Beauden Barrett
The Hurricanes will enter their derby against the Chiefs without the services of All Black flyhalf Beauden Barrett after the playmaker was ruled out with a calf strain.
Barrett’s absence sees James Marshall return to flyhalf after playing fullback in his team’s 56 / 20 victory over the Highlanders last week. Nehe Milner-Skudder moves from the wing to take Marshall’s place at the back.
Head coach Chris Boyd has also shuffled his forwards slightly, bringing Mark Abbott and Callum Gibbins into the starting line-up, along with Brad Shields who came off the bench last week.
Boyd has decided to let hardworking forwards James Broadhurst and Ardie Savea keep their jackets on a little while longer this week, with the pair having started 13 and 12 matches respectively, out of a possible 15.
Meanwhile, the clash will see another milestone for centre and captain Conrad Smith, who will join Ma’a Nonu as the most capped Hurricane when he leads his team onto Yarrow Stadium this weekend.
Saturday’s match will be Smith’s 124th appearance for the ‘Canes, a number Nonu brought up against the Highlanders in Napier last weekend.
Smith achieved a milestone earlier this year when he and Nonu became the most capped midfield pairing for the ‘Canes, while last week he also became the most successful Hurricanes’ captain, winning 33 matches in charge. The record was previously held by Rodney So’oialo, who led the team to 32 victories during his time as captain.
Hurricanes: 15 Nehe Milner-Skudder, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith (Captain), 12 Rey Lee-Lo, 11 Julian Savea, 10 James Marshall, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Victor Vito, 7 Callum Gibbins, 6 Brad Shields, 5 Mark Abbott, 4 Jeremy Thrush, 3 Ben Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Reggie Goodes
Replacements: 16 Brayden Mitchell, 17 Chris Eves, 18 Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, 19 James Broadhurst, 20 Ardie Savea, 21 Frae Wilson, 22 Willis Halaholo, 23 Sam McNicol.
Date: Saturday 13 June
Venue: Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth
Kick-Off: 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 07:35 GMT)
Referee: Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: Shane McDermott (New Zealand), Paul Williams (New Zealand)
TMO: Chris Wratt (New Zealand)
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