Stormers v Hurricanes (Round 1)
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Boy is the Hurricanes front 5 putrid
Unless TJP, Laumape or Joride B play great,. Stormers are going to crush Canes up front
Stormers have best pack in Super Rugby this year
They should beat Canes though best time to travel is early in season
Canes by 2 points
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Hurricanes name strong All Blacks core for Super Rugby season opener
The Hurricanes have put their faith in Fletcher Smith to replace Beauden Barrett as their side is named to face the Stormers in their Super Rugby season opener on Sunday morning.
Smith, 24, has been named to start at first-five for the Hurricanes in Cape Town, beating competition from Jackson Garden-Bachop, named on the bench, and veteran James Marshall.
Elsehwere, TJ Perenara captains the side in Dane Coles' absence, the pair sharing leadership duties this season. Ricky Riccitelli starts in the front row in Coles' place.
All Blacks duo Jordie Barrett and Ngani Laumape both start at fullback and second-five respectively, while impressive 20-year-old Billy Proctor will play at centre after impressing for Wellington in last year's Mitre 10 Cup.In the forwards, Scott Scrafton and one-Test All Black Tyrel Lomax will both make their Hurricanes debuts.
The Hurricanes claimed victory in their last visit to Newlands, leaving with a 34-28 victory.
Hurricanes: 15. Jordie Barrett, 14. Wes Goosen, 13. Billy Proctor, 12. Ngani Laumape, 11. Ben Lam, 10. Fletcher Smith, 9. TJ Perenara (c), 8. Gareth Evans, 7. Du'Plessis Kirifi, 6. Reed Prinsep, 5. Scott Scrafton, 4. James Blackwell, 3. Tyrel Lomax, 2. Ricky Riccitelli, 1. Fraser Armstrong.
Reserves: 16. Asafo Aumua, 17. Pouri Rakete-Stones, 18. Tevita Mafileo, 19. Vaea Fifita, 20. Devan Flanders, 21. Jamie Booth, 22. Jackson Garden-Bachop, 23. Vince Aso. -
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The Canes will be simply looking to run the Stormers off the park with the side they've picked. Whether they can do it or not is another question. If we can hold firm at set-piece I think we should grind out a tight win, if we don't then it could get ugly.
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@Higgins Mafileo gets the start as I understand Fidow is about a week away from playing. I suspect him to be named next week against the Jaguares.
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@Canes4life Isn't Fidow almost permanently injured, a la Geoff Cridge/Hugh Renton?
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@Higgins said in Hurricanes 2020:
@Canes4life Isn't Fidow almost permanently injured, a la Geoff Cridge/Hugh Renton?
Cridge is not injured at the moment I think - he's been training with the Crusaders.
I wonder if Fidow will get punted by the Canes once his injury clears up as well?
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@Canes4life said in Stormers v Hurricanes (Round 1):
@Nepia if he has an injury-prone season this year then maybe.
@Higgins Cridge is big, but he is fairly lazy from what I've seen. It is frustrating that they continue to persist with midget at lock though.
That's not true at all, when he actually plays he goes well ... he just doesn't play very often due to his injuries.
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@Nepia Then why wasn't he picked last year when he was available? And why hasn't he been picked up by any NZ franchise on a main contract? Especially when you take into account the quality of locks that have left our shores.
If the Canes are willing to throw Blackwell into the fold instead of someone like Cridge that has a frame more fitting of a lock, it suggests to me that he just isn't good enough. More of a Dominic Bird than a Brodie Rettalick.
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@Canes4life said in Stormers v Hurricanes (Round 1):
@Nepia Then why wasn't he picked last year when he was available? And why hasn't he been picked up by any NZ franchise on a main contract? Especially when you take into account the quality of locks that have left our shores.
If the Canes are willing to throw Blackwell into the fold instead of someone like Cridge that has a frame more fitting of a lock, it suggests to me that he just isn't good enough. More of a Dominic Bird than a Brodie Rettalick.
A Dominic Bird is a decent Super player so you've actually complimented him.
I'm not saying he's an instant world beater, but he's a decent player, he's just an injury magnet.
The Canes rate Blackwell highly, more than just throw him into the fold, I don't know why.
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@Nepia I get what you are saying, it must be hard for the likes of Renton/Cridge/Fidow to assert themselves on the scene when they are always injured. Maybe it's a training issue at the Canes?
I rate Blackwell, he has a high work rate, he's a smart footballer, a natural leader. But he isn't a lock. 1.90m isn't big enough at Super level, I just can't see how the Canes don't get that. Simple minds maybe. I would rather see Blackwell at 6 over Prinsep.
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@Canes4life said in Stormers v Hurricanes (Round 1):
I would rather see Blackwell at 6 over Prinsep.
Agree 100%, Prinsep is uber vanilla, not sure how he has a contract and a starting position.
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@Nepia my ideal loose forward mix when Ardie comes back would be to shift Blackwell to 6, Ardz at 7 and Evans at 8, with Flanders on the bench. Scrafton, Walker-Leawere and Leaupepe provide that size in the engine room and then we have solid enough props to get the job done upfront, mixed in with our x-factor hookers. At the moment the mix is just wrong - Blackwell is too small to be in the second row and Prinsep is just very limited in everything he does = don't get me wrong guys like Prinsep, Riccitelli try very hard and don't let the jersey down, it's just that if you want to win a Championship you do need a little more flavour through 1-8.
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@Canes4life Reading your loose forward lineup indicates you do not have any space for Fifita.
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@Tim said in Stormers v Hurricanes (Round 1):
TAB odds:
Stormers
1.69Hurricanes
2.18I can't believe those odds. If the Stormers lose to that NPC pack, there should be an investigation.
