Roar Guru
The Hurricanes take on the Highlanders in Dunedin tonight at Forsyth Barr Stadium. Join us for live scores from 5.35pm AEDT.
The Highlanders find themselves in 10th place after a win against the Blues followed by tight losses to the Chiefs and Force.
Their defence and set piece has been mid-pace and they’ve averaged a solid two tries per game.
Highlanders centre Malakai Fekitoa has beaten more players in attack than anyone else in the comp; a big stat with the likes of Folau and Jesse Mogg in the mix. Fekitoa probably won’t run at Conrad Smith tonight, but then again, why would you.
This brings us to the Hurricanes, who have probably been doing a bit of recent soul-searching, if there is such a thing in rugby.
They’re fresh off a massive 60-27 win against the bottom-placed Cheetahs; they certainly needed it after starting the season with a tight loss to the Stormers (away) and Brumbies (at home).
The big win last week means they’ve scored the most tries in the comp with 13. Nothing new here as they tend to score more tries than the rest, although it doesn’t convert to overall success.
They have a solid tackle percentage rate around 87% however they still concede tries, and if they’re going to have a serious crack at the title they’ll want to tighten the screws.
They’re going to need everything from in-form Beauden Barrett, the fourth highest scorer this year.
As a side note, the highest point scorer by a country mile is the Lions’ Marnitz Boshoff who, curiously, has scored double what anyone else has managed so far this year.
There’s no telling where either team will take it from here but they’ve both been giving it a fair crack early in the season. Expect another thrilling kiwi derby to kick the weekend off.
Join us at 5.35pm tonight on The Roar, the place to be for live scores and where you can have your say on the go.