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All Black prop returns as rest week forces changes for Hurricanes

(Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)

Former All Black prop Owen Franks will return to the Hurricanes starting side for their clash with Moana Pasifika at Mt Smart Stadium on Saturday night as they look to continue their strong start the season.

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The 35-year-old started against the Reds in round one for his new club before returning to the bench against the Rebels in round two.

He will have the chance to start again as All Blacks resting protocols see Tyrel Lomax, Dane Coles and Jordie Barrett sit out the trip to Auckland.

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Packing down alongside Franks in the front row will be Xavier Numia and Asafo Aumua, who will bring up his 50th cap for the Hurricanes.

Dominic Bird gets a start in the second row and will partner Isaia Walker-Leawere at lock, while James Blackwell gets a rest week.

Young gun Peter Lakai returns to the starting side at openside after impressing against the Blues in his last start and will join Devan Flanders and Ardie Savea as the loose forward trio. Regular starting openside Du’Plessis Kirifi has been afforded a week off.

Head coach Jason Holland said that they are prioritising the freshness of the squad by allowing non-All Blacks to take rest as well.

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“A priority for us is keeping everyone on top of their game and 100% ready to go,” Holland explained.

“We’ve got good options there in the locks and loosies, so Blackwell and Kirifi are having a week off.

“They’re all playing well, so we are quite happy to mix and match at the moment, to keep that competition going, and keep the guys as fresh as possible at the backend of this eight-week block.”

In the backline Cam Roigard and Brett Cameron will get another start as the halves pair, while 2022’s breakout star Bailyn Sullivan gets his first start of the year at centre.

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Billy Proctor moves inside one position into the No 12 jersey to partner Sullivan in the midfield.

After a double last week as a Hurricanes debutant, Kini Naholo makes a switch to the right wing while Salesi Rayasi returns to the starting side on the left. All Black Julian Savea moves to bench in the utility back role.

Two players are in line for potential debuts, Waikato hooker Hame Faiva, and Counties first five-eighth Riley Hohepa, have been named on the bench.

Hohepa comes into the side after Aidan Morgan suffered a concussion against the Waratahs in Wellington late in the game.

“Hame has been with us for a few months as a replacement player and he’s been brilliant in our environment. He’s been in Europe playing for a while, so has the experience, and has been working hard so he gets his opportunity to play,” Holland said.

“With Aidan’s concussion last week, Riley Hohepa will also look to debut off the bench. He’s got a good rugby brain and knows how to run our games, so he’s been a good addition to our environment.

“Moana Pasifika will be a good challenge. We’ve seen what happened last year when we didn’t get things right. We’re pretty motivated for this one, we need to get the small parts of our game right, so that we get the results we want.”

Hurricanes named to take on Moana Pasifika:

1. Xavier Numia
2. Asafo Aumua **
3. Owen Franks
4. Dominic Bird
5. Isaia Walker-Leawere
6. Devan Flanders
7. Peter Lakai
8. Ardie Savea ©
9. Cameron Roigard
10. Brett Cameron
11. Salesi Rayasi
12. Billy Proctor
13. Bailyn Sullivan
14. Kini Naholo
15. Josh Moorby

Reserves
16. Hame Faiva *
17. Tevita Mafileo
18. Pasilio Tosi
19. TK Howden
20. Brayden Iose
21. Jamie Booth
22. Riley Hohepa *
23. Julian Savea

*Denotes debut
**Denotes 50th Hurricanes match

Unavailable for selection: Ruben Love, Caleb Delany, Tyler Laubscher, Reed Prinsep, Peter Umaga-Jensen, Justin Sangster, TJ Perenara, Jacob Devery, Aidan Morgan.

All Black rest: Dane Coles, Tyrel Lomax, Jordie Barrett

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J
JW 3 hours ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Ok, managed to read the full article..

... New Zealand’s has only 14 and the professional season is all over within four months. In France, club governance is the responsibility of an independent organisation [the Ligue Nationale de Rugby or LNR] which is entirely separate from the host union [the Fédération Française de Rugby or FFR]. Down south New Zealand Rugby runs the provincial and the national game.

That is the National Provincial Championship, a competition of 14 representative union based teams run through the SH international window and only semi professional (paid only during it's running). It is run by NZR and goes for two and a half months.


Super Rugby is a competition involving 12 fully professional teams, of which 5 are of New Zealand eligibility, and another joint administered team of Pacific Island eligibility, with NZR involvement. It was a 18 week competition this year, so involved (randomly chosen I believe) extra return fixtures (2 or 3 home and away derbys), and is run by Super Rugby Pacific's own independent Board (or organisation). The teams may or may not be independently run and owned (note, this does not necessarily mean what you think of as 'privately owned').


LNR was setup by FFR and the French Government to administer the professional game in France. In New Zealand, the Players Association and Super Rugby franchises agreed last month to not setup their own governance structure for professional rugby and re-aligned themselves with New Zealand Rugby. They had been proposing to do something like the English model, I'm not sure how closely that would have been aligned to the French system but it did not sound like it would have French union executive representation on it like the LNR does.

In the shaky isles the professional pyramid tapers to a point with the almighty All Blacks. In France the feeling for country is no more important than the sense of fierce local identity spawned at myriad clubs concentrated in the southwest. Progress is achieved by a nonchalant shrug and the wide sweep of nuanced negotiation, rather than driven from the top by a single intense focus.

Yes, it is pretty much a 'representative' selection system at every level, but these union's are having to fight for their existence against the regime that is NZR, and are currently going through their own battle, just as France has recently as I understand it. A single focus, ala the French game, might not be the best outcome for rugby as a whole.


For pure theatre, it is a wonderful article so far. I prefer 'Ntamack New Zealand 2022' though.

The young Crusader still struggles to solve the puzzle posed by the shorter, more compact tight-heads at this level but he had no problem at all with Colombe.

It was interesting to listen to Manny during an interview on Maul or Nothing, he citied that after a bit of banter with the All Black's he no longer wanted one of their jersey's after the game. One of those talks was an eye to eye chat with Tamaiti Williams, there appear to be nothing between the lock and prop, just a lot of give and take. I thought TW angled in and caused Taylor to pop a few times, and that NZ were lucky to be rewarded.

f you have a forward of 6ft 8ins and 145kg, and he is not at all disturbed by a dysfunctional set-piece, you are in business.

He talked about the clarity of the leadership that helped alleviate any need for anxiety at the predicaments unfolding before him. The same cannot be said for New Zealand when they had 5 minutes left to retrieve a match winning penalty, I don't believe. Did the team in black have much of a plan at any point in the game? I don't really call an autonomous 10 vehicle they had as innovative. I think Razor needs to go back to the dealer and get a new game driver on that one.

Vaa’i is no match for his power on the ground. Even in reverse, Meafou is like a tractor motoring backwards in low gear, trampling all in its path.

Vaa'i actually stops him in his tracks. He gets what could have been a dubious 'tackle' on him?

A high-level offence will often try to identify and exploit big forwards who can be slower to reload, and therefore vulnerable to two quick plays run at them consecutively.

Yes he was just standing on his haunches wasn't he? He mentioned that in the interview, saying that not only did you just get up and back into the line to find the opposition was already set and running at you they also hit harder than anything he'd experienced in the Top 14. He was referring to New Zealands ultra-physical, burst-based Super style of course, which he was more than a bit surprised about. I don't blame him for being caught out.


He still sent the obstruction back to the repair yard though!

What wouldn’t the New Zealand rugby public give to see the likes of Mauvaka and Meafou up front..

Common now Nick, don't go there! Meafou showed his Toulouse shirt and promptly got his citizenship, New Zealand can't have him, surely?!?


As I have said before with these subjects, really enjoy your enthusiasm for their contribution on the field and I'd love to see more of their shapes running out for Vern Cotter and the like styled teams.

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