Hurricanes team for pre-season clash against the Crusaders

Head Coach Jason Holland has named his side for Saturday’s preseason clash against the Crusaders, which will be played behind closed doors at Jack Reid Park, Arrowtown.
Players will be looking to impress ahead of the Hurricanes season opener against the Crusaders on February 19th.
“We’re still not 100% on who our best 23 are to play Round 1, so there is still opportunity for the guys to put their best foot forward this weekend and nab that jersey,” said Hurricanes Head Coach, Jason Holland.
“There is a hell of a lot of competition here and we’re definitely open to seeing who performs. We’re keen to see how the guys go on the weekend.”
Latecomer Reed Prinsep will make an appearance during the last 20 minutes, after completing 5 days in isolation before coming back into the fold. James Blackwell will get the opportunity to captain the team.
Hurricanes team for pre-season match two against the Crusaders, 5pm, Saturday, 12 February, at Jack Reid Park, Arrowtown
1 Pouri Rakete-Stones
2 Jacob Devery
3 Tevita Mafileo
4 James Blackwell [c]
5 Caleb Delany
6 Devan Flanders
7 Du'Plessis Kirifi
8 Brayden Iose
9 Jamie Booth
10 Jackson Garden-Bachop
11 Salesi Rayasi
12 Peter Umaga-Jensen
13 Billy Proctor
14 Josh Moorby
15 Ruben Love
REPLACEMENTS:
16. Siua Maile
17. Xavier Numia
18. Alex Fidow
19. Ben May
20. Ofa Tauatavalu
21. Justin Sangster
22. Te Kamaka (TK) Howden
23. Shamus Hurley-Langton
24. Reed Prinsep
25. Logan Henry
26. Aidan Morgan
27. Leroy Carter
28. Julian Savea
29. Bailyn Sullivan
30. Nehe Milner-Skudder
Latest Comments
Well deserved for a young talented, bright and humble player.
Go to commentsCane shouldn’t have been one last year, based purely on performances. Lakai is as close to a like for like of swap of Savea you’re ever likely to find, based on his short career so far at least. He has many of the same qualities - very strong ball carrier, great at the breakdown, and an absolute work horse on defence. I feel like he and Sititi could lead the way in the loose at the next WC.
I think we have become obsessed with replacing Kaino with someone exactly like him. Kaino was a perfect foil for the other loose forwards we had at the time. Based on the talent we have around at the moment those players could be made up in the aggregate by three players who are all exception all rounders - Lakai, Sititi, and Savea. Missing some height for sure but Sititi’s defensive work in the line out last year was phenomenal. He gets off the ground so quickly and was able to steal a couple of balls off the top of the springbok line out.
If our young locks coming through can actually stay fit long enough to get selected, it seems inevitable that Va’ai could end up in a hybrid 6/lock role.
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