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The Hurricanes take on the Brumbies at Westpac Stadium in Wellington tonight. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 5.35pm (AEDT).
It has been a rough old start for the Hurricanes so far this season. They began their campaign over in South Africa against the Sharks and Stormers.
On both occasions the Hurricanes showed a lot of fight, an eagerness to move the ball, and steady defence.
It came down to games of missed opportunities, being bullied and dominated in crucial areas.
The loss to the Stormers was particularly painful for them after they had done all the hard work, leading 18-12 before the final minutes.
It was an improved performance from the Hurricanes following the poor outing against the Sharks, helped by the changes made to the team when they included several more of their experienced players.
Now Mark Hammet’s team has a new challenge to face this week against the Brumbies.
The team from Australia’s capital had a blow dealt to their chances early on with news filtering in this week regarding the season-ending ACL injury to David Pocock.
It is a cruel twist of fate for the talented forward who will once again be sitting on the sidelines.
It could be a sense of déjà vu for the Brumbies as they were in a similar situation last year and came to be one of the last two teams standing in the final against the Chiefs.
Based on last week’s performance where they ran out 27-14 winners against the Western Force, the Brumbies will once again be in the mix for a playoff spot.
It was a super effort they produced racking up a 24-0 lead by half time holding the Force to 0.
Their second half play was also impressive. As the Force attempted to come back the Brumbies were patient and executed well to keep them at an arms length.
Pocock’s loss however is going to be felt, and how they overcome it again will be a big test.
The Brumbies will be aware of the bounce-back factor not just for them but also for the Hurricanes.
There is no shortage of power between these two teams, as evidenced by some of the score margins in the past. The biggest one came in the form of a 56-7 hiding the Hurricanes delivered to the Brumbies in ’09.
Another interesting fact is the Hurricanes have scored the fewest points so far in the competition.
This match should be one of the closest of the round.
Tip: Hurricanes by 3
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.