The Hurricanes have been the form team of the Super Rugby competition and they will be taking on the Sharks from Natal this Friday at McLean Park, Napier. Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match, starting from 5:35pm AEST.
The Hurricanes showcased their attacking potency with an exhilarating exhibition of attacking rugby last week against the Melbourne Rebels.
The matchup between the two top teams of the New Zealand and Australian conferences finished with a 50-19 demolition by the men from Wellington.
Winger Ben Lam ran in four tries and along with the clinical backline, the Hurricanes will be tough to beat.
Lock Michael Fatialofa and prop Jeffery Toomaga-Allen are two changes to the dominant forward pack.
Fullback Jordie Barrett has not put a foot wrong this season. Barrett has returned bigger, stronger and faster after his shoulder injury and will be the pulse of the Hurricanes attack.
The Sharks have been inconsistent this season but provided a glimpse of their capability with a come from behind victory against the Auckland Blues in a high scoring thriller last week.
Defence has been a big problem for the South African side who have conceded an average of 30 points per game this season.
Fly-half Robert Du Preez amassed a 38-point haul against the Blues and will again be key if the Sharks are to be competitive against the Hurricanes.
The clash between Du Preez and Hurricanes whiz Beauden Barrett will be mouth-watering.
Prediction
The Hurricanes have been very impressive since their opening round loss and there is every reason to suggest that they will go five on the trot. Hurricane to win and to win well.
Hurricanes by 12+
Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match, starting from 5:30pm AEST.
Gepetto
Guest
Berry was clearly sucking up to the Kiwis. His decisions were enough to turn the tide against the better team.
felix
Guest
Cheating antipodeans,an Australian ref is the same as a New Zealand ref. Both want to see SA lose.
Charging Rhino
Roar Guru
Ken I’ve been reading and commenting on here since 2009. Those who have been around long enough (longer than your couple months) know that’s just not true. Call it the way it is. South Africa gave Australia a hiding in cricket. Australia gave England a hiding in cricket. Sharks took a hiding from the Rebels two week ago. Did you see me moan about the ref that game or the close loss to the Brumbies the week before? No.... Any other game...? No. Last night the Sharks gave a Canes a hiding everywhere but on the final scoreboard. And a ref focusing and blowing only 1 team in the last 15 minutes, completely ignoring every infringement or mistake the Canes did is just simply not on.
KenoathCarnt
Guest
LOL when SA are winning in the rugby or cricket you are absolutely blowing your Rhino horn but as soon as the tide turns its all the refs fault...
woodart
Guest
the hurricanes were NOT at home, they were in napier, home is the caketin in wellington.
Johnny Boy
Guest
The guy was an Aussie ref referring a game involving two teams from NZ and SA. How much more neutral can you get? The hard done by sentiment (from fans from all countries) will never go away, let's face that.
Ian
Guest
Rules! I was wondering if Berry is related to Warner! :)
Jacko
Guest
What was that Sharks no 10s boot to Barretts head all about. Barret scores his try and is on the ground, the Sharks 10 comes to a stop right at Barretts body, then deliberately steps over Barrett and rubs his boot on Barretts face. Nothing in it but not a great action from the 10.
Jacko
Guest
Yes and lets start bitching about home refs in SA......I just do not understand why they dont do neutral refs in this comp
Ralph
Guest
Well done Sharks!
Taylorman
Guest
I think thats why many fans still want Quade back. Deep down they know that unpredictability is a good thing, and Quades the king of unpredictability. Opposition fans dont see it, his coaches, who are responsible for the results, focus on the downsides of it, so take the safe route, leaving fans frustrated. Put him on theyll say. You never know what he might do. Exactly.
Taylorman
Guest
Its a good point and I think its simply that in the past oz sides canbe so unpredictable. With NZ and SA sides you know what to expect but oz sides can mix things up. I think theyre missing that confidence to do that lately and are focussing on getting back to basics, Thorns Reds a good example of that. That unpredictability is hurting them more these days because the lack the talent and therefore the confidence. Its there in some players but not enough to permeate through the side.
Lano
Guest
I've self-edited my comment on yours, which was...
Mark
Guest
Also - SANZAAR must go back to Neutral Referees as the perception of bias is NOT good for the game Even though ALL the whining from the Jappies is incorrect (because lets face it - if Biltongbek/ChargingRhino/et al knew any less about the game they'd be soccer players)
Mark
Guest
Ahhh...youre the corrupt Romanian Ref from the Belgium Spanish game - no wonder you don't know the rules
Mark
Guest
Well we learnt 3 things from that 1. The Sharks are the real deal 2. The Hurricanes are a Champion Side 3. Ihaia West is rubbish
Superba
Guest
A disgraceful refereeing performance
Charging Rhino
Roar Guru
Geez buddy. I very rarely whinge about the refs. Not even in the World Cup QF in 2011 with Bryce Lawrence. I think the last time I moaned was 3 years ago in 2015, when funnily enough the Sharks played the Canes and were disallowed a try whereas the exact same circumstances led to a Blues try being awarded vs The Stormers on the same weekend, double standards. You’re missing the point though, while the Sharks may have infringed, there were numerous and previous infringements by the Canes during that same period which went unnoticed or not blown. And therefore would’ve been game over. See Biltongbek. The ref only looked at and blew one team at the end. A ref can blow momentum into a game. That is the point. You can’t ignore one team, and then back it up by saying all of the Sharks penalties were fair and reasonable. The point is ALL of the Canes infringements were completely ignored, penalty after penalty against the Sharks until the Canes scored.
Diggercane
Guest
This is the Sharks side I thought we would see at the start of the year, impressive squad and great to see them starting to put it out on the field. No one will want to head to Durban with this form, no doubt they will continue to trend up! Still well and truly in this season.
julius
Guest
@ Whining Saffer "You cannot win a rugby game when the ref only looks at and blows one team." I don't recall hearing that complaint after last weekend when the Sharks received a long string of penalties against the Blues. Du Preez kicked seven penalties--the winning of the game. More to the point: You cannot win a rugby game if you continually infringe to stop the other team from playing rugby. Every single penalty was justified. The Sharks did everything they could possibly do to stop the Canes fight back: tackling Lam without the ball, head high tackle on West, offside countless times, handling the ball in the ruck, collapsing mauls...And how the hell did the Sharks escape yellow cards for the head high on West and taking Lam out before he could receive the scoring pass.