night, despite having a bye the previous weekend.
Hurricanes coach John Plumtree said their absences were a mix of choice and his hand being forced by his national team players’ resting requirements.
‘‘With Ardie and Beaudy, they played six games in a row, so the plan was to give them a fortnight to refresh and they obviously miss out on a fair bit a travel, which is good for them both.’’
Beauden Barrett will be replaced at 10 by Fletcher Smith.
It will be the 24-year-old’s first start since suffering through a torrid time in his side’s 38-22 loss to the Crusaders in week two.
‘‘The onus in on us to give him some good, fast ball so he can get his game going. When we played the Crusaders, he didn’t have that luxury,’’ Plumtree said.
Matt Proctor comes back into the run-on team to replace Jordie Barrett at 13, while Chase Tiatia starts at fullback and Wes Goosen is on the right wing.
Du’plessis Kirifi comes back into the starting team at No 7 for Savea. The 22-year-old impressed early in the season before Plumtree started to opt for the more experienced trio of Savea, Reed Prinsep and Vaea Fifita.
‘‘We’ve got Du’plessis and Sam Henwood, who are both good players, to share the workload there,’’ Plumtree said.
‘‘With Jordie, we’ve still got a pretty good backline in place, so we’ll be right there.’’
Fifita starts again at No 6, with Plumtree revealing he is not part of the All Blacks rest protocols.
Captain Dane Coles was not deemed ready to return from his calf strain. TJ Perenara will captain the side from halfback in his absence, while Ngani Laumape also starts.
Loose forward Gareth Evans remains a week or two away, but there was some good news on the injury front with James Marshall back in the 23 for the first time since injuring his shoulder five minutes into his substitute appearance against the Waratahs in week one.
Exciting young back Billy Proctor has also overcome his own shoulder injury to make the 23 for the first time as Plumtree shifts back to a five-three forwards-backs split on the bench.
The Barrett brothers have used the extra week off for a refreshing brotherly holiday, posting golf and beach photos from Fiji to their Instagram accounts.