Closing out matches in regular time is the key focus for Canterbury’s NPC campaign as they return home for the first time since lockdown to take on the high-flying Hawke’s Bay on Saturday. 

The side suffered a nail biting 35-30 golden point defeat in the capital last week and had to ice the match in extra time against Southland the week before.

“We’ve got to be better at stamping our mark on the game, whether its earlier or at the end, we just need to get ourselves in a position to finish the game off and finish on the right side of the score sheet,” said Co Coach Mark Brown. 

An injury to hot stepping full back Josh McKay sees Jack Debreczeni promoted to the starting line-up, which brings Waisake Naholo onto the bench to cover the outside backs. Tall timber Sam Darry, who sat out last weeks game against Wellington, comes in for All Black Sam Whitelock, who has headed away on the Northern Tour. 

“Sam’s rearing to go, we had the opportunity to give him a rest by having Sam Whitelock in camp, so we took that, but he’s fresh and ready to rip in,” said Brown. “And, yeah, it’s unfortunate for Josh, but Jack has slotted into that role a couple of times now and offers us something different too. We just want Jack to be himself and do the things that Jack does well.” 

Canterbury hasn’t played at Orangetheory Stadium since beating Manawatu 25-22 back on August 14. “It’ll be great to be at home,” said Brown. “It feels like a very long time since we played there, and by the sounds of it we can have some crowds there too which will great for our boys to have some support from the stands again. It makes a difference for sure.”

Kick off is at 4:35 and is on SKY Sport. Unfortunately Canterbury will be without senior loose forward Billy Harmon for the remainder of the season.  Billy has a shoulder injury which requires surgery.  Billy has elevated his game in 2021 and his on field presence will be missed, however post-surgery he will continue to provide valuable leadership within the group. 

Team to play Hawke's Bay:

1         Daniel Lienert-Brown

2         Brodie McAlister

3         Oli Jager

4         Luke Romano

5         Sam Darry

6         Reed Prinsep (c)

7         Corey Kellow

8         Henry Stowers

9         Mitchell Drummond

10       Fergus Burke

11       Manasa Mataele

12       Rameka Poihipi

13       Dallas McLeod

14       Chay Fihaki

15       Jack Debreczeni                                   

16       Shilo Klein

17       Finlay Brewis

18       Fletcher Newell

19       Liam Allen

20       Mitch Gibson

21       Jono Kitto

22       Isaiah Punivai

23       Waisake Naholo

Article added: Friday 15 October 2021