The curtain will come down on the Super Rugby Pacific quarter-finals at the GIO Stadium this Saturday where Australia Conference pacesetters, the Brumbies, will take on an unpredictable Hurricanes outfit.
Check out our other Super Rugby Pacific quarter-final previews by clicking below:
Brumbies v Hurricanes | Saturday 5 June | GIO Stadium | 11:45
To Win Match
Brumbies 13/20 | Draw 20/1 |Hurricanes 13/10
Handicap
Brumbies (-2.5) 9/10 | Hurricanes (+2.5) 9/10
It has been a solid season for the Brumbies thus far with the men from Canberra winning 10 of their 14 regular season fixtures. They’ve fared pretty well against the New Zealand sides as well beating the Highlanders, Hurricanes and the Chiefs while narrowly going down against the Blues.
The Brumbies will head into this one pretty fresh having fielded a weakened side during last weekend’s 32-22 defeat to Moana Pasifika. There’s a lot of onus on this game for the Brumbies, not only is it a quarter-final clash but they also head into this one knowing that veterans Scott Sio, Tom Banks, Irae Simone and Folau Fainga’a will leave the club at the end of the Super Rugby season.
Head coach Dan Mackellar will also exit at the close of the season so they’ll want to give the coach and the outgoing boys a couple more games in Brumbies jerseys.
The Hurricanes were less impressive during the regular season with the men from Wellington winning eight of their 14 fixtures. They struggled for consistency throughout the tournament beating the likes of the Blues but then suffering shock losses like their extra-time defeat against Moana Pasifika. They suffered one of those shock results last weekend as they went down 27-22 to the Western Force.
In terms of team news, the visitors have sprung a couple surprise selections in their forward pack with Owen Franks coming into the front row in place of Tyrell Lomax, while former Blues man Blake Gibson will get a start on the flank. The
Brumbies have also made changes in the forward pack with James Slipper and Folau Fainga’a coming into the starting front row while young guns Tom Hooper and Luke Reimer will join Pete Samu in the back row.
Verdict: Brumbies (-2.5) 9/10
I really think the Hurricanes pack will struggle against the Brumbies at set-piece time. I reckon this will be enough for the Brumbies to take this one with a small cushion.
