Smith dons 10 for Canes
Fletcher Smith will get the first chance to prove himself as the first-five of the future for the Hurricanes.
The 24-year-old has been named to start in the No 10 jersey against the Stormers in Cape Town on Sunday morning (NZ time) as the post-Beauden Barrett era begins.
Smith beat out Jackson Garden-Bachop to the starting job and will have plenty of experience around him, with All Blacks TJ Perenara and Jordie Barrett both named to start at halfback and fullback respectively.
Just how long both of those players are allowed to stay on the field remains to be seen, with New Zealand Rugby again imposing a 180-minute restriction on its players in the first three rounds of competition.
NZR also said it wanted coaches to try and build the load on those players – for instance, 40 minutes, then 60, then 80.
That was the plan last year when Perenara started round one against the Waratahs, but when Smith went off and his replacement, James Marshall, got injured, he ended up playing a full 80 minutes, with the last 25 minutes at first-five.
Ngani Laumape was also expected to be under those protocols, despite missing selection for the Rugby World Cup. He starts at second-five alongside Billy Proctor, who replaces his older brother, Matt, in the 13 jersey after the latter’s off-season move to England.
Wes Goosen and Ben Lam start on the wings.
The pack features newcomers Scott Scrafton and Tyrel Lomax at lock and prop respectively, while the loose forward trio of Gareth Evans, Du’Plessis Kirifi and Reed Prinsep is a mixture of experience and excitement.
The rest of the pack sees James Blackwell, Ricky Riccitelli and Fraser Armstrong earning starts.
There is experience on the bench in the form of Vaea Fifita, Vince Aso and Jamie Booth, while front-rowers Pouri RaketeStones and Tevita Mafileo are in line to make Super Rugby debuts for the Hurricanes.
Hurricanes coach Jason Holland said despite two pre-season losses to the Blues and Crusaders, he was happy with how they had progressed.
‘‘We worked hard through our pre-season matches at improving parts of our game and performance.
‘‘Nobody shows too much in pre-season games, so we are looking forward to trying a
few things.’’
Holland said it would be a tough first-up assignment against a Stormers team laden with World Cup-winning Springboks, especially in a pack featuring South Africa captain Siya Kolisi and World Rugby player of the year Pieter-Steph du Toit.
They also have former Wales and British and Irish Lions midfielder Jamie Roberts, with all three expected to start.
‘‘The Stormers will be a physical challenge for us and we expect them to be very direct and attack us up front. We will look forward to that challenge and intend to put them under pressure with our style of rugby.
‘‘We’ve had a thorough week in Cape Town and are in good shape heading into the weekend.’’
The Hurricanes won 34-28 in their last meeting against the Stormers at home last season.