Aisle be Back: Hurricanes v Force

The Hurricanes and Crusaders in action last week in Wellington. This weekend the Hurricanes play the Western Force in Perth on Saturday night at 9.35pm – a club rugby friendly time with some clubrooms likely to be packed to the gunnels watching on their big screens. 

• By Kevin McCarthy 

Nothing is more certain in life than death and taxes and that the Hurricanes will get beaten in Canberra.

That is still a week away to look forward to, as the Canes head over the ditch in their Aussie mini tour.

First stop is Perth, and the Western Force – who are making a decent impression of being a threat.

All of which means the odds of two wins on the road are pretty formidably against.

Of course you don’t need telling you that  means the Hurricanes season is now officially on shaky ground – as if the Crusaders coming to town and dealing out a lesson or two isn’t chastening enough.

The gap on the table is such that the Hurricanes and the Blues are in serious danger of achieving separation – of the wrong kind, where you’re the bit of the rocket burning up on re-entry.

To get in the top six, it may require the Hurricanes to pretty much beat everyone above them on the table.

In a good year that wouldn’t be impossible, but this isn’t, so far, a good year.

One could hope that at least the injury-driven chopping and changing at first-five will end. Reuben Love needs to stay there and see if he can drive the team into the top six.

Although the key to that probably doesn’t lie with him but with the forward pack getting back some of last year’s extra snarl.

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I was reminded in yet another quiet week in geopolitics of the old story about China asking a Waikato coach to find others to work in introducing the sport into the People’s Liberation Army.

Sure, he said. How many do you need. The Chinese replied, 200.

So, rugby superpower New Zealand suddenly met a reality it could not satisfy.

But there’s no doubt we’re exporting our rugby talent hand over fist in recent years, some of which is short-term, some of it long term.

The most recent such is Leinster picking up Reiko Ioane, after snaring Jordie (how we miss you) Barrett earlier.  The master class trolling of the Irish ruby public continues.

Which, in line with the vibe generally, got me thinking about the steady drip drip on the quality of domestic rugby.

If we were thinking bigly, we’d make it a lot harder for this to happen. Stick up those walls – raise the tariffs on talent. Charge other countries for nicking talent developed here and plough the money back into our game.

Or maybe I’ve got that around the wrong way. Maybe no-one would want to play with us. Or maybe those Pacific Island nations would raise their own player trade barriers.

Then we would really have bigly problems.

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There have been a few changes to the squad from last week’s loss to the Crusaders. Marist St Pat’s midfielder Billy Proctor features on the bench in the number 23 jersey as he returns to play from an Achilles injury that has had him out for the season so far.

The squad is further bolstered by Riley Higgins coming onto the bench as well, after playing a full game last week for Petone. Wainuiomata’s Ruben Love starts at first-five.

Co Captains, Asafo Aumua, Brad Shields and Du’Plessis Kirifi will all be starting in a Hurricanes first, with three captains on the field.

The team is below:

1. Xavier Numia

2. Asafo Aumua (Co Captain)

3. Tyrel Lomax

4. Caleb Delany

5. Isaia Walker-Leawere

6. Brad Shields (Co Captain)

7. Du’Plessis Kirifi (Co Captain)

8. Peter Lakai

9. Cam Roigard

10. Ruben Love

11. Fatafehi Fineanganofo

12. Peter Umaga-Jensen

13. Bailyn Sullivan

14. Ngatungane Punivai

15. Callum Harkin

IMPACT

16. Raymond Tuputupu

17. Tevita Mafileo

18. Pasilio Tosi

19. Zach Gallagher

20. Brayden Iose

21. Ereatara Enari

22. Riley Higgins

23. Billy Proctor

UNAVAILABLE DUE TO INJURY