«

»

Outright Rugby

Hurricanes v.s Blues Super Rugby preview

February 21, 2013

The Hurricanes kick-off against the Blues on Saturday and recent results make for this to be an epic Super Rugby clash.

Venu: Westpac Stadium, Wellington.

Kick-off Sat 23 Feb: 19:35 (Local)

23 Feb Aus. 17:35 (Sydney)

23 Feb RSA 08:35

Referee: Glen Jackson (New Zealand)

Weather: Cool dry windy conditions.

 

Sides - Hurricanes Run-on: 15. Andre Taylor, 14. Alapati Leiua, 13. Conrad Smith (c), 12. Tim Bateman, 11. Julian Savea, 10. Beauden Barrett, 9. TJ Perenara, 8. Brad Shields, 7. Karl Lowe, 6. Victor Vito, 5. Jason Eaton, 4. Jeremy Thrush, 3. Ben May, 2. Dane Coles, 1. Ben Franks. Bench: 16. Ash Dixon,17. Reggie Goodes,18. Mark Reddish,19. Faifili Levave, 20. Chris Smylie, 21. James Marshall, 22. Reynold Lee-Lo. Unavailable: Ardie Savea, Cory Jane, Eric Sione, Jack Lam, Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, Matt Proctor, Motu Matu’u and  Samisoni Fisilau.

 

Blues Run-on: 15. Charles Piutau,14. Frank Halai, 13. Rene Ranger ,12. Francis Saili, 11. George Moala, 10. Chris Noakes, 9. Piri Weepu, 8. Peter Saili, 7. Luke Braid, 6. Steven Luatua, 5. Ali Williams (c), 4. Culum Retallick, 3. Charlie Faumuina, 2. James Parsons, 1. Tom McCartney. Bench: 16. Quentin MacDonald, 17. Angus Ta’avao, 18. Liaki Moli, 19. Brendon O’Connor, 20. Bryn Hall, 21. Baden Kerr, 22. Jackson Willison. Unavailable:  Keven Mealamu.

 

Previous results:  

Hurricanes:  Away 27 – 26 Crusaders

Away 47 – 45 Rebels

Away 21 – 25 Chiefs (most recent fixture).

Blues:   Away 35 – 41 Reds

Home 40 – 36 Waratahs

Neutral 31 – 29 Highlanders (most recent fixture).

 

Betting: Outright: 4/9 v.s 9/4

Handicap: -5 v.s +5

 

Both teams have achieved 2 wins from their last 3 matches. Notably for the Blues however, their side which lost to the Reds included very few of their available star players and as such, the 35 – 41 result is more flattering than most may think. The Hurricanes have conceded fewer points in their preseason exchanges (all away from home) which is a good foundation to build on and may be the difference in this electric New Zealand derby.

Prediction: Hurricanes to win.

Share
  • http://twitter.com/steyn_05 Riaan Steyn

    Thought the Blues to be the team to beat last year and turned out to be the opposite. knowing which blues side will pitch up this year especially with the rated coaching staff remains a mystery but my octopus predictions senses tends to the canes by 6.

  • http://twitter.com/outrightrugby Outright Rugby

    The Blues suffered from some shocking coaching last season. We all had high hopes for them. This year with new coaching could easily be a different story but they are in an incredibly difficult conference.