Hurricanes 2020
-
Right now, does anyone have a preference on the starting XV for round 1?
I'm thinking if we have no injuries against the Blues the team for the Stormers will probably look something like this:
1 Armstrong 2 Coles 3 Lomax 4 Blackwell 5 Walker-Leawere 6 Fifita 7 Kirifi 8 Evans 9 Perenara 10 Smith 11 Lam 12 Laumape 13 Aso 14 Goosen 15 Barrett
16 Aumua 17 Numia (if available) / Rakete-Stones 18 Fidow 19 Scrafton 20 Prinsep 21 Booth 22 Garden-Bachop 23 Umaga-JensenStill no sign of Leaupepe / Marshall, I don't think they are with the squad as of yet.
-
@Canes4life said in Hurricanes 2020:
Right now, does anyone have a preference on the starting XV for round 1?
I'm thinking if we have no injuries against the Blues the team for the Stormers will probably look something like this:
1 Armstrong 2 Coles 3 Lomax 4 Blackwell 5 Walker-Leawere 6 Fifita 7 Kirifi 8 Evans 9 Perenara 10 Smith 11 Lam 12 Laumape 13 Aso 14 Goosen 15 Barrett
16 Aumua 17 Numia (if available) / Rakete-Stones 18 Fidow 19 Scrafton 20 Prinsep 21 Booth 22 Garden-Bachop 23 Umaga-JensenStill no sign of Leaupepe / Marshall, I don't think they are with the squad as of yet.
I think that comes close to what the line-up will be. On the bench, I'd prefer Rakete-Stones, who looked really powerful last week. Hopefully also Toala instead of PU-J.
James Marshall only played his last game for Coca-Cola Red Sparks five days ago, so it's a big question whether he'll even be on the plane to SA. No idea about Leaupepe.
-
@Stargazer said in Hurricanes 2020:
@Winger said in Hurricanes 2020:
@Stargazer said in Hurricanes 2020:
Full Hurricanes squad to face the Blues:15 Chase Tiatia
14 Wes Goosen
13 Billy Proctor
12 Ngani Laumpehe
11 Lam
10 Fletcher Smith
9 Jonathan Taumateine
8 Gareth Evans
7 Du’Plessis Kirifi
5 James Blackwell
4 Scott Scrafton
3 Tyrel Lomax
2 Ricky Riccitelli
1 Fraser ArmstrongNot the most powerful side the Canes have ever put out.
Tiatia I don't rate. Just not really up to this level. But Im sure Aso will come in next week. And maybe its too early for Proctor. And where's Barrett. I wouldn't mind seeing him at 2nd 5 with Ngani Laumape at centre. Lam at FB with Goosen and Aso on the wings.Blackwell is almost a joke selection. Poor ball skill and far too short (1.90) I thought he was a Plumtree selection. I just hope these current selectors don't continue this silliness
and Prinsep.
What do they see in him. The Canes need more stars not adequate ploddersNone of the ABs are playing preseason games. They have returned for training but are not allowed to play, yet. That applies to ABs at all SR franchises.
Also, selections in preseason games are usually not an indication of who is going to play - and where - during the season.
Lam at fullback is a ridiculous idea and if he plays like he did last week, he shouldn't even make the squad. He did absolutely nothing to deserve a spot in the 23.
Unfortunately, we won't be able to watch this game.
Have you ever seen Lam play FB? (I have and he was surprising good there)
-
1 Armstrong 2 Coles 3 Lomax 4 Fifita 5 Walker-Leawere 6 ??? 7 Kirifi 8 Evans 9 Perenara 10 Smith 12 Barrett 13 Laumape 11 Aso 14 Goosen 15 Lam
16 Aumua 17 Numia (if available) / Rakete-Stones 18 Fidow 19 Scrafton 20 Prinsep 21 Booth 22 Garden-Bachop 23 Umaga-Jensen / Toala (depending on trial form)My view is Fifita is a better lock than 6. Maybe shift Evans to 6 and see how either Brayden Iose or Devan Flanders go at 8.
The other option is to play Princep at 6. But Blackwell I don't want in the team. He's not a 6 or 8 and is too short for lock.
Id like Barrett at 12 to give some support to Fletcher. As Fletcher at 1st was hopeless last year so Barret can help him out when required. Id also like to see hwo Laumape goes at center. And I don't like Aso at center. I would prefer Proctor
-
Hurricanes coach Jason Holland says they will need to make a quick assessment of James Blackwell to see if he can fly out with the team on Saturday to South Africa. The lock was walking around in a moon boot after the Hurricanes' 29-28 loss to the Blues at Onewa Domain on Friday. Holland says they don't think his problem is serious, but as the team fly out to South Africa early on Saturday morning for thier season opener against the Stormers, they'll have to make an urgent call on whether he'll be able to join them. "He's got a horrible big toe, which flares up a bit," Holland said "I wouldn't think it's too serious, but it's niggly enough to get him off before we wanted to. "We'll have to assess the pretty quickly, before we go to Africa in the morning." -
-
@Nogusta who are the injured props?
-
@Canes4life May and Numia?
-
Canes just posted this, includes all the injured players and Coles is included. Maybe he has missed the flight to South Africa also, or just starting later in the campaign. Very little communication coming from the Canes.
-
Hurricanes squad for South Africa:
Forwards:
Fraser Armstrong, Tyrel Lomax, Tevita Mafileo, Pouri Rakete-Stones, Alex Fidow, Ricky Riccitelli, Asafo Aumua, James Blackwell, Isaia Walker-Leawere, Scott Scrafton, Du’Plessis Kirifi, Gareth Evans, Vaea Fifita, Devan Flanders, Reed Prinsep.
Backs:
TJ Perenara, Jamie Booth, Jackson Garden-Bachop, Fletcher Smith, Ngani Laumape, Billy Proctor, Vince Aso, Peter Umaga-Jensen, Wes Goosen, Ben Lam, Chase Tiatia, Jordie Barrett.
Tevita Mafileo, has been with the Blues this year but has been drafted by the Hurricanes and will join them on tour.No info about injuries.
-
40 and then 60 minutes playing time. So for the first game they can't really start. So Proctor will likely start at center with Aso, Lam and Goosen making up the back three.
Hurricanes welcome back World Cup stars for season-opening Super Rugby tour
The Hurricanes have welcomed back two of their star men for their opening two matches of the new Super Rugby campaign.
The Hurricanes have named a squad of 27 players to travel to South Africa and Argentina for the start of the 2020 Super Rugby campaign.
Headlining the abbreviated squad to take on the Stormers in Cape Town and Jaguares in Buenos Aires over the next fortnight are All Blacks stars TJ Perenara and Jordie Barrett.
Neither player has featured throughout pre-season as part of their extended break following last year’s World Cup in Japan.
The duo – who were present at Onewa Domain for the Hurricanes’ 29-28 defeat to the Blues in Auckland on Friday – will be confined to just 40 and then 60 minutes of game time in the season’s opening two matches as part of the All Blacks’ rest program.
Their returns will nevertheless be welcomed by head coach Jason Holland, whose side will need Perenara’s and Barrett’s talents and experience after the Wellingtonians lost both of their pre-season fixtures to the Blues and Crusaders.
Perenara’s fellow co-captain Dane Coles hasn’t travelled with the squad, with hopes he’ll play in the round three clash against the Sharks at Sky Stadium on February 15.
-
@Winger Tiatia will start at 15 if Barrett doesn’t considering he’s started there in both preseason games. Lam isn’t a fullback. Umaga Jensen / Aso will probably get first dibs on the 13 jersey based on the pecking order from last year.
-
@Canes4life Yep, that's what I expect, too. Lam at fullback won't happen. Hopefully Aso at 13, with Goosen outside him.
-
Ive seen both Goosen and Lam play FB for Wellington. Both are better than Tiatia by some distance. And Aso's not a center. But I suspect you may be right. Reflecting the limited coaching at the Canes
Some other points
Barrett is listed at 2nd 5 on the website
Players are still missingFFS. If they can't get a simple thing like this completed to a high standard less than a week before kickoff. What else is being done poorly. Maybe player management = lots of injuries year after year
-
@Winger you are right they have played there for Wellington but I wouldn’t consider them Super level fullbacks by any stretch. Billy Proctor also spent a lot of time there for Wellington this year so they may even chuck the jersey to him.
I’m thinking they will want to start the season strongly so I’m actually picking Barrett to start there anyway. Don’t forget the Laumape/Aso combo lit up the tournament a few years ago when they had a long run together in the centres. On offence they are sublime, it’s the defensive side of the ball that they will need to improve dramatically.
-
In the Blues v Chiefs thread, Fletcher Smith is called a journey man. To stay with the literal meaning of the word (although - on the Fern - it's more often than not used as a word for players that posters don't rate, and therefore subjective), below is an article that sheds some light on why/how he ended up with the Canes.
A lot of Fletcher Smith's journeying is due to his parents moving, attending school and uni. And, apparently, Jason Holland.
-
Hurricanes name squad to tour Africa, Argentina.
