Four Magpies set to take the field for 'Canes 'Day in the Bay'

Four Magpies set to take the field for 'Canes 'Day..." on page "News

Hawke’s Bay players Jacob Devery, Ere Enari, Pouri Rakete-Stones, and Harry Godfrey have all been named in the Hurricanes’ 23 to take on the Fijian Drua on Saturday afternoon at 4.35pm in Napier - the squad is largely the same as the one that went down to the Crusaders in the opening round.

The Hurricanes showed flashes of brilliance in the first round match-up, but ended up on the wrong side of the scoreboard 33-25. The Hawke’s Bay ‘Canes faithful’ have been undeterred though with ticket sales already topping 7,500 for Saturday’s match, and with a classic Hawke’s Bay weather forecast, a strong walk-up crowd is projected to push attendance up over 12,000.

Prior to travelling to Napier, Head Coach Clark Laidlaw said “round 1 didn’t quite work out but we were really pleased with a number of areas. The consistency of selection reflects this and the team has been preparing really well. This will be a great occasion, particularly for the boys from Hawke’s Bay. The Drua will be tough and we are expecting a big crowd. We can’t wait.”.

Hugo Plummer from the Tawa club in Wellington, comes in for Isaia Walker-Leawere for his first start in the run on fifteen and will lock the scrum with his NPC teammate, Caleb Delaney. Plummer has played two matches from the bench for the Hurricanes since 2023.

The Hurricanes have genuine fire power on the flanks with Kini Naholo and Fatafehi Fineanganofo, with the latter showing great pace on debut last week. Clark Laidlaw will be looking for impact from a strong bench, featuring 2024 All Blacks Pasilio Tosi & Peter Lakai.

The Hurricanes arrive in Napier on Thursday 20 February, and on Friday from 9am-11am the team will visit schools in the region for a Meet & Greet and Q&A session, as well as a Skills & Drills opportunity with the Hurricanes players. There will then be an Open Captain’s run at McLean Park at 4:00pm. A great chance for the fans to meet the players or get an autograph and a selfie.