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The Hurricanes have come away with a close-fought win over the Blues, victorious by just four points.
Final score
Blues 24
Hurricanes 28
A big Easter Saturday continues with the Hurricanes travelling to Auckland to play the Blues. Join The Roar from 5.35pm (AEST) for live scores and coverage from this Round 8 match.
The sides bring contrasting form into this clash, with the Hurricanes coming off a win over a fast finishing Waratahs while the Blues went down to the Highlanders in a pulsating match, losing by six.
At home tonight, the Blues present a formidable challenge to the favoured Hurricanes side. They have named possibly their strongest line-up to date, chock full of internationals – the most notable inclusion being Sonny Bill Williams.
The Hurricanes, though still naming a strong line-up, are without regular Captain Dane Coles and have lost centre Matt Procter to injury with the in-form Vince Aso moving in a position to cover.
The Blues have a mountain to climb, already with four losses, another loss would make things significantly more difficult as they fall off the pace within the New Zealand conference.
Their recent form against New Zealand sides has been much publicised in the last week, winning only one of the last 18, so they will not lack for motivation this evening against a Hurricanes side sitting second in the conference after the first seven rounds.
While the Blues have the pack, question marks will again revolve around the play of their halves where Augustin Pulu and Piers Francis will need to be on top of their game. The Hurricanes will see this area as a clear advantage, with TJ Perenara and Beauden Barrett looking to control this match.
There are plenty of individual matchups to take note of tonight and one of the juiciest will be Stephen Luatua and Ardie Savea going head to head at no.8 while at second five, the Hurricanes form centre Ngani Laumape lines up against Williams.
Brad Shields also has an opportunity to show he deserves consideration for higher honours, up against the Blues Jerome Kaino at blindside.
Prediction
While the Blues are a capable side, they are yet to demonstrate the belief or ability they can win the tight affairs. Putting in a full 80-minute performance has been a struggle for the Auckland-based franchise and the Hurricanes have shown they have the firepower and experience to win these tight games.
Hurricanes by five.
Join The Roar as we cover what promises to be a cracking New Zealand derby and don’t forget to post your thoughts on the action below.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.