Team to play the Reds in Round 15

The Hurricanes are off to Brisbane for a Round 15 clash against the Reds at Suncorp Stadium this Friday at 9:35 PM, with both teams pushing to secure a spot in the finals.

Off the back of a nail-biting, last-minute win against the Highlanders, the Hurricanes are hoping to make it four victories in a row, and have named a strong, aggressive team to take on the 4th-placed Reds, who went down to the top of the table Brumbies in R14.

The named team this week sees Daniel Sinkinson making the starting 15 for the first time this season, and the return of Tyrel Lomax, who adds experience to the front row.  Devan Flanders also returns to the bench after a long layoff, with Brayden Iose and Ngane Punivai both out with injuries picked up in the bruising encounter against the Highlanders.

The Hurricanes and the Reds last met at AAMI Park in Melbourne last year. After being level at halftime (19-19) and with the scores level 33-33 at full time, the match went to Golden Point. The Hurricanes won 38-33 with a try scored seven minutes into extra time.

The Hurricanes look to continue their unbeaten run this season against Australian sides, with wins against the Waratahs and Brumbies, and a 17-17 draw with the Force in R10.

Hurricanes Head Coach Clark Laidlaw said, “We were pleased to come away from last week with the win in a tough game against the Highlanders, who obviously pushed us right to the end.

The composure we showed in that last play. To go 22 phases and score a try was really encouraging, but we feel & know that we need to play much better this week away against the Reds in Brisbane, who are super strong at home and have a lot to play for around the top four.

We know it will be a massive challenge to go up there and try to get the win.

There are a few changes. Tyrel is back in. We lost a couple of players, with Brayden and Ngane unavailable from the game last week. With Bailyn’s concussion, we felt the best thing was to put him on the bench so he could have more time to recover.

The good news is that Devan Flanders is back from a really tough leg break he picked up in pre-season. He’s shown some real resilience to come back from that. He’s ready to go, and it's great to have him back in the team.

1. Xavier Numia 

2. Asafo Aumua (Co Captain) 

3. Tyrel Lomax 

4. Zach Gallagher 

5. Isaia Walker-Leawere 

6. Brad Shields (Co Captain) 

7. Du’Plessis Kirifi (Co Captain) 

8. Peter Lakai 

9. Cam Roigard 

10. Ruben Love 

11. Fatafehi Fineanganofo 

12. Peter Umaga-Jensen

13. Billy Proctor (Co Captain) 

14. Daniel Sinkinson

15. Callum Harkin 

Impact  

16. Raymond Tuputupu 

17. Tevita Mafileo/Pouri Rakete-Stones 

18. Pasilio Tosi 

19. Hugo Plummer 

20. Devan Flanders 

21. Ereatara Enari 

22. Brett Cameron 

23. Bailyn Sullivan