There will be plenty at stake when the Hurricanes host the Chiefs in Wellington, in the weekend's only Super Rugby match.
With the unbeaten Crusaders sitting pretty at the top of the New Zealand Conference standings, the Hurricanes and Chiefs are fighting for the first wildcard qualifier position.
The Hurricanes are currently second, ten points adrift of the tabletoppers and four ahead of the Chiefs although both these sides have played a match less than the men from Christchurch.
This sets the scene for what promises to be an entertaining affair between two brilliant attacking sides.
The Hurricanes, in particular, have thrilled on attack and just last week, they scored six tries in their win over Western Force in Perth and in doing so, they set a new Super Rugby try-scoring record.
The defending champions have scored 83 tries so far this season, surpassing the previous competition record of 81 tries scored by the Lions in 2016. Their 26 tries conceded are also the second fewest of any team in the competition this season behind the Lions (25).
The Hurricanes have also made the most line breaks (201) while the Chiefs are seventh with 159. The men from Wellington are in second place – behind the Crusaders – for metres gained (7045) and the Chiefs are sixth in that category (6116).
Both sides also possess potent attacking threats who can change the course of a match with moments of brilliance. Chiefs duo Damian McKenzie (1260) and James Lowe (1001) are two of just three players – along with the Crusaders' David Havili (1111) – who have gained more than 1,000 metres so far this season.
Nine of the last 11 New Zealand derbies played on a Friday night have been decided by a margin of nine points or fewer, while the Chiefs have lost just one of their last eight such fixtures, winning six and drawing one.
The Hurricanes have won 25 of their last 29 Super Rugby fixtures, including each of their last three, though two of their four losses in that span have come against the Chiefs.
The last time the teams met: These sides faced each other in Round 3 in Hamilton with the Chiefs claiming a 26-18 victory. Although they won by a narrow margin, the Chiefs dominated and only a late fightback from the Hurricanes added some respectabilty to the score. Both sides scored two tries apiece with Brodie Retallick and Tony Pulu dotting down for the Chiefs and TJ Perenara and Julian Savea scored the Hurricanes' tries.
Players to watch: For the Hurricanes, keep an eye on the dynamic midfield duo of Ngani Laumape and Vince Aso who have each crossed for 14 tries so far this season, four more than any other player in the competition. Both are potent attackers and their strong ball carrying should give the men from Welington much needed momentum on attack.
If the Chiefs want to win this match, much will depend on the performance of their co-captains, Aaron Cruden and Sam Cane. Cruden's playmaking skills are well documented and he was superb in that facet of play against the Waratahs last weekend, while Cane is one of the best breakdown exponents in the competition. If the two All Blacks shine, the Chiefs should win this clash.
Team news: All Black wing Julian Savea will play in his 100th Super Rugby game for the Hurricanes. Savea returns to the left wing in place of Ben Lam in one of six changes to the team that played the Western Force in Perth last weekend. The other changes see Chris Eves and Jeffrey To’omaga-Allen replace Loni Uhila and Ben May respectively as the props with Leni Apisai getting his first start of the season at hooker in place of Ricky Riccitelli. Riccitelli is bracketed in the reserves with Bay of Plenty’s James O’Reilly, who would make his Super Rugby debut should he take the field. Ardie Savea comes back in at number eight with Brad Shields reverting to blindside and Reed Prinsep to the reserves. After returning from a broken foot in Perth via the bench, Milner-Skudder returns to the starting side on the right wing in place of Cory Jane. The reserves bench features the return of Matt Proctor, who has been out for seven weeks recovering from concussion.
Chiefs head coach Dave Rennie has made three changes to his starting XV that claimed a 46-31 win over the Waratahs in Hamilton last weekend. There’s one change to the forwards with Michael Allardice replacing the injured Brodie Retallick. The remaining two changes affect the back-line with All Blacks midfielder Charlie Ngatai to start at inside centre and exciting young utility back Solomon Alaimalo to don jersey 14.
Form: After losing to the Crusaders in Round 12, the Hurricanes delivered impressive performances in their next three matches and claimed convincing victories over the Cheetahs, Bulls and Western Force.
The Chiefs have been more unpredictable than their hosts in recent weeks as they have delivered a mixed bag of results during this period. After beating the Reds easliy in Round 11, they had a bye but lost to the Crusadedrs in Round 13. They then drew with the Blues before last weekend's win over the Waratahs.
Prediction: This one is a difficult one to call but home ground advantage will be crucial so, the Hurricanes will win by five points.
Previous results:
2017: Chiefs won 26-18 in Hamilton
2016: Hurricanes won 25-9 in Wellington
2016: Chiefs won 28-27 in Wellington
2015: Hurricanes won 21-13 in New Plymouth
2015: Hurricanes won 22-18 in Wellington
2014: Chiefs won 24-16 in Hamilton
2014: Hurricanes won 45-8 in Wellington
2013: Chiefs won 34-22 in Hamilton
The teams:
Hurricanes: 15 Jordie Barrett, 14 Nehe Milner-Skudder, 13 Vince Aso, 12 Ngani Laumape, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 TJ Perenara (c), 8 Ardie Savea, 7 Callum Gibbins, 6 Brad Shields, 5 Vaea Fifita, 4 Sam Lousi, 3 Jeff To’omaga-Allen, 2 Leni Apisai, 1 Chris Eves
Replacements: 16 Ricky Riccitelli/James O’Reilly, 17 Loni Uhila, 18 Mike Kainga, 19 Mark Abbott, 20 Reed Prinsep, 21 Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, 22 Matt Proctor, 23 Wes Goosen
Chiefs: 15 Damian McKenzie. 14 Solomon Alaimalo, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 12 Charlie Ngatai, 11 James Lowe, 10 Aaron Cruden (cc), 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 8 Liam Messam, 7 Sam Cane (cc), 6 Mitchell Brown, 5 Michael Allardice, 4 Dominic Bird, 3 Nepo Laulala, 2 Nathan Harris, 1 Kane Hames
Replacements: 16 Liam Polwart, 17 Siegfried Fisi'ihoi, 18 Atu Moli, 19 Tom Sanders, 20 Lachlan Boshier, 21 Finlay Christie, 22 Alex Nankivell, 23 Shaun Stevenson
Date: Friday, June 9
Venue: Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Kick-off: 19:35 local (07:35 GMT)
Referee: Nick Briant (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: Richard Kelly (New Zealand), Cam Stone (New Zealand)
TMO: Shane McDermott (New Zealand)
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