Every Super Rugby quarter-final has a bit of intrigue but none more than tonight's clash between the Hurricanes and Chiefs in Wellington.
The fourth seed Hurricanes are a force at home and look likely to field captain Brad Shields, who today declared himself fit to play. But the fifth seededwill Chiefs will arrive in the capital confident off a win last week, and will be bringing reinforcements.
The Chiefs' strength is that they can attack through any one of their seven backs. They're all dangerous, proven ball-runners who can create attack at the flick of a switch. Halfback Brad Weber and fullback Solomon Alaimalo created a lot of problems for the Hurricanes last week, and with Damian McKenzie and Charlie Ngatai returning at first and second five-eighths, things get tougher for the hosts.
Can the Chiefs beat the Hurricanes for a second-straight week? Photo / Photosport
But it's not just the backline involvement the Hurricanes need to be wary of, with the likes of Brodie Retallick, Liam Messam and Sam Cane up front flashing their offloading ability throughout the season. In fact, Retallick (6) and Nathan Harris (4) are among the Chiefs top five try scorers this season.
To play their free running brand of rugby, they need to make sure they hold on to the football when they have it. Too often this season they've seen their attacks come to an abrupt halt due to a handling error. Their 184 errors are the second-most only to the Sharks (186), and they've committed the third-most turnovers (252). If errors sneak into their game, Messam and Ngatai will be packing their bags for France sooner rather than later.
The Hurricanes, meanwhile, need to play it smart and control the territory battle. The hosts will no doubt look to run the football with the weather forecast reasonable. With Jordie Barrett moving into the midfield alongside Ngani Laumape, and Nehe Milner-Skudder looming at fullback, there's plenty of options around Beauden Barrett and TJ Perenara to attack on the fly.
The Hurricanes have been strong on home turf all season. Photo / Photosport
However, the Hurricanes might be better suited taking the smart, albeit boring, approach of kicking to the corners and making the visitors work for position, picking the spots to run the ball only when they present themselves.
The Chiefs have had the odd issue when it comes to exiting their own 22 throughout the season and the added pressure of being in a knockout situation won't help that.
Knowing the visitors are among the worst in the competition when it comes to ball security, the Hurricanes should back their ability to pile the pressure on their opponents and force the error or win a turnover. They're more than capable of winning extra possessions, and those will be key for them tomorrow night.
If they play the match in the Chiefs' half of the field, the points will come.
