Recap: Hurricanes vs Blues | Super Rugby Aotearoa

Follow all the action on the RugbyPass live blog from the Super Rugby Aotearoa clash between the Hurricanes and Blues at SKY Stadium in Wellington.

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Having started the season with a 9-match win streak against the Blues, the Hurricanes are now staring down the barrel of a third straight loss to the Aucklanders.

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While the Hurricanes have struggled even in their victories this year, the Blues are a completely different side to the team that’s languished at the bottom of the New Zealand conference in recent seasons.

When these two sides faced off in Wellington before the season’s suspension, the Blues hadn’t scored a victory in New Zealand’s capital since 2013, but that didn’t stop them nabbing a surprise 24-15 victory. In the return fixture, the win was considerably more emphatic for the home side, with the Blues ahead 30-13 before the Hurricanes scores a consolation try in the final minutes.

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Since that match – the opening game of Super Rugby Aotearoa for both sides – both sides have suffered just a solitary defeat at the hands of the Crusaders.

Following that loss last week, the Blues have made minimal changes to their side. James Parsons, Hoskins Sotutu and Caleb Clarke are all unavailable, which hands starting opportunities to the Bay of Plenty trio of Kurt Eklund, Aaron Carroll and Emoni Narawa.

The Hurricanes, meanwhile, have managed two wins on the trot and have the luxury of bringing a refreshed and healthy Dane Coles back into the starting side.

The main talking point heading into the match has concerned Beauden and Jordie Barrett squaring off in the fullback jerseys. It’s the first time that the two brothers have played against one another in the professional game and Beauden received plenty of comments and nudges in his first game for the Blues against the Hurricanes, so it would be unusual if his former side relented in this fixture.

Tonight’s match kicks off at 7:05pm NZT