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Recap: Hurricanes vs Sharks LIVE | Super Rugby

Hurricanes vs Sharks Live Match Centre

Follow all the action on the RugbyPass live blog from the Super Rugby match between the Hurricanes and the Sharks at Sky Stadium.

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Keep up to date with the latest score, stats and join the conversation from anywhere in the world in our Live Match Centre (click here).

Fresh off last week’s dismantling of the Highlanders in Dunedin, the Sharks will look to prolong their undefeated start to Super Rugby after their season-opening victory over the Stormers in Durban a fortnight ago.

Continue reading below…

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Under the roof of Forsyth Barr Stadium, speedsters Aphelele Fassi and Makazole Mapimpi shone with their out-and-out pace on the bone-dry track, which ultimately put the error-ridden hosts to bed.

Both outside backs will again be integral to the Sharks’ chances of victory in the Kiwi capital on Saturday, and both have been retained in the starting lineup by head coach Sean Everitt.

In fact, all but one of the players who started in the Sharks’ 42-20 drubbing of the Highlanders eight days ago will again run out against the Hurricanes, with star playmaker Curwin Bosch the only casualty.

The 22-year-old has returned to South Africa following a family bereavement, and has been replaced in the No. 10 jersey by youngster Boeta Chamberlain.

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That switch has spurred two changes on the bench, as loose forward duo Dylan Richardson and Phepsi Buthelezi come in as Chamberlain and Sanele Nohamba’s replacements to give the Sharks a 6-2 positional split in the reserves.

The hosts, meanwhile, will be aiming to build on their 26-23 comeback win over the Jaguares in Buenos Aires last week, which came after a dismal 27-0 thrashing at the hands of the Stormers in Cape Town in round one.

Jordie Barrett’s monstrous 63m penalty eventually proved vital to the Hurricanes’ success in the Argentine capital, and it wouldn’t surprise to see the All Blacks fullback’s massive boot again utilised in front of his home crowd on Saturday.

He will again start in the No. 15 jersey and is one of 11 players who have kept their places in head coach Jason Holland’s starting side.

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The three personnel changes have come at lock, in the loose forwards and in the midfield.

Vince Aso is the only alteration in the backline, with the 25-year-old slotting in for young prospect Bill Proctor at centre.

In the forward pack, promising flanker Du’Plessi Kirifi has been demoted to the bench in place Vaea Fifita, whose inclusion in the starting XV has forced a back row re-shuffle.

Subsequently, Fifita will start at blindside flanker to push Reed Prinsep to No. 8, which has in turn shifted Gareth Evans into the openside role.

In the second row, Isaia Walker-Leawere is joined by former Blues lock Scott Scrafton, who replaces James Blackwell.

On the bench, veteran All Blacks hooker Dane Coles is primed to make his first appearance of the 2020 campaign in the No. 16 jersey.

He is among five new faces in the reserves, alongside Proctor, Kirifi, lock Liam Mitchell and prop Pouri Rakete-Stones.

In other news:

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Flankly 2 hours ago
'Absolute madness': Clive Woodward rips into Borthwick in wake of NZ loss

Borthwick is supposed to be the archetypical conservative coach, the guy that might not deliver a sparkling, high-risk attacking style, but whose teams execute the basics flawlessly. And that's OK, because it can be really hard to beat teams that are rock solid and consistent in the rugby equivalent of "blocking and tackling".


But this is why the performance against NZ is hard to defend. You can forgive a conservative, back-to-basics team for failing to score tons of tries, because teams like that make up for it with reliability in the simple things. They can defend well, apply territorial pressure, win the set piece battles, and take their scoring chances with metronomic goal kicking, maul tries and pick-and-go goal line attacks.


The reason why the English rugby administrators should be on high alert is not that the English team looked unable to score tries, but that they were repeatedly unable to close out a game by executing basic, coachable skills. Regardless of how they got to the point of being in control of their destiny, they did get to that point. All that was needed was to be world class at things that require more training than talent. But that training was apparently missing, and the finger has to point at the coach.


Borthwick has been in the job for nearly two years, a period that includes two 6N programs and an RWC campaign. So where are the solid foundations that he has been building?

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