Roar Guru
The Hurricanes proved too good for the Reds on Saturday night, winning by 19 points.
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Final score
Reds 15
Hurricanes 34
This Round 6 match sees the Hurricanes travel to Brisbane to play the Reds. Join The Roar starting from 7:45pm (AEDT) for live scores from the match and a live blog of the game.
The big news for the Canes is that Dane Coles has not made the plane due to an ongoing knee issue, despite coming off the bye.
The Reds return home after an unsuccessful tour to South Africa and Argentina and are still without star five-eighth Quade Cooper, unavailable through suspension.
The Hurricanes have been in dominant attacking form this season and will prove a difficult challenge for the Reds, whose defensive line has had some issues. But the recent weather issues throughout Queensland may prove a leveller.
The big question mark for Reds is in the halves, with the inexperienced duo of James Tuttle and Jake McIntyre running the cutter. While Tuttle has displayed glimpses of promise, the jury is still out on McIntyre’s ability at this level and his contribution this evening will be even more pertinent if the conditions are poor.
Adding more pressure, they are up against TJ Perenara and Beauden Barrett, the incumbent All Black halves pairing. Expect to see Barrett, in particular, take the line on.
Several big match ups to look out for include the individual loose forward trios, none more so than Ardie Savea and Scott Higgenbotham at 8. Both are skilled and love to run the ball.
The fullback showdown of Karmichael Hunt vs Jordie Barrett will be a cracker, both are exciting players.
Prediction
The Canes’ recent form is too good to ignore, and the Reds have yet to demonstrate a sound defensive pattern across 80 minutes.
Hurricanes by 16.
Join us on The Roar as we cover the action live and don’t be shy using the comment section below, feedback welcome!