Hurricanes expect bruising Blues
The unbeaten Hurricanes know exactly what’s coming their way tonight in their first home match of the Super Rugby Pacific season. Stopping it is going to be the hard part.
Blues coach Vern Cotter – even down two first-choice locks and an All Blacks prop sent back to conditioning school – has tipped his hand somewhat with a 6-2 forwards-backs bench split. That screams arm-wrestle and a physical game-plan as the Blues, too, look to remain unbeaten for the fledgling season.
Both teams are down a key player or two. The home side is without star back Jordie Barrett (suspended after his red card against the Reds), while experienced loose forwards Du Plessis Kirifi and Brad Shields are still working back to full fitness,
The Blues, too, are boxing on without veteran lock Patrick Tuipulotu and rising second-row star Sam Darry, while All Blacks wing Caleb Clarke and prop Ofa Tu’ungafasi are on rest weeks.
Cotter also sprang a surprise by relegating standout No 8 Hoskins Sotutu, with five tries in the first two matches, to bench duty to lighten the load this week.
Canes coach Clark Laidlaw was rapt with his team’s 2-0 start, and especially the composure shown to clinch a 38-33 golden-point victory over the Reds in Melbourne, but also took a heavy element of realism into this week.
“The Blues are a different prospect,” he said after making a leadership tweak (Billy Proctor co-captains with Asafo Aumua), bringing in Riley Higgins and James Tucker for starts and veteran halfback TJ Perenara for his first action on the comeback trail off the bench. “They’re two from two and will be licking their lips coming down here.
“They’ve got an outstanding forward pack, play a physical game anyway and with the players they’ve picked I don’t see that changing too much. It’s going to be ferocious ... contact is going to be pretty heavy and big.”
But Laidlaw is optimistic his forwards will be up for the challenge, and that a successful tour to Australia has confidence levels where they need to be.
“It does give you confidence when you can win tough, and go deep. It proves your fitness and composure was the most encouraging part. We played extremely well that last five minutes in golden-point.”