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Brad Shields returns as Hurricanes make 14 changes in starting XV for Rebels
By Ned Lester
The Hurricanes' depth is proving to be perhaps the best in Super Rugby Pacific as the Wellington team deals with injury, suspension and All Blacks rest requirements while forging ahead with an undefeated record.
This week, that record is again on the line against the Rebels, and the team will be without influential halfback Cam Roigard. Veteran All Black TJ Perenara will step into the No. 9 jersey for the contest, a familiar role for the 150-cap Hurricane.
Thankfully, returning to the starting XV will be Jordie Barrett, having served his suspension for a red card against the Reds. Also returning to the starting unit is Duplessis Kirifi, who will be joined in the loose forwards by new captain Brad Shields in a season debut.
Shields' return after a five-year stint in Europe has been eagerly awaited, and his has proven to be a timely signing given the squad is missing previous key leaders in Ardie Savea and Dane Coles.
The rest of the starting XV is also riddled with changes, with All Black Tyrel Lomax the only player named to start this week after featuring in last round's win over the Crusaders.
“We’ve had to make some changes because some of the boys have got some niggles. We also want to let the boys who haven’t had a game this year find their feet. They’ve been training well, and they deserve an opportunity to play. It also shows the quality we have in our depth to be able to call on these players and we’re really happy with that,” Hurricanes coach Clark Laidlaw said.
“It’s also really good to have Brad back. We’ve certainly been in and out with some of our loose forwards with injuries, but he’s itching to get started after training fully now for a couple of weeks. He not only provides a strong running and defensive game but exceptional leadership as well.”
Palmerston North will play host to the Friday night contest.
“We love playing up in Palmy,” Laidlaw added.
“We have a long history of playing there and we have a contingent of Manawat? boys in our squad, so we’re looking forward to heading up there on Thursday and getting amongst the community with our open training session and school visits and then playing on Friday.”
Hurricanes team to face Rebels
- Pouri Rakete-Stones
- James O’Reilly
- Tyrel Lomax
- Justin Sangster
- Caleb Delany
- Brad Shields (Captain)
- Du’Plessis Kirifi
- Devan Flanders
- TJ Perenara
- Aidan Morgan
- Salesi Rayasi
- Jordie Barrett
- Ngane Punivai (Debut)
- Daniel Sinkinson
- Harry Godfrey
Replacements:
- Asafo Aumua
- Tevita Mafileo
- Pasilio Tosi
- James Tucker
- Brayden Iose
- Richard Judd
- Riley Higgins
- Josh Moorby
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Latest Comments
What’s new its a common occurrence, just the journos out there expecting a negative spin. The outcome will be beneficial to jordie and Leinster. The home grown lads hav got some experience to step up to and be more competitive, that or spend the 6 months keeping the bench warm.
Go to commentsI’m all for speeding up the game. But can we be certain that the slowness of the game contributed to fans walking out? I’m not so sure. Super rugby largely suffered from most fans only being able to, really, follow the games played in their own time zone. So at least a third of the fan base wasn’t engaged at any point in time. As a Saffer following SA teams in the URC - I now watch virtually every European game played on the weekend. In SR, I wouldn’t be bothered to follow the games being played on the other side of the world, at weird hours, if my team wasn’t playing. I now follow the whole tournament and not just the games in my time zone. Second, with New Zealand teams always winning. It’s like formula one. When one team dominates, people lose interest. After COVID, with SA leaving and Australia dipping in form, SR became an even greater one horse race. Thats why I think Japan’s league needs to get in the mix. The international flavor of those teams could make for a great spectacle. But surely if we believe that shaving seconds off lost time events in rugby is going to draw fans back, we should be shown some figures that supports this idea before we draw any major conclusions. Where are the stats that shows these changes have made that sort of impact? We’ve measured down to the average no. Of seconds per game. Where the measurement of the impact on the fanbase? Does a rugby “fan” who lost interest because of ball in play time suddenly have a revived interest because we’ve saved or brought back into play a matter of seconds or a few minutes each game? I doubt it. I don’t thinks it’s even a noticeable difference to be impactful. The 20 min red card idea. Agreed. Let’s give it a go. But I think it’s fairer that the player sent off is substituted and plays no further part in the game as a consequence.
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