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Aisle be Back: Hurricanes v Moana Pasifika

  • By Kevin McCarthy

Four games in and the Hurricanes sit third in Super Rugby – although it doesn’t feel like they’ve done anything terrific yet in the season.

They could have not squandered a late bonus point against the Waratahs last weekend, and losing to the Blues was ugly, but there’s not much else to grumble about.

There is a whiff of imposter syndrome right now, and indeed that may not be shaken off until quite late in the competition, because on paper, the Hurricanes have quite a soft draw.

I did a crude comparison, using the various team rankings from last year as the marker, and basically the first four games have been against teams who as an average, ranked around 6th in 2022.

The upcoming four games are against teams ranking 8th on average i.e., easier again.

The next four after that are marginally tougher.

It’s only in the last two games, when the Hurricanes face the Blues (away) and Crusaders (at home, their only encounter) on successive weekends that they really hit stiff opposition in short order.

By comparison, a peer team – the Chiefs – have had, even including facing the Crusaders, an easier average first four games. Their next eight games are against teams somewhere between 5 and 6 on their 2022 averages. And their last two are a bit easier.

Across the entire season, there’s no difference in the average ranking faced by the Canes and Chiefs, as you might expect, but the Canes certainly have an easier run through the middle and late middle of their campaign.

So, expectations should be of course that they maintain or improve their current third place in the next six or eight games.

Thankfully, of course, the season won’t unfold with mathematical precision and last year’s table is only an imprecise guide. Fijian Drua for example last year finished 11th – but there’s no way any visitor to Fiji is going to treat them like fodder this season.

And you don’t need reminding that the Canes’ opponents tomorrow, Moana Pasifika, scored their maiden win last year against said Hurricanes.

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On what a relief to have the All Blacks coaching psychodrama settled. Although there’s an attempt to create a new narrative around tension between World Cup coach Ian Foster, and the heir to the throne, Razor Robertson, it’s hard to imagine that turning full Game of Thrones.

No personal slight on the individuals, but there’s always been something hunched about the current All Black regime and that of the Hansen years. A brooding defensiveness, and a joylessness about the whole thing. That’s just a public perspective, but it’s the public who the All Blacks have to some degree lost over the last few years.

There’s a definite buzz that Robertson, besides bringing a different playing philosophy, is also a chance to reset that public relationship. Let’s hope so, because without the Women’s game riding to the rescue last year, the rugby experience was pretty dour and grueling.

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There are two more Hurricanes teams in action tomorrow,

The Hurricanes Women’s Poua are playing a consolation Super Rugby Aupiki fixture against the Blues Women, at Waikato Stadium at 11.35am.

Down the road, the Hurricanes U20s are playing the Blues U20s in the final of the Super Rugby U20s competition. Kick-off in Taupo is at 4.35pm.

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A public notice for all readers and in particular Facebook administrators.

If you see a post like this, usually in the comments to your posts, it is a SCAM:

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  • It is an imposter – our FB page is https://www.facebook.com/NZClubRugby/ and the FAKE one is …clubrugbyNZ and has 5 followers
  • Plus, we are not live-streaming matches.
  • Please delete and report as such using the three dots above the comment.
  • We have already reported this fake page, so there is not a lot more we can do about it ourselves.

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