RECAP: Hurricanes v Highlanders
READERS’ FORUM: Welcome to our live coverage of the Super Rugby Aotearoa Round 10 encounter between the Hurricanes and Highlanders in Wellington.
The Hurricanes have won seven of their last nine Super Rugby games against the Highlanders including a 30-19 win when they met last in Round 5 of the 2021 Super Rugby Aotearoa campaign.
The Hurricanes have lost seven of their last eight Super Rugby games; a win in this match would make it their second victory in the 2021 Super Rugby Aotearoa season – still their fewest ever in a single Super Rugby campaign.
The Highlanders have won three of their last five away games in Super Rugby, more than they had won in their 13 away games prior. The Highlanders have had an average of 15 minutes and 52 seconds of time in possession this Super Rugby Aotearoa season, the most of any team and more than a minute and a half more than the last-ranked Hurricanes.
* To read our pre-match predictions, CLICK HERE!
* Our live blog will appear below, it might take a little while to load, please be patient. We apologise for the inconvenience!
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Teams:
Hurricanes: 15 Jordie Barrett, 14 Julian Savea, 13 Billy Proctor, 12 Ngani Laumape, 11 Salesi Rayasi, 10 Ruben Love, 9 Luke Campbell, 8 Devan Flanders, 7 Du’Plessis Kirifi, 6 Reed Prinsep, 5 Scott Scrafton, 4 James Blackwell, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Dane Coles (captain), 1 Xavier Numia.
Replacements: 16 Asafo Aumua, 17 Fraser Armstrong, 18 Alex Fidow, 19 Isaia Walker-Leawere, 20 Braydon Iose, 21 Cam Roigard, 22 Peter Umaga-Jensen, 23 Pepesano Patafilo.
Highlanders: 15 Nehe Milner-Skudder, 14 Sam Gilbert, 13 Patelesio Tomkinson, 12 Scott Gregory, 11 Jona Nareki, 10 Mitch Hunt, 9 Aaron Smith (co-captain), 8 Kazuki Himeno, 7 Billy Harmon, 6 Shannon Frizell, 5 Josh Dickson, 4 Bryn Evans, 3 Siate Tokolahi, 2 Ash Dixon (co-captain), 1 Ayden Johnstone.
Replacements: 16 Liam Coltman, 17 Ethan De Groot, 18 Josh Hohneck, 19 Manaaki Selby-Rickit, 20 Hugh Renton, 21 Kayne Hammington, 22 Michael Collins, 23 James Lentjes.
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe
Assistant referees: James Doleman, Paul Williams
TMO: Brendon Pickerill