Barrett’s quad poses a problem
This might be tricky.
The Hurricanes expect star first five-eighth Beauden Barrett to play in Friday’s big Super Rugby derby against the Chiefs. But it remains to be seen at what kind of capacity.
Barrett was a late withdrawal from the team’s 38-37 win over the Sharks, due to a quad niggle, which could limit what he’s capable of against the Chiefs.
‘‘He’s got a little thigh strain and he can play and he can run and he can do everything, but he can’t kick. When he kicks it catches,’’ Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd said.
Barrett’s brother Jordie would be a more than adequate goalkicking alternative. But the issue is that the discomfort apparently covers kicking from hand, as well. That’s quite hard to avoid when you’re playing first five-eighth.
The Hurricanes have a policy of not picking anyone who can’t train fully on the Monday of match week, so a call on Barrett will be made early. At this stage, though, Boyd said he would be ‘‘surprised’’ if Barrett wasn’t available for Friday’s game at Westpac Stadium.
The same probably can’t be said for halfback TJ Perenara. The halfback was subbed at halftime against the Sharks with what Boyd described as ‘‘some sort of knee ding.’’
‘‘He might be a problem for next week, but I’m not sure yet.’’
Stand-in halves Ihaia West and Jamie Booth were instrumental in getting the Hurricanes home against the Sharks. Neither produced complete performances but, as Boyd noted, West in particular was composed when it counted.
The Hurricanes didn’t play well, but they won. Which wasn’t a bad effort minus players as influential as Barrett and Perenara.
‘‘If you go through probably all the teams in the competition, the steadiness and the strength of your No.2 and No.3 nines and tens are crucial,’’ Boyd said.
‘‘You could say the Hurricanes are bit exposed to TJ and Beaudy [ever being absent] but you could say exactly the same thing about [Damian] Mckenzie at the Chiefs or [Richie] Mo’unga at the Crusaders or [Lima] Sopoaga at the the Highlanders.’’
The reality of Super Rugby is you don’t worry about which players aren’t available to you, or the team you just played. You just get the guys you do have as ready as they can be to play the next opponent.
There are things Boyd has learned about his own team, and the Sharks, after Friday. But, given the Sharks aren’t on the menu on Friday, none of that’s especially relevant.
All that matters is establishing a gameplan to beat the Chiefs and executing it.
Like the Sharks, the Chiefs carry and offload well in the forwards, so the Hurricanes have a bit of work to do there. They battled to get the Sharks’ ball-runners on the deck and were lucky to win that match.
It took a converted Ngani Laumape try, almost five minutes after the final hooter, to cap off an unlikely comeback.