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The Hurricanes have opted to pick a strong team to face bottom-of-the-table Moana Pasifika in Wellington. Join The Roar for live scores from 2.35pm AEST.
All Blacks Ardie Savea and Jordie Barrett have been picked despite requiring breaks imminently.
The fifth-place Hurricanes lost to Fjiian Dru last week while Moana went close to a major upset, falling to the Blues by a single point.
Moana coach Aaron Mauger has made wholesale changes to his team and will put up inexperienced lineup against a near full strength Canes taking no chances. The Canes won the first clash between the team’s 59-0 earlier this season.
With the All Blacks unable to play more than five games in a row under New Zealand Rugby’s rest policy, Savea and Barrett will need a break before the quarterfinals and this was seen by many as the perfect opportunity.
“There’s a couple of things we’ve been thinking about for a long time now and the big one is making sure our squad is in good shape when we get to the playoffs,” coach Jason Holland said.
“I think it’s massive that you don’t have guys limp in. As you guys know we’ve got three derbies before the playoffs and to win it you have to play another three derbies, probably.
“You’d hate to limp into a semifinal or a final and I understand we’ve got to get there first but we’ve got to make sure our squad is at the top of their game, so we’ll juggle it and as you see from selection this week there are guys that have played big minutes that aren’t playing.
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“We’re wary we have to win and we totally respect Moana and the challenge they bring, but we’ve got to look forward to quarterfinals, semifinals and finals.
“We know what Moana can do on their day and we have massive respect for them. We learnt that in a pretty harsh way last season. Like any Super game, we need to be at our best to win it and that’s all that’s on our mind and we’ll approach the next three weeks after that.”
Game Information
Venue: Sky Stadium, Wellington Kick-off: 2.35pm (AEST) Streaming: Stan Sport Odds: Hurricanes $1.06 Moana Pasifika $10.00 – odds via Playup
Teams
Hurricanes (1-15): Tevita Mafileo, Jacob Devery, Tyrel Lomax, Justin Sangster, Isaia Walker-Leawere, Devan Flanders, Du’Plessis Kirifi, Ardie Savea (c), Jamie Booth, Aidan Morgan, Kini Naholo, Jordie Barrett, Billy Proctor, Salesi Rayasi, Harry Godfrey.
