The Hurricanes squad will look to build on the momentum they have built in the last fortnight when they face the Blues in their final pre-season hit-out in Auckland on Thursday afternoon.

Hurricanes head coach Chris Boyd has named 32 players to take part in the match at Warkworth, just a day before the squad departs for South Africa for their opening Ivestec Super Rugby match against the Bulls.

A positive first outing in Greymouth close to a fortnight ago, when the Hurricanes managed to implement a lot of what they had been trying to achieve during their impressive 43-22 win over the Crusaders, was backed up in Brisbane last week when a number of promising players combined with some senior members to take the Hurricanes to the cusp of their first Global Rugby Tens title.

Boyd stressed the importance of carrying on that momentum when they face the Blues.

"As a coaching unit we were really pleased with the decision making the players showed in Greymouth," he said.

"While we were also delighted with how the group progressed through the Global Rugby Tens tournament, it was also really pleasing to return to New Zealand and get such positive reports about the work the remaining squad had put in.

"Hopefully we will be able to continue that progress against the Blues who have already shown that they are progressing nicely in 2018."

New Hurricanes recruit Ihaia West starts at first five-eighth with Beauden Barrett set to join the squad to face the Bulls in Pretoria.

The pre-season match also provides an ideal opportunity for the coaching group to gauge the progress of a number of players before they leave New Zealand.