Hurricanes v Blues

[KiwiMurph]

Rieko has played 14 before - he started out there in his debut season for the Blues in 2016 and also for the Maori.

[Stargazer]

Hurricanes

15 James Marshall
14 Ben Lam
13 Peter Umaga-Jensen
12 Danny Toala
11 Salesi Rayasi
10 Jackson Garden-Bachop
9 Richard Judd
8 Gareth Evans
7 Du'Plessis Kirifi
6 Reed Prinsep
5 Isaia Walker-Leawere
4 Kane Le'aupepe
3 Ross Geldenhuys
2 Dane Coles (c)
1 Fraser Armstrong

Reserves
16 Asafo Aumua
17 Chris Eves
18 Alex Fidow
19 Liam Mitchell
20 Ardie Savea
21 TJ Perenara
22 Fletcher Smith
23 Jonah Lowe

Club captain Dane Coles will return to the starting XV for the first time since round five of the Investec Super Rugby competition when the Hurricanes host the Blues at Westpac Stadium on Saturday night.

Coles, who has made 107 appearances for the Hurricanes, impressed off the bench during the side's successful two-match tour of South Africa.

That included playing the second half against the Lions when he scored two tries as the Hurricanes ran out 37-17 winners, a result which guaranteed them a home quarter-final with a round to play.

With fourth place on the overall table secured, Hurricanes head coach John Plumtree has made a number of changes to the run-on side to face the Blues as he looks to manage the workloads of a number of players who have played a lot of minutes in recent weeks.

That includes the front row where props Toby Smith and Jeff Toomaga-Allen have been replaced by Fraser Armstrong and Ross Geldenhuys while lock James Blackwell, who has started every match, has been given an opportunity to freshen up.

The halves combination is also new with first five-eighth Jackson Garden-Bachop starting outside halfback Richard Judd, while there is also a new look midfield pairing with Danny Toala and Peter Umaga-Jensen combining.

Plumtree will have plenty of strike power on the bench with Ardie Savea, TJ Perenara and Asafo Aumua set to be introduced at some stage.

Plumtree said he had considerable faith in the entire squad to maintain the form they have reached in recent weeks.

"We have a lot of guys who have worked really hard to be given an opportunity and we expect them to take their chances," he said.

"The squad has been looking forward to getting back home and playing in front of our fans against a Blues side who will want to end their season on a high note."

Captain Dane Coles returns to starting side to face Blues

[Chris]

This will be an interesting game as far as an eye to the future maybe some players in both sides playing for 2020 contracts.

[Dolamite]

TAB had the Blues at $3.25 this morning and now they’re $2. A lot of people would have jumped on with those odds

[nzzp]

@Dolamite said in Hurricanes v Blues:

TAB had the Blues at $3.25 this morning and now they’re $2. A lot of people would have jumped on with those odds

A lot of people clearly don't watch enough of the Blues. I'd be delighted to see a statement game, but no matter what I want to see 80 minutes of effort.

[cgrant]

Good to see Peter Umaga-Jensen with the 13 jersey again. He was the best back against the Lions which was a surprise to me. Weird that a player with such potential was not even used to warm the bench for the first 16 rounds of the competition.

[Canes4life]

@cgrant Yeah and I think Peter offers a little more on attack than Matty with his size and ability to offload in the tackle.

[Stargazer]

Referee: Glen Jackson
AR1: Brendon Pickerill
AR2: Mike Fraser
TMO: Glenn Newman

[mikey07]

I was hoping the Canes would rest there stars and give there young players game time, I didn’t think Plumtree would do it to be honest.

[ACT Crusader]

@mikey07 said in Hurricanes v Blues:

I was hoping the Canes would rest there stars and give there young players game time, I didn’t think Plumtree would do it to be honest.

As they say in the old classics, it’s only the Blues 😎

In all seriousness, I’ll be interested in how this 9/10 combination goes. They could be in for a rough night with some of the better Canes forwards not starting.

[canefan]

@ACT-Crusader said in Hurricanes v Blues:

@mikey07 said in Hurricanes v Blues:

I was hoping the Canes would rest there stars and give there young players game time, I didn’t think Plumtree would do it to be honest.

As they say in the old classics, it’s only the Blues 😎

In all seriousness, I’ll be interested in how this 9/10 combination goes. They could be in for a rough night with some of the better Canes forwards not starting.

Whenever we don't start Ardie we are poke. Is he starting?

[taniwharugby]

@canefan didnt he come off the bench last week?

[canefan]

@taniwharugby said in Hurricanes v Blues:

@canefan didnt he come off the bench last week?

I dunno, I haven't been paying much attention with the cricket on. Then again it was only the Lions

[MN5]

@canefan said in Hurricanes v Blues:

@taniwharugby said in Hurricanes v Blues:

@canefan didnt he come off the bench last week?

I dunno, I haven't been paying much attention with the cricket on. Then again it was only the Lions

Is there cricket somewhere in the world that isn't rain effected ? awesome !

[Stargazer]

The youngest Hurricane on the field, Toala, marking one of the oldest Blues players, SBW. Puppy v old dog. I don't think Toala would have dreamed that at the beginning of the year. It's gone fast for him.

[nzzp]

Take the 3!

[nzzp]

@Stargazer said in Hurricanes v Blues:

The youngest Hurricane on the field, Toala, marking one of the oldest Blues players, SBW. Puppy v old dog. I don't think Toala would have dreamed that at the beginning of the year. It's gone fast for him.

SBW looks fast and still has those crazy arms. He's going to teh RWC if he can hobble around enough ...

[Machpants]

Ugh cripple fight

[nzzp]

@Machpants said in Hurricanes v Blues:

Ugh cripple fight

Hey, we're trying to prove we're better than the B side. That's not straightforward ... there will be bleeding eyes before we finish

[Machpants]

Jeez Judd is so fucking slow and inaccurate