Hurricanes forced to wait on key players
Hurricanes captain Dane Coles is among those who face a fitness test in order to play at Eden Park in Auckland on Friday.
Coles, along with wings Nehe Milner-Skudder and Cory Jane, will be reassessed before coach Chris Boyd decides on the final make up of his matchday squad.
Coles, who has missed the opening two rounds of the season due to hamstring and calf strains, has been bracketed with young hooker Leni Apisai.
The right wing spot has been left open, with Milner-Skudder recovering from a bruised knee suffered during the opening round loss to the Brumbies and Cory Jane working through concussion protocols after taking a knock against the Highlanders in Dunedin.
Depending on who is available, the No.14 jersey and the final bench spot could go to Milner-Skudder, Jane, Jason Woodward or Pita Ahki.
Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd said the sensible option was to err on the side of caution with all three injuries.
"We won't start guys unless they are 100 percent fit and ready to go and we won't know if that's the case until they get through a full training run without any issues.
"We've already seen the New Zealand derby matches are tough battles of attrition and we expect the Blues to be highly motivated, as are we, for this match."
Injuries aside, Boyd has again stuck largely with the same team that came so close against the Highlanders before losing 16-17 in Dunedin.
Coles, if fit, would be the only change in the pack and would start alongside his Poneke club mate loosehead prop Reggie Goodes, who will play his 50th match for the Hurricanes.
Goodes made his debut as a substitute against the Chiefs in Hamilton in 2012 and since then has missed just 11 Super Rugby matches.
Players unavailable due to injury are Matt Proctor (knee), Motu Matu'u (calf), James Blackwell (foot).
Hurricanes: 15 James Marshall, 14 TBC, 13 Vince Aso, 12 Ngani Laumape, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Victor Vito, 7 Ardie Savea, 6 Brad Shields, 5 Mark Abbott, 4 Blade Thomson, 3 Jeff Toomaga-Allen, 2 Dane Coles/Leni Apisai, 1 Reggie Goodes.
Replacements: 16 Apisai/Ricky Riccitelli, 17 Chris Eves, 18 Loni Uhila, 19 Vaea Fifita, 20 Callum Gibbins, 21 Jamison Gibson-Park, 22 Willis Halaholo, 23 TBC.
Date: Friday, March 11
Venue: Eden Park, Auckland
Kick-off: 19.35 (06.35 GMT)
Referee: Nick Briant (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand), Brett Johnson (New Zealand)
TMO: Shane McDermott (New Zealand)
