Delivereasy Game for Good vs Highlanders

The Hurricanes are back home for Round 14 against the Highlanders at SKY Stadium this Friday at 7:05PM, in the Delivereasy Game for Good.

Fresh off the bye round, and with the race for the top 6 heating up, the home side is ready to leave it all on the field and bank more points as they push for a finals spot.

The named team this week has a powerful forward pack and an excellent back-line, full of power and pace, with Sullivan and Punivai on the wings, and the midfield combo of Proctor and Higgins, providing the muscle in the middle of the park. Brett Cameron also returns from a lengthy 7-month layoff, adding additional firepower to the bench. 

The two sides last met earlier in Round 5 at the Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin. The Hurricanes won narrowly 20-18, after trailing 8-11 at halftime. That result was the eighth win in a row for the Hurricanes against the Highlanders.

Hurricanes Head Coach Clark Laidlaw said, “The boys have come back well from the bye week, nice to have a breather and a chance to recharge our batteries and get ready for the next 3 games.

In the main, we’ve got a settled squad with a lot of the guys who played against the Chiefs and Brumbies, which is an opportunity for us to try and build that cohesion and consistency this week.

They’re certainly coming up with everything to play for; they still have a chance of making the play-offs, so we’re under no illusion of the energy they are going to bring. They are coming off a bye also, so both teams are going to be fresh and ready to play. 

We can't wait to be back at home again. We loved the atmosphere against the Chiefs, and with only two games left at home, we’re excited to play at home against a good Highlanders team who are going to be desperate. We want to play well.

Pretty big news for us is that Brett Cameron is back on the bench. His ability to rehab and recover faster than any of us thought. The work he and our medical crew have done has been unreal, and they deserve a special mention. We’re pumped to have him back and excited to see him play for us after two weeks playing club rugby in Manawatu. He’s good to go.”

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1 Xavier Numia 

2 Asafo Aumua (Co Captain) 

3 Pasilio Tosi 

4 Zach Gallagher 

5 Isaia Walker-Leawere 

6 Brad Shields (Co Captain) 

7 Peter Lakai 

8 Brayden Iose 

9 Cam Roigard 

10 Ruben Love 

11 Ngatungane Punivai 

12 Riley Higgins 

13 Billy Proctor (Co Captain) 

14 Bailyn Sullivan 

15 Callum Harkin 

Impact  

16. Raymond Tuputupu 

17. Pouri Rakete-Stones 

18. Tevita Mafileo 

19. Will Tucker 

20. Du’Plessis Kirifi (Co Captain) 

21. Ereatara Enari 

22. Brett Cameron 

23. Fatafehi Fineanganofo