Chase Tiatia, Kobus Van Wyk, Vince Aso, Ngani Laumape, Ben Lam, Fletcher Smith, TJ Perenara, Gareth Evans, Du'Plessis Kirifi, Vaea Fifita, Scott Scrafton, James Blackwell, Tyrel Lomax, Asafo Aumua, Xavier Numia
Reserves: Ricky Riccitelli, Ben May, Alex Fidow, Isaia Walker-Leawere, Devan Flanders, Jonathan Taumateine, James Marshall, Peter Umaga-Jensen
HURRICANES NAME SQUAD TO FACE SUNWOLVES IN NAPIER
Thu 27th Feb
Hawke’s Bay’s Hurricanes fans will be able to watch four of their own take to the field in Napier this Saturday.
Gareth Evans, Devan Flanders, Ben May and Isaia Walker-Leawere all play for Hawke’s Bay in the Mitre 10 Cup and have been named as part of the 23-man squad to face the Sunwolves at McLean Park.
Evans who first wore the black and yellow jersey at McLean Park in 2018 says he’s excited to get back.
“It’s been a while, so I’ve been really looking forward to this trip. I know we’ve got a lot of support for the team up where I’m from in Havelock North and the rest of the Hawke’s Bay, so it’ll be nice to put on a show for them.”
TJ Perenara will once again captain the side, which is on a winning streak after taking down the Jaguares in Buenos Aires and the Sharks at Sky Stadium.
He’ll be accompanied by a strong backline including Fletcher Smith at first five, Ngani Laumape at second five and Chase Tiatia, who makes a return as fullback.
South African winger, Kobus Van Wyk, will get to show his raw pace to a kiwi crowd, being named in the starting line-up on the right wing.
Meanwhile, Ben Lam will be looking to replicate his try-scoring form he showcased against the Sharks on the left wing.
Head coach, Jason Holland, says fans will be treated to a running rugby spectacle.
“It should be pretty thrilling for the crowd at McLean Park. The Sunwolves have a few quick boys in the ranks, but so do we. We’re ready for 80 minutes played at a high intensity.
Up front, there is plenty of firepower too.
James Blackwell comes back into the fold after resting a toe injury and Fraser Armstrong will be replaced by Xavier Numia at loosehead prop.
Whilst the Sunwolves have never beaten the Hurricanes, in last year’s match-up in Tokyo they led 23 – 10 going into halftime.
Holland says, they’re the type of team that thrives on being the underdog.
“We know that they will capitalise on any mistakes we make, so we need to be accurate.”
Temperatures are set to soar to 29 degrees in Napier Saturday, with kick-off at the family friendly time of 4:45pm.
Tickets are still available via this link here.
The Hurricanes team to face the Sunwolves in Napier is:
15 Chase Tiatia
14 Kobus Van Wyk
13 Vince Aso
12 Ngani Laumape
11 Ben Lam
10 Fletcher Smith
9 TJ Perenara
8 Gareth Evans
7 Du’Plessis Kirifi
6 Vaea Fifita
5 Scott Scrafton
4 James Blackwell
3 Tyrel Lomax
2 Asafo Aumua
1 Xavier Numia
Reserves
16 Ricky Riccitelli
17 Ben May
18 Alex Fidow
19 Isaia Walker-Leawere
20 Devan Flanders
21 Jonathan Taumateine
22 James Marshall
23 Peter Umaga-Jensen
@Number-10 said in Hurricanes v Sunwolves:
South African winger, Kobus Van Wyk, will get to show his raw pace to a kiwi crowd, being named in the starting line-up on the right wing.
:face_vomiting:
@Machpants said in Hurricanes v Sunwolves:
@Number-10 said in Hurricanes v Sunwolves:
South African winger, Kobus Van Wyk, will get to show his raw pace to a kiwi crowd, being named in the starting line-up on the right wing.
:face_vomiting:
Awesome. Because we don't have good wingers everywhere..... 
️
Sunwolves
Alex Horan, Siosaia Fifita, Keisuke Moriya (co-c), Shogo Nakano, James Dargaville, Jumpei Ogura, Garth April, Jake Schatz (co-c), Tevita Tupou, Mitch Jacobson, Kotaro Yatabe, Michael Stolberg, Hencus van Wyk, Jaba Bregvadze, Jarred Adams
Reserves: Efi Ma’afu, Nic Mayhew, Conraad van Vuuren, Justin Downey, Shunsuke Nunomaki, Naoto Saito, JJ Engelbrecht, Tautalatasi Tasi
Alex Horan - the son of Tim
@Number-10 said in Hurricanes v Sunwolves:
HURRICANES NAME SQUAD TO FACE SUNWOLVES IN NAPIER
Thu 27th FebHawke’s Bay’s Hurricanes fans will be able to watch four of their own take to the field in Napier this Saturday.
Gareth Evans, Devan Flanders, Ben May and Isaia Walker-Leawere all play for Hawke’s Bay in the Mitre 10 Cup and have been named as part of the 23-man squad to face the Sunwolves at McLean Park.
@Machpants said in Hurricanes v Sunwolves:
@Number-10 said in Hurricanes v Sunwolves:
South African winger, Kobus Van Wyk, will get to show his raw pace to a kiwi crowd, being named in the starting line-up on the right wing.
:face_vomiting:
It won't escape Hawke’s Bay’s Hurricanes fans that of those four Magpies, only one is starting. And that they give a journeyman like Kobus van Wyk a starting spot, while Danny Toala has to play with the U20s. Why isn't IWL starting? This game would have been good to give Flanders his first start, too. And they could have started Rakete-Stones instead of Numia.
Lol this didn’t take long. A Hurricanes match thread wouldn’t be the same without @Stargazer noting the lack of Hawkes Bay players in the team.
I have to agree on the wing selection, having a South African take that spot doesn’t sit well with me. I would have preferred PUJ start at 13, with Toala on the bench.
Happy with the other selections, will be good to keep IWL fresh for the big games coming up. I think that starting front row is a nod to the long term future of the Canes so they are probably wanting to see how they go against a weaker opponent. Also PRS has had a few more minutes than expected this year so maybe they don’t want to over do it with him. It also allows May and Numia to return from injury in an easier fixture
I guess we will know who the real front runners are when the team is named against the Blues next week as I think they will pick their strongest team.
@Canes4life said in Hurricanes v Sunwolves:
Lol this didn’t take long. A Hurricanes match thread wouldn’t be the same without @Stargazer noting the lack of Hawkes Bay players in the team.
It didn't take long for you to come with your defensive response to my post either. My point is completely valid. One Magpie starting and then write that sentence in the media release as if there's a huge Bay representation, is ridiculous.
This is the weakest opponent in the comp. It would have been a good opportunity to give some rookies a decent run. Flanders, Toala, Rakete-Stones.
Also PRS has had a few more minutes than expected this year so maybe they don’t want to over do it with him.
Don't make me laugh. Rakete-Stones has only played 86 minutes and the Canes come off a bye.
From that article posted by @Duluth:
Jordie Barrett (...) has been rested for the Hurricanes' match against the Sunwolves on Saturday at McLean Park in Napier.
It is one of his two New Zealand Rugby-prescribed rest weeks.
Barrett wasn't the only high-profile name missing from the Hurricanes' 23-man squad when it was named on Thursday, with co-captain Dane Coles also out, but that was due to a little niggle in his injury-plagued calf muscle picked up during training.
Hurricanes coach Jason Holland didn't expect Coles' injury to be serious and said he should be back for their round six match against the Blues ...
First-five Jackson Garden-Bachop sustained a fracture in his hand during his side's win over the Sharks in round three.
He will be out for at least a few weeks ...
@Stargazer I will just be blunt then. Rakete-Stones probably sits last in the pecking order so Numia starting doesn’t surprise me one bit. Numia showed last year when he turned a pretty decent Highlanders pack into mince meat that he is going to be a very strong scrummager going forward. At only 20/21 (whatever he is) he has X factor and speed with ball in hand aswell, whereas Rakete-Stones looks a little awkward when he isn’t packing down.
@Canes4life but remember we support the Hurricanes on fire one week cold the next
The backs look a lot weaker than last match. Fletcher Smith needs to either step up. or be pushed aside. As he's been bordering on utter rubbish whenever he's started at first.
Unsure why IWL is not starting (esp as hes plays for HB). But the coaches for reasons that I can't understand rate Blackwell. YeT the team went very well last week without him
But good to see Numia starting. A good performance and Canes are looking well enough served at LH prop.
@Winger 100% agree with Fletcher Smith, he's looked completely out of his league in the games he's played so far. Hopefully he can get some confidence against a weaker opponent.
Yeah it's painful, IWL is obviously our most important lock, he's not too shabby in the air, he provides grunt in the engine room and he provides quality go forward ball. Hope they are just keeping him fresh for the more important games coming up.
@Stargazer said in Hurricanes v Sunwolves:
It won't escape Hawke’s Bay’s Hurricanes fans that of those four Magpies, only one is starting. And that they give a journeyman like Kobus van Wyk a starting spot, while Danny Toala has to play with the U20s. Why isn't IWL starting? This game would have been good to give Flanders his first start, too. And they could have started Rakete-Stones instead of Numia.
On the plus side, in Ben May, Fletcher Smith, Tyrel Lomax and James Marshall, Hawkes Bay fans will get to watch four of the Mako diaspora! 
@Nepia
Maybe IWL is being rested or maybe he was dropped for his shit defensive performance against the Sharks. He missed a ridiculous amount of tackles.
@Winger said in Hurricanes v Sunwolves:
The backs look a lot weaker than last match. Fletcher Smith needs to either step up. or be pushed aside. As he's been bordering on utter rubbish whenever he's started at first.
Unsure why IWL is not starting (esp as hes plays for HB). But the coaches for reasons that I can't understand rate Blackwell. YeT the team went very well last week without him
But good to see Numia starting. A good performance and Canes are looking well enough served at LH prop.
With JGB out for awhile there is not really any options for 1st5
And I am just hoping they are managing IWL workload, as he has played a lot of minutes so far, he provides a lot of grunt, we know Blackwell will try hard and be average.
@Machpants said in Hurricanes v Sunwolves:
@Number-10 said in Hurricanes v Sunwolves:
South African winger, Kobus Van Wyk, will get to show his raw pace to a kiwi crowd, being named in the starting line-up on the right wing.
:face_vomiting:
Sadly I can only like your post once instead of the 100 times it deserves.
@Chris-B said in Hurricanes v Sunwolves:
@Stargazer said in Hurricanes v Sunwolves:
It won't escape Hawke’s Bay’s Hurricanes fans that of those four Magpies, only one is starting. And that they give a journeyman like Kobus van Wyk a starting spot, while Danny Toala has to play with the U20s. Why isn't IWL starting? This game would have been good to give Flanders his first start, too. And they could have started Rakete-Stones instead of Numia.
On the plus side, in Ben May, Fletcher Smith, Tyrel Lomax and James Marshall, Hawkes Bay fans will get to watch four of the Mako diaspora!
Sadly they get to watch that useless hua flop around on a yearly basis. I'm sure they'll enjoy seeing the Wellingtonian-Aussie running around. Not sure Smith would get a great reception in HB.
@Nepia said in Hurricanes v Sunwolves:
I'm sure they'll enjoy seeing the Wellingtonian-Aussie running around.
Yeah - in all fairness, Tyrel is the only one still on the books.
The others have been sadly weakened by their absence from the Motherland!
Hurricanes U20 leading Blues U20 15-12 at halftime, 2 tries each.
Ref is Rebecca Mahoney.
Some tall timber in the Canes pack - Hugo Plummet, Liam Mitchell, Ofa Tautevalu.
@Number-10 said in Hurricanes v Sunwolves:
Hurricanes U20 leading Blues U20 15-12 at halftime, 2 tries each.
Ref is Rebecca Mahoney.
Some tall timber in the Canes pack - Hugo Plummet, Liam Mitchell, Ofa Tautevalu.
Hurricanes tall or actual tall?
I reckon they are the three tallest on the field.
24-15 to the Blues who have just received a penalty try.
Two big defensive errors from the Canes: first one from Fifita and Riccitelli; second from Scrafton and Blackwell. This one leading to the SW try.
@Stargazer Riccitelli is on the bench.
@Canes4life My bad. Shouldn't listen to the commentators. Fifita and someone else then.
We can’t have Scrafton and Blackwell together. They are useless on the carry, exactly why IWL should be our first choice lock.
@Stargazer both brilliant on attack.
@antipodean said in Hurricanes v Sunwolves:
@Number-10 said in Hurricanes v Sunwolves:
Hurricanes U20 leading Blues U20 15-12 at halftime, 2 tries each.
Ref is Rebecca Mahoney.
Some tall timber in the Canes pack - Hugo Plummet, Liam Mitchell, Ofa Tautevalu.
Hurricanes tall or actual tall?
some of your best work.
I'd insert an Ardie joke here, but it'd be a tall tale of some form 
@KiwiMurph been quality so far.
