Saturday 30 July 2016 11:06, UK
Hurricanes captain Dane Coles will be given until the last possible moment to decide if he is fit to start the Super Rugby semi-final against the Chiefs on Saturday, live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 8.15am.
The All Blacks hooker injured his ribs in the 41-0 quarter-final victory over the Sharks last week but coach Chris Boyd is in no hurry to make a final ruling on whether Coles will play in the all-New Zealand clash, a sign of his importance to the team.
"Colesy is doing everything he can to get himself fit in time but at the end of the day we just won't know until a little closer to kick off," Boyd said.
"We are hopeful he'll make it to the start line."
Coles has been the beating heart of a mobile and aggressive Hurricanes pack which has dominated the collisions and proved equally strong in set phase this year.
The strength of the forwards has allowed the half-back duo of scrum-half TJ Perenara and fly-half Beauden Barrett, arguably playing the finest rugby of their careers, to get the best out of their inexperienced backline.
The Chiefs beat the Hurricanes 28-27 in Wellington on April 23 but the home side's performance was such that Chiefs co-captain Sam Cane admitted afterwards he had no idea how they had managed to sneak the victory.
Since that loss to the Chiefs and another to the Sharks two weeks later, the Hurricanes have been the model of consistency, combining bruising defence with potent attack to top the regular season standings and reach a second successive semi-final.
They have won their last six games and scored more than twice as many points as their opponents (197-88), indicating they are peaking at the right end of the season.
The twice-champion Chiefs were the early form team of New Zealand's tough conference this year, winning seven successive games before a loss to the Highlanders in early May.
A 45-25 thrashing by the New South Wales Waratahs before the June international break, however, showed they were vulnerable against a side willing to take them on up front and test them out wide.
Their squad has also been sorely tested by a raft of injuries to key players.
Dave Rennie will undoubtedly field his strongest available side on Saturday with Cane, who was substituted following a head knock in their 60-21 win over the Stormers last week, and injured centre Seta Tamanivalu (knee) both starting.
The other finalists will be decided when South Africa's Lions host the reigning champion Otago Highlanders in Johannesburg later on Saturday.
Hurricanes: 15 James Marshall, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Matt Proctor, 12 Willis Halaholo, 11 Jason Woodward, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 TJ Perenara (vc); 1 Loni Uhila, 2 Dane Coles (c)/Ricky Riccitelli, 3 Ben May, 4 Vaea Fifita, 5 Michael Fatialofa, 6 Brad Shields, 7 Ardie Savea, 8 Victor Vito.
Replacements: 16 Ricky Riccitelli/Leni Apisai, 17 Chris Eves, 18 Mike Kainga, 19 Mark Abbott, 20 Callum Gibbins, 21 Jamison Gibson-Park, 22 Vince Aso, 23 Julian Savea.
Chiefs: 15 Damian McKenzie, 14 Sam McNicol, 13 Seta Tamanivalu, 12 Anton Lienert-Brown, 11 James Lowe, 10 Aaron Cruden (co-captain), 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow; 1 Kane Hames, 2 Nathan Harris, 3 Atu Moli, 4 Dominic Bird, 5 Brodie Retallick, 6 Taleni Seu, 7 Sam Cane (co-captain), 8 Tom Sanders.
Replacements: 16 Hika Elliot, 17 Siegfried Fisi'ihoi, 18 Mitchell Graham, 19 Lachlan Boshier, 20 Michael Leitch, 21 Brad Weber, 22 Toni Pulu, 23 Shaun Stevenson.
Watch Hurricanes v Chiefs live on Sky Sports 1 HD on Saturday from 8.15am. Catch the match for £6.99 on NOW TV. No contract.
