The Hurricanes will look to strike down the Stormers with the element of surprise in Saturday’s Super Rugby opener at Newlands (3.05pm).
New Canes head coach Jason Holland already surprised all with his team selection, opting for Fletcher Smith at pivot instead of Jackson Garden-Bachop.
It was expected that Garden-Bachop would be the flyhalf in place of Beauden Barrett, who left the franchise to join the Blues.
But Holland likes to keep his cards close to his chest and tells the Hurricanes website: “We worked hard through our pre-season matches at improving parts of our game and performance.
“Nobody shows too much in pre-season games, so we are looking forward to trying a few things.”
STARTING 10: Fletcher Smith. Picture: Christiaan Kotze/BackpagePix.
Known as a team that likes to run the ball, the Canes have a dangerous backline for the clash.
With Jordie Barrett operation at fullback, Holland included Wes Goosen and Ben Lam in the back-three to complete a lethal counterattacking duo.
Led by scrumhalf TJ Perenara and completed by Ngani Laumape and Billy Proctor in the midfield, the Canes know the Stormers will look to keep the ball away from their backline.
SWITCHING IT UP: Jason Holland. Picture: Supplied.
Holland says: “The Stormers will be a physical challenge for us and we expect them to be very direct and attack us up front.
“We will look forward to that challenge and intend to put them under pressure with our style of rugby. We’ve had a thorough week in Cape Town and are in good shape heading into the weekend.”
— Hurricanes Rugby (@Hurricanesrugby) January 30, 2020
Hurricanes:
15 Jordie Barrett, 14 Wes Goosen, 13 Billy Proctor, 12 Ngani Laumape, 11 Ben Lam, 10 Fletcher Smith, 9 TJ Perenara (captain), 8 Gareth Evans, 7 Du’Plessis Kirifi, 6 Reed Prinsep, 5 Scott Scrafton, 4 James Blackwell, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Ricky Riccitelli, 1 Fraser Armstrong.
Replacements:
16 Asafo Auma, 17 Pouri Rakete-Stones, 18 Tevita Mafileo, 19 Vaea Fifita, 20 Devan Flanders, 21 Jamie Booth, 22 Jackson Garden-Bachop, 23 Vince Aso.