Gallagher Chiefs team named to take on the Hurricanes

The Gallagher Chiefs are set to play their last round robin match of the Investec Super Rugby competition this Friday. Going by overall competition points, this is sure to go down to the wire and be full of excitement, with the Hurricanes and the Gallagher Chiefs in second and third place of the New Zealand conference respectively.

Gallagher Chiefs head coach Colin Cooper says the team are ready to put on a show for the home crowd.

"We’re going out there to put on a great performance, it could be our last game at home. We want to make sure that wherever there is an opportunity, that we grab it. We look forward to playing our own game, and are also aware of what the Hurricanes bring.

They showed against the Blues how good they are off the set piece - and we’ve done some work around our set piece defence - but with ball in hand, our focus is on what we can do.”

In the forwards, Sam Prattley gets his first start after effective performances off the bench for most of the season. Brodie Retallick comes back into the number four jersey after six weeks on the injured list, Lachlan Boshier getting a start after returning last week. Rounding out the impactful loose trio are Mitch Karpik and Jesse Parete.

In the backline, Marty McKenzie comes into the number ten jersey, with Colin Cooper confident in his ability to drive the game.

"Marty will be the game driver at number ten, and we are confident that he can control the game really well.”

Colin reiterated the importance of playing this game in Chiefs Country.

"Our home crowd means a lot to us, and we aim to give them a great performance.”

The game kicks off at 7.35pm at FMG Stadium Waikato this Friday the 13th, with the “Squad Up” theme encouraging all fans to dress up in their best uniforms. The best dressed fans will win some awesome prizes, and the fun zones will be buzzing with school holidays in full swing.

The Gallagher Chiefs team to face the Hurricanes is:
1. Sam Prattley (8)
2. Liam Polwart (18)
3. Angus Ta’avao (15)
4. Brodie Retallick (96)
5. Tyler Ardron (10)
6. Lachlan Boshier (28)
7. Mitchell Karpik (11)
8. Jesse Parete (7)
9. Brad Weber (55)
10. Marty McKenzie (17)
11. Shaun Stevenson (31)
12. Charlie Ngatai (54)
13. Anton Lienert-Brown (53)
14. Toni Pulu (32)
15. Solomon Alaimalo (24)
16. Samisoni Taukei’aho (8)
17. Karl Tu’inukuafe (14)
18. Jeff Thwaites (11)
19. Michael Allardice (32)
20. Liam Messam (177)
21. Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi (15)
22. Tiaan Falcon (2)
23. Johnny Faauli (17)