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Aisle be Back: Hurricanes v Brumbies tonight

  • By Kevin McCarthy 

There’s a sense for the Hurricanes that their season starts tonight. The meaningful season that is.

I’ve struggled this year to get a gauge on how they’re really tracking – and their soft early draw has not helped. Sitting atop the table a couple of weeks ago, I hope no-one took that as a serious sign of where the team was at.

There’s yet to be a tub-thumping, decisive win over any team of comparable calibre. Indeed, the Blues and Chiefs were both losses – the Blues a frustrating one, and the Chiefs a lesson in sheer intensity.  The Canes by no means played badly two weeks ago – but their second half dismantling showed they are still off the topflight.

Which brings us to that rarest of things, an Australian team that strikes a degree of anxiety and coaxes out a degree of respect, the Brumbies.

At home in sun-soaked Canberra, they are nigh on unbeatable, as the Hurricanes discovered twice last year.  So now a lot rests on whether the Canes can turn the tables with home advantage.

It is very much a pivot game – win, and a top two spot is still possible. Lose, and the team will start sliding into fighting for fourth or the dreaded fifth slot. A couple of easier games follow, but regardless, the Hurricanes wrap up with the Chiefs, Blues and Crusaders on successive weeks. It is unlikely that they’ll bag three wins from that particular trio.

As an aside, it’s about now that the odd squandered bonus point really starts to hurt on the table; witness the Blues, now just a point behind the Canes thanks to six bonus points versus three.

At least the expected separation has occurred – which is more than Elon Musk’s rocket can claim – with a yawning gap opening up to the sixth placed Reds.

Frustratingly, the Hurricanes look at times to have the ability to take out anybody. It’s the application of that across eighty minutes that is eluding them.

As tedious as it sounds, there won’t be a victory tonight unless the Canes can tame the Brumbies up front.

Up in Hamilton of course is the game of the round – can the Crusaders nail a revenge win? I wouldn’t put money on it. The Chiefs look ruthlessly good.

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Two huge departures this week. The biggest is the coach, with Jason Holland off to join Scott Robertson’s breakdancing travelling salvation show 2024 edition.

We can only wish him the very best. John Plumtree got the same callup and sadly that did not end happily. Robertson’s got the team he wants around him, however – and fingers crossed that they gel as a brains trust.

And the Bus basically this week signalled he’s off soon. There’s a lot to admire in Julian Savea’s return to New Zealand from his scarring time in France. He did the hard work at both the Lions and the Canes to win and retain his spot. Now he looks ready to put all that into perspective and get a taste of the wider world again while his rugby skills remain tradeable.

The lethal try scorer is gone, but he’s still worthy of the roster each week. He will be missed, although his tactical kicking game, not so much!

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The Hurricanes teamlist is below: 

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