Highlanders Super rugby head coach Aaron Mauger has brought Josh Ioane back into the matchday 23 and named a largely unchanged team from last Sunday’s close loss to the Hurricanes for the Chiefs this week.
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Ioane, who withdrew before the round one match against the Chiefs with a reaggravated groin strain the injury, will get his first taste of Super Rugby Aotearoa.
Match Details: Sunday 19 July, 3:35pm, FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton
Referee: Mike Fraser
Played: 34
Won: Chiefs 18, Highlanders 15, 1 draw
Last match: Highlanders 28 Chiefs 27
Watch: Sky Sport 1
The Chiefs are 0-and-4 and the Highlanders are 1-and-3. Uncharacteristically the Chiefs have struggled to score tries in Investec Super Rugby Aotearoa. They’ve only bagged four and a penalty try, and it’s been a real work on for Chiefs attack coach Roger Randle who addressed the issue this week. The Highlanders pushed the Crusaders and got close to the Hurricanes last week, so this should be a real tight battle on Sunday, no different to their first encounter. Both sides have been close to several wins but haven’t been able to go all the way. We suspect it will be another tight one in Hamilton.
What's the Chiefs v Highlanders team news?
Chiefs: 15. Damian McKenzie, 14. Sean Wainui, 13. Anton Lienert-Brown, 12. Alex Nankivell, 11. Solomon Alaimalo, 10. Kaleb Trask, 9. Brad Weber, 1. Aidan Ross, 2. Bradley Slater, 3. Nepo Laulala, 4. Tupou Vaa’i, 5. Mitchell Brown 6. Lachlan Boshier 7. Sam Cane (capt) 8. Pita Gus Sowakula.
Replacements: 16. Samisoni Taukei’aho 17. Reuben O’Neill 18. Ross Geldenhuys 19. Adam Thompson 20. Mitchell Karpik 21. Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi 22. Aaron Cruden 23. Quinn Tupaea.
Highlanders: 15. Michael Collins, 14. Josh McKay, 13. Rob Thompson, 12. Patelesio Tomkinson, 11. Scott Gregory, 10. Mitch Hunt, 9. Aaron Smith (co-captain), 1. Ayden Johnstone, 2. Ash Dixon (co-captain), 3. Siate Tokolahi, 4. Paripari Parkinson, 5. Jack Whetton, 6. Shannon Frizell, 7. Dillon Hunt, 8. Marino Mikaele-Tu’u.
Replacements: 16. Liam Coltman, 17. Ethan De Groot, 18. Jeff Thwaites, 19. Manaaki Selby-Rickit, 20. Jesse Parete, 21. Folau Fakatava, 22. Josh Ioane, 23. Jona Nareki.
Daily Telegraph rugby writer Charlie Morgan analysed Barrett's performance during the Blues' 24-12 victory over the Chiefs, the first time the Auckland side have ever won five straight away games, and concluded that the All Blacks superstar has adapted his game to allow "others to shine".
"Although his performances from full-back have been devoid of the snaking, speedy breaks we have come to expect, Barrett has been a significant factor," Morgan wrote.
"Indeed, the 29 year-old's understated excellence has allowed others to shine. His intelligent positioning has alleviated danger. His kicking has kept Blues moving forward. Although Barrett has won World Rugby's player of the year award twice as a fly-half, Otere Black has been a far more prominent playmaker for the Blues Rugby game .
"By the stage Black went off in the 61st minute on Saturday in Hamilton, he had touched the ball at first-receiver on 13 occasions in phase-play. Barrett had done so twice."
Perhaps the most shocking stat uncovered in the analysis, however, was the fact that Barrett didn't throw a pass until the 39th minute, choosing instead to employ his tactical kicking to help give the Blues the territorial advantage.
Morgan believes Barrett will move to first-five ("fly-half") later in the year, but even if he's not heavily involved in play, the All Blacks superstar's impact on the Blues over the first two games has been invaluable.
"New Zealand head coach Ian Foster may wish to see Barrett at fly-half later on in Super Rugby Aotearoa. He will surely be relaying his thoughts on the matter to MacDonald," Morgan wrote.
"Barrett's combination with fly-half Richie Mo'unga for the All Blacks had plenty of promising moments before England beat New Zealand in Japan. Perhaps that game has been a spur for Barrett to sharpen his positioning in the back-field Crusaders Blues live streaming.
"Equally, Barrett and McKenzie have dovetailed nicely as dual receivers with the former wearing 10. Their efforts helped New Zealand win at Twickenham in November 2018.
Versatile All Blacks forward Barrett will undergo foot surgery and won’t be back on the field before the end of the New Zealand-only competition in mid-August.
It is unclear if the injury will impact on his involvement in the possible Tests against Australia later this year if such matches can go ahead.
Barrett, the brother of star backs Beauden and Jordie, suffered the injury during an internal warm-up match on June 13.
All Blacks hooker Codie Taylor led the Crusaders to a 39-25 win over the Hurricanes in their first match last weekend and has been named skipper for the remainder of the competition.
Veteran lock Alex Ainley has joined the 10-time champions as injury cover.
Injury has ended the Super Rugby season for three notable forwards this week, with flankers Luke Jacobson (Chiefs) and Tom Robinson (Blues) succumbing to hand and knee issues respectively. Blues Crusaders live stream
Blues Rugby go two from two in Super Rugby Aotearoa with a strong display in the wet in Hamilton. An average attendance of 26,000-plus for the first four Super Rugby Aotearoa fixtures is more than double pre-Covid figures - and the Blues are expecting to at least match that on Saturday.
As of Wednesday lunchtime the competition frontrunning Blues reported 21,000 tickets sold for their round three match against the Highlanders at Eden Park at 7.05pm on Saturday.
A crowd of between 25,000-27,000 is predicted in Auckland, scene of their 42,000 sellout for their opening match against the Hurricanes. That was the largest Super Rugby crowd at Eden Park in 15 years, since 45,000 crammed in for the same two sides in Tana Umaga's 100th match in 2005.
And in Christchurch, the Crusaders Rugby said 11,000 tickets had been snapped up for the 17,400-capacity Orangetheory Stadium for their first home match of the New Zealand competition on Sunday (3.35pm).
According to figures supplied by each club, a total of 105,323 fans attended the first fortnight of matches, an average attendance of 26,330.
New Zealand Rugby does not publicly release individual crowd figures, citing commercial sensitivity, but in a statement said average attendances had more than doubled (a 105 per cent increase) from the first seven rounds of Super Rugby in 2020 before the three-month Covid-19 hiatus.
In 2019, NZR said around 450,000 fans attended the New Zealand Super Rugby matches across the regular season.
Next Big Game for Blues on July 11
