The Hurricanes will be without suspended lock James Broadhurst when they put their undefeated start to the Super Rugby season on the line in an all-New Zealand match against the Highlanders to open the sixth round today.
Broadhurst, who has played 56 matches for the Wellington-based side, was suspended for hitting Blues flanker Luke Braid in the face with his knee in the 61st minute last weekend. A judicial officer found that Broadhurst did not deliberately strike Braid, but that the lock made contact in a “careless” manner which caused concussion-like symptoms.
In other action today, the Melbourne Rebels will attempt to win their third of five matches this season when they host the Johannesburg-based Lions, who have lost four of five.
Tomorrow, the Crusaders host the Cheetahs in Christchurch, New Zealand, while in South Africa, the Bulls host the Western Force in Pretoria and the Sharks play the Chiefs in Durban.
In the final match of the round on Sunday, New South Wales hosts the ACT in Sydney, with the second-placed Waratahs hoping to cut into the Brumbies’ 10-point lead atop the Australian conference.
The Auckland-based Blues, Queensland Reds and Western Stormers have weekend byes.
Broadhurst’s suspension means Jeremy Thrush and Blade Thomson will form a new locking partnership for the Hurricanes, who have won their first four matches of the season.
Hooker Dane Coles, originally named in the run-on team for today’s game, pulled out as a precaution after hyperextending an elbow during Wednesday’s training session.
Mike Harris and Dom Shipperley will both make their 50th Super Rugby appearances for the Rebels in Melbourne, while Lions head coach Johan Ackermann has named Elton Jantjies as a starter at inside center.
In the Lions forward pack, Schalk van der Merwe, Armand van der Merwe and Ruan Dreyer will make up the front row, Robert Kruger will start at lock and Derick Minnie has been promoted to the starting lineup at flanker.
The Force, based in Perth, Australia, have lost four matches in a row as they begin a South African tour against the Bulls.
“We’ve been down this path many times before,” Force captain Sam Wykes said. “So we know how to bounce back from it.”
New South Wales coach Michael Cheika, who is doing double-duty this season, as he also coaches the Wallabies, said the league-leading Brumbies’ strong start — four wins in five matches — was no fluke and that the Waratahs need to be more clinical in both attack and defense.
“Just [need to find] that little bit of extra edge to finish off the move or shut down the opposition,” Cheika said. “But one thing’s for sure; they [the Brumbies] have earned that 10-point gap at this stage. They’ve been by far and away the best team in Australia.”
Kotara Matsushima, a South Africa-born backline utility who has played six tests for Japan, arrived in Sydney this week to become part of the Waratahs’ 35-man squad.
Cheika said the 22-year-old has “got some footwork, he’s got some some pace.”
Matsushima has spent time with the Sharks’ development team in Durban.
The Waratahs signed him last month in an arrangement between the Australian and Japanese rugby unions in which he is considered a “special addition” to the defending champions’ squad.
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