The Hurricanes have taken off to Perth as they prepare to face the Western Force on Saturday 19 April, at 9:35PM (NZT) at HBF Stadium.
The Force are coming off a bye and the Hurricanes will be working hard to get the result on the road. This weekend's match against the Force will be the Hurricanes first in Australia for 2025.
There have been a few changes to the squad to suit up at the weekend. All Black, Billy Proctor features on the bench in the number 23 jersey as he returns to play from an achilles injury that has had him out for the season so far. The squad is further bolstered by the talented 22-year-old Riley Higgins coming onto the bench as well. Ruben Love goes into 10 for the first time this season, Love has played at full back for the last few weeks, but he is no stranger to the first five position, including his time in the saddle with the Palmerston North Boys High First XV. He will show case his diversity and skill that he has and adapt to the positional change.
Co Captains, Asafo Aumua, Brad Shields and Du’Plessis Kirifi will all be starting in a Hurricanes first, with three captains on the field. Fatafehi Fineanganofo starts on the wing and Callum Harkin goes into full back after impressing off the bench against the Crusaders.
In other changes, Brayden Iose moves to the bench and is joined by Tevita Mafelio. Big lock Isaia Walker-Leawere starts and will bring power up front and a wide range of skills in the loose.
Head Coach, Clark Laidlaw said “It’s a big 2 weeks in Australia for us. The Force have played some excellent rugby, so we’ll need to match that. We haven’t got all the results we wanted so far, but we know we can grow a lot from here on. It's great to have a few players back and we need to put a strong performance out there on Saturday.”
- Xavier Numia
- Asafo Aumua (Co Captain)
- Tyrel Lomax
- Caleb Delany
- Isaia Walker-Leawere
- Brad Shields (Co Captain)
- Du’Plessis Kirifi (Co Captain)
- Peter Lakai
- Cam Roigard
- Ruben Love
- Fatafehi Fineanganofo
- Peter Umaga-Jensen
- Bailyn Sullivan
- Ngatungane Punivai
Callum Harkin
IMPACT
- Raymond Tuputupu
- Tevita Mafileo
- Pasilio Tosi
- Zach Gallagher
- Brayden Iose
- Ereatara Enari
- Riley Higgins
- Billy Proctor
UNAVAILABLE DUE TO INJURY
| Player | Injury | Potential Return |
| Brett Cameron | Knee | Season |
| Devan Flanders | Ankle | RD 12 |
| Harry Godfrey | Lower Leg | RD 13 |
