An injury crisis has struck the Wellington Hurricanes ahead of their do-or-die Super Rugby clash against the Waikato Chiefs, with all three of the squad’s hookers under a cloud, preventing coach Mark Hammett from naming anyone in the position yesterday.
All Blacks hooker Dane Coles suffered a calf injury in the 16-9 victory over the Canterbury Crusaders last week that forced him from the field, though he returned temporarily when replacement Motu Matu’u went off injured with a shoulder injury.
Third-choice hooker Ash Dixon is also nursing a shoulder injury and Hammett, a former All Blacks hooker himself, listed the No. 2 and No. 16 (replacement hooker) jerseys as TBA (to be announced) in his side for tomorrow’s match at the Waikato Stadium.
Hammett, who leaves the team at the end of the season to move to Cardiff, will wait until the trio have undergone further examination before making a decision on who to include.
He does have a stop-gap measure in replacement prop Reggie Goodes, who has occasionally filled in at hooker this season, including in Saturday’s match when Coles was forced off again with 10 minutes remaining.
While there will be a guessing game over the composition of the Hurricanes’ front row, Hammett’s decision in the loose forwards and midfield was relatively simple, with No. 8 Victor Vito and center Alapati Leiua both ruled out.
Vito limped off inside the first 10 minutes of the Crusaders game with a calf injury, while Samoa international Leiua followed him shortly afterwards with an ankle injury.
Brad Shields is to shift from blindside flanker to No. 8 for tomorrow’s match, with Jack Lam and Ardie Savea on the side of the scrum.
Hadleigh Parkes is to come into the starting side at inside center after he replaced Leiua on Saturday.
The fifth-placed Hurricanes (41 points) must win the match — which is their final regular-season game — to give themselves any hope of qualifying for the playoffs, while the two-time champions Chiefs (36 points) are in ninth place and also in danger of missing the postseason.
The Chiefs are in something of a slump, having lost four of their past six games, including a 45-8 thrashing at the hands of the Hurricanes in Wellington five weeks ago.
They must win tomorrow to ensure their final game of the season against the Auckland Blues on Friday next week is not a dead rubber, though any home advantage for the playoffs is gone.
Chiefs coach Dave Rennie has previously said finishing in the top two — and playing the finals at home — was important, but the Hamilton-based side, if they make the playoffs, would virtually be assured of having to win three away games in their bid to claim three successive titles.
“Having our home-crowd support makes a huge difference to the team,” Chiefs co-captain Liam Messam said in a statement.
“With the New Zealand conference so close, that huge vocal support is going to be important,” he added. “We know how crucial this match is.”
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