All Blacks show Hurricanes the way
Jun 25, 2017 - 4:00 PM For so long Super Rugby's entertainers, the Hurricanes are about to muscle up to tame the British and Irish Lions "beast".The All Blacks' direct approach to win the first Test in Auckland on Saturday didn't go unnoticed by winger Nehe Milner-Skudder, who hopes something similar can be achieved in Tuesday's clash in Wellington.
Eight-Test winger Milner-Skudder got a first-hand taste of the Lions' strengths in the Maori All Blacks' heavy loss in Rotorua.
Famed for stepping runs, he was starved of opportunity to unleash it, spending the night fielding well-directed kicks or being confronted by multiple defenders.
"That match in Rotorua was a tough one, they've grown leaps and bounds from that first hit-out against the Barbarians," he said of the tourists.
"We've done a lot of preparation around game plans and what we think might work.
"If we can take a leaf out of what the All Blacks did last night, that'd hold us in good stead. We have to make sure we earn the right to play and I know the forwards will be going gangbusters."
Milner-Skudder will be part of a team missing star halves Beauden Barrett and TJ Perenara but featuring three other current All Blacks backs.
He says the inclusion of fullback Jordie Barrett, winger Julian Savea and second five-eighth Ngani Laumape gives them unparalleled strike power.
The 26-year-old star of the 2015 World Cup would like to be included in the same conversation, believing he's improving every week after returning this month from a debilitating foot injury.
"It's huge, it's a once in a lifetime thing playing the Lions. I'm lucky enough to get two cracks at them."
Chris Boyd says the Hurricanes' first match against an international team has stirred the players, most notably the forwards, who are aware they can't get away with a Super Rugby-style approach.
The calibre of the midweek side must obviously be respected following last week's crushing defeat of the Chiefs.
"This is really their non-Test players, who will play their last game on tour," Boyd said.
"We're going to strike a hungry beast that wants to finish the midweek series on a high."
Source: AAP
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