Super Rugby
Auckland,
23 March 2012,
19:35 local,
06:35 GMT, 12:35 BDT
The first game of round 5 gives us an NZ derby with the Blues hosting the Hurricanes at Eden Park, Auckland.
Both the Blues and the Hurricanes come from a lost in last week’s match-up and will be hoping to turn the table and get a win, the Hurricanes won 2 of their 4 games while the Blues only managed to win 1 out of their 4 games.
The forwards will be evenly match up and expect a fierce contest up front at the breakdown. Both teams have a lethal backline which still haven’t showed us what they are really capable of.
Pat Lam of the Blues decided to bring in Alby Mathewson and move Piri Weepu to flyhalf which in turn forces the young Gareth Anscombe to the bench. Expect a solid/strong game from Ma’a Nonu who will be trying to make up for his performance last week. This will be the first time Nonu and Weepu faces their former franchise.
The Hurricanes coaching staff decided to “keep it country” and picked the same team that narrowly lost out to the Highlanders last weekend. Conrad Smith and Cory Jane will be testing the Blues defense while TJ Perenara will be one to watch around the fringes.
My prediction: the Blues will win this one with less than 10 points.
Players to watch:
Blues : Ma’a Nonu
Hurricanes: Andre Taylor
Head to head: Played 17, Blues 11, Hurricanes 5, Drawn 1
Last match: Blues 17 – 11 Hurricanes @ Westpact Trust Stadium
First player to score: Maybe we could see a try being scored by Benson Stanley
Team Lineups:
Blues: 15. Lachie Munro,14. David Raikuna, 13. Benson Stanley, 12. Ma’a Nonu,11. Rudi Wulf, 10. Piri Weepu, 9. Alby Mathewson, 8. Brad Mika, 7. Daniel Braid (c), 6. Chris Lowrey, 5. Ali Williams, 4. Liaki Moli, 3. Charlie Faumuina, 2. Tom McCartney, 1. Tony Woodcock
Reserves: 16 James Parsons, 17 Tevita Mailau, 18 Filo Paulo, 19 Sean Polwart, 20 Gareth Anscombe, 21 Michael Hobbs, 22 Hadleigh Parkes
Hurricanes: 15. Andre Taylor, 14. Cory Jane, 13. Conrad Smith (c), 12. Tim Bateman, 11. Julian Savea, 10. Beauden Barrett, 9. TJ Perenara, 8. Victor Vito, 7. Jack Lam, 6. Faifili Levave, 5. Jason Eaton, 4. Jeremy Thrush, 3. Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, 2. Dane Coles, 1. Ben May / Michael Bent.
Reserves : 16. Motu Matu’u,17. Michael Bent / Tristan Moran,18. James Broadhurst,19. Brad Shields,20. Chris Eaton,21. Daniel Kirkpatrick,22. Charlie Ngatai
Date: 23 March 2012
Venue: Eden Park, Auckland
Kick-off: 19:35 NZ / 17:35 Aus / 8:35 SA / 6:35 UK
Referee: Steve Walsh (Australia)
Assistant referees: Ben Skeen (New Zealand), Jonathon White (New Zealand)
TMO: Bryce Lawrence(New Zealand)
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