This week’s Super Rugby news is of course dominated by the only 2 sides left in the 2015 competition, who will meet in the Final on Saturday, namely the Highlanders and Hurricanes.

In this article we focus on various aspects in the final week for the Hurricanes. We look at how they will approach the final, Conrad Smith discusses his 12-year Hurricanes career and we look at the Hurricane sinjury situation ahead of Saturday’s final.

Game Approch – Keep attacking:

Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd says that his team will not change their attacking approach when they host their first Super Rugby Final.

The Wellington side will host the Highlanders on the weekend which means that Super Rugby will have a 1st-time titleholder, and for the 5th time it will be an all-New Zealand affair.

The table-topping Hurricanes sealed their home final with a 29 / 9 victory over the Brumbies, while the Highlanders travelled to Sydney and beat the defending champion Waratahs to secure their spot.

It was far from faultless rugby by the Hurricanes but with a backline including All Blacks Ma’a Nonu, Conrad Smith, Julian Savea and rising new star Nehe Milner-Skudder, coach Chris Boyd said it was worth taking risks.

“If you play a high risk and reward game you’ve got to expect you will make mistakes,” he said, promising the same approach in the final.

“I don’t suspect we’ll change anything actually. We are just happy that we can go to the last dance and we do it in our own hall,” he quipped.

The only issues facing the Hurricanes are the fitness of bruising flank Ardie Savea, who was forced from the field with a knee injury after 50 minutes and ongoing hamstring problems which limited Milner-Skudder to the 1st half.

Flyhalf Beauden Barrett gave up the kicking duties in the 2nd half because of hip pain which he said had hampered him for years.

Fuelled by the emotion of losing former teammate Jerry Collins in a car accident 3 weeks ago, and with the packed stadium chanting “Jerry, Jerry, Jerry”, the Hurricanes had control of the Brumbies after 5 minutes.

They scored 4 tries, 2 in each half while restricting the Brumbies to a trio of penalties.

For Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph, the post-match debrief after the Waratahs clash had the familiarity of a well-worn record. How could a team with 3 All Blacks romp home against the defending champions who fielded 13 interntionals?

“You can’t say the same story every week,” he said.

“It still surprises me. In many ways it seems that we’ve fooled the rugby community, they still don’t quite believe in us, what else can these guys do?”

1 Of the Highlanders’ biggest assets has been fitness, making them 1 of the best finishing sides in the competition.

When they trailed the Waratahs 17 / 15 after 50 minutes, they stepped up several gears to score 20 unanswered points.

Their cause was helped by a contentious Penalty Try when Jacques Potgieter was given a Yellow Card for a swinging arm tackle on Patrick Osborne near the Waratahs tryline.

But by that stage the game had already become 1-way traffic and the Waratahs never looked like catching up.

(rugby365)

Conrad Smith on his 12-Year career:

Conrad Smith

After 12 seasons playing in a side that has flummoxed fans with their maddening inconsistency, Conrad Smith has 6 days of his Hurricanes career remaining and the 33-year-old centre hopes to go out on the ultimate high.

The Hurricanes, despite being heavy on All Blacks and imbued with an all-out attacking mentality, have never won a Super Rugby title in 20 seasons… their only previous championship match being the 2006 ‘Fog Final’ when they lost to the Crusaders.

Smith played no part in that final after breaking his leg earlier in the year.

On Saturday, however, the Hurricanes gave themselves another shot at the title after hammering the Brumbies 29 / 9 at a virtually sold-out Wellington stadium to set up a final at home against the Highlanders.

Ups and downs:

It will be the last Hurricanes match for Smith, who will join French club Pau at the conclusion of the World Cup, though he acknowledged the thought had crossed his mind his Hurricanes career could have ended on Saturday.

“I was particularly nervous before the game,” Smith told reporters. “You sit around for a week and you think about it.

“But to beat them and then move on to the final is huge but at the same time you know you want to go 1 more.”

Victory against the Highlanders would cap a 1-club Super Rugby career for Smith, who has dealt with team ups and downs, injuries and a controversial clear-out of senior players by then coach Mark Hammett at the end of the 2011 season.

The team have also struggled to maintain the interest of the crowds, who once flocked to home games and made them the best supported New Zealand side despite the fickle nature of Wellington’s weather.

Attendances dropped away with results, though the crowd on Saturday was the largest for a Super Rugby match at the stadium since their 2006 semi-final victory over the Waratahs.

“It’s a reward for the consistency,” Smith said.

“We knew that if we put ourselves in that position on the table then… the numbers would turn up.

“It was particularly pleasing… I’d keep playing for a few more years if I could play in front of a crowd like that every week.”

Great buzz:

The team have also had to contend with personal grief following the death of former Hurricanes loose forward Jerry Collins in a car crash in France earlier this month.

Smith said the team had done well to keep those thoughts from distracting them and it would be something they would emphasise again in their final week together.

“I know if you focus on that stuff you don’t always play well,” he said.

“So it was a matter of just making sure you think about what you’re going to do in the game and doing your job.

“I think that’s going to be the same case again next week because there will be a great buzz around the place.”

(Sport24)

Injury worries to vital players:

Ardie Savea

Nehe Milner-Skudder

Hurricanes boss Chris Boyd will be keeping his fingers crossed over the fitness of Ardie Savea and Nehe Milner-Skudder ahead of Saturday’s final.

The openside flanker and wing are suffering with knee and hamstring injuries respectively, with both having been in excellent form during recent months.

“He’ll (Savea) get a scan today and until we know exactly we know exactly what we’re dealing with the diagnosis, treatment and return to play probably a little murky,” Boyd said in the aftermath of their win over the Brumbies.

“He hyper extended and fell backwards over it. He was in a brace on Saturday night, but rocked up functionally a lot better yesterday morning at the injury clinic. I’d say we’re hopeful he’ll play.”

Meanwhile, the ‘Canes boss seems much more confident over the fitness of lethal runner Milner-Skudder ahead of the final against the Highlanders.

“Nehe felt his hamstring when he pushed off to make a clean out. We erred on the side of caution and Matty P (Proctor) is a pretty able replacement so there was no need to push that at that stage,” he added.

Beauden Barrett to ease off kicking this week:

Beauden Barrett

Hurricanes flyhalf Beauden Barrett has said he will avoid kicking during the week leading up to Saturday’s Super Rugby Final against the Highlanders.

The All Black, who helped lead the ‘Canes to a home match in Saturday’s all-New Zealand showpiece, struggled with tightness in his right knee and hip.

And with victory over the Brumbies sealed, he’s re-evaluating his preparation.

“I really wanted to kick this week and I did plenty of repetition. I wanted to do the prep and I definitely over-kicked this week, which was why I was tight out there,” he said after Saturday’s impressive win in Wellington.

“It’s another learning. I was too eager because I wanted to be good tonight, so I will definitely pull it back for next week.”

He added: “The knee was fine, it was more around my hips and once they go it’s very sore and restricting. It’s something I’ve been battling my whole career, but I’m not making any excuses and Jimmy (Marshall) is more than capable.

“My legs are wrecked, but I’ll take a lot from it, I got rid of a bit of rust out there. I’m just glad to be back in the driver’s seat. I was more than happy for him to take over. I was struggling just to kick for touch. I kicked a bit too much this week and I tightened up, so I’ve got to really be careful not to over work during the week. I need to trust my technique and my routine that I can deliver on the day.”

Barrett was thrilled to secure a 1st final for the Hurricanes since 2006 and praised the Wellington crowd who turned out.

“It was amazing. The first 20 minutes when we were controlling play we had a few opportunities, the crowd was just erupting. You can notice the difference when it’s full compared to a regular game. It will be a sell out next week and we’re pumped about it,” he continued.

“We’re so excited. I’m personally looking forward to resting up a couple of days to make sure I’m fresh for next Saturday. It’s going to be a huge occasion, it’s something we’ve aimed for right from the start of our season at our camp in Gisborne. All the boys will turn up to work next week with smiles on our faces, just like we have all season.”