Hurricanes v Blues
Kick-off: 7:05pm Saturday 1 March
Sky Stadium, Wellington
Live blog updates on RNZ Sport
OK, so who came into this season thinking this fixture would be a battle of the cellar-dwellers? Admittedly we're only three weeks into Super Rugby Pacific but another loss for either of these sides would call for panic stations, not least because of their excellent 2024 campaigns.
The Blues are coming off a shock loss to the Highlanders and the Canes were one last-minute try away from feeling the same way against the Drua, so really this is a case of who can sort themselves out the fastest.
Mark Tele'a celebrates his try against the Hurricanes in round 12 of the Super Rugby Pacific competition at Eden Park. Photo: Photosport
Team lists
Hurricanes: 1. Xavier Numia, 2. Raymond Tuputupu, 3. Pasilio Tosi, 4. Caleb Delany, 5. Isaia Walker-Leawere, 6. Brad Shields (cc), 7. Du'Plessis Kirifi (cc), 8. Peter Lakai, 9. Cam Roigard, 10. Harry Godfrey, 11. Kini Naholo, 12. Peter Umaga-Jensen, 13. Bailyn Sullivan, 14. Fatafehi Fineanganofo, 15. Kade Banks
Bench: 16. Jacob Devery, 17. Pouri Rakete-Stones, 18. Tevita Mafileo, 19. Hugo Plummer, 20. Brayden Iose, 21. Ereatara Enari, 22. Riley Hohepa, 23. Ngatungane Punivai
Blues: 1. Ofa Tu'ungafasi, 2. Ricky Riccitelli, 3. Marcel Renata, 4. Patrick Tuipulotu (c), 5. Josh Beehre, 6. Cameron Suafoa, 7. Dalton Papali'i, 8. Hoskins Sotutu, 9. Finlay Christie, 10. Harry Plummer, 11. Caleb Clarke, 12. AJ Lam, 13. Rieko Ioane, 14. Mark Tele'a, 15. Beauden Barrett
Bench: 16. James Mullan, 17. Joshua Fusitu'a, 18. Angus Ta'avao, 19. Cam Christie, 20. Anton Segner, 21. Sam Nock, 22. Corey Evans, 23. Cole Forbes
READ: All team lists for Super Rugby Pacific round three
Canes selections
Peter Lakai of the Hurricanes during the Super Rugby Pacific - Hurricanes v Chiefs at Sky Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand on Saturday 13 April 2024 Copyright photo: Masanori Udagawa / www.photosport.nz Photo: Masanori Udagawa
Raymond Tuputupu comes in at hooker in a bit of surprise over the in form Jacob Devery, the other change in the forwards sees Peter Lakai and Brayden Iose swap places at number eight and the bench. North Harbour wing Kade Banks starts at fullback, replacing the injured Callum Harkin.
Blues selections
Harry Plummer leaps into the sky. Photo: Photosport
Not many changes for Vern Cotter's side other than Josh Beehre coming into the second row to replace Lachlan McWhannell. Cam Christie comes off the bench for his debut and Sam Nock will make his first appearance of the season.
Key stats
The Blues have won seven of their last 10 Super Rugby Pacific games against the Hurricanes including a 31-27 win in their most recent meeting; however, they had lost 9 in a row against them prior to those 10 most recent encounters.
Five of the last six Super Rugby Pacific games between the Hurricanes and Blues at Sky Stadium have been decided by a margin of fewer than 10 points on the day, with each team picking up three wins in that stretch.
The Hurricanes have missed four or more tackles leading to a line break in each of their two games in the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific season after not doing so in any of their last four games in the 2024 campaign.
Xavier Numia on the charge for the Canes. Photo: Photosport
What they're saying
"If it was easy, we'd just do it, wouldn't we? There's some simple stuff around execution. We left ourselves down around set piece launching and the first three phasis. But opposition circumstances don't make it easy." - Canes coach Clark Laidlaw.
"We felt we were undercooked right from the start…you have to deal with losing. The whole thing is about constructing our game but it doesn't take away the disappointment of losing." - Blues coach Vern Cotter.
The last time they met
Blues 31 - 27 Hurricanes
One of the best games of last season, the two sides went blow for blow in front of a big crowd at Eden Park. The home side got there in the end thanks to a concerted forward effort close to the line, scoring four tries from one metre barge overs.
What's going to happen
How the mighty have fallen, not just in ladder placings but personnel too. The Canes relied on big games from TJ Perenara and Jordie Barrett last year, so Cam Roigard and Peter Umaga-Jensen need to combine to give them a decent crack. Meanwhile the Blues are just trying to figure out what they're doing wrong, when it worked so well last year. Still, there is enough talent on the park to make this a highly watchable match - so expect the linesmen to be spending a good bit of time under the posts.
