In their Super Rugby Pacific Hurricanes vs Rebels match on Friday, the undefeated Hurricanes may have made an astounding 14 changes, but the Rebels have a unique new face in Mason Gordon.
Mason Gordon, 21, who is the younger brother of Melbourne’s highly-regarded playmaker Carter Gordon, is making his debut on the bench. Mason has a lot of strengths and covers us at 10 and 15.
After a four-year apprenticeship in Melbourne, Mason played fullback for the Junior Wallabies last year, but he is equally comfortable in the halves. Rebels coach Kevin Foote is eager to give the young player a chance.
The financial-struggling Rebels will once more be without their top recruit, Filipo Daugunu, while a disagreement around $7000 in moving expenses continues. “Personal reasons” kept Daugunu out of last week’s 53-26 loss to the Reds, and the former Wallabies winger skipped Monday’s Melbourne training session as well.
Hurricanes vs Rebels Super Rugby Match day
| Game | Rebels vs Hurricanes |
| Venue | Central Energy Trust Arena |
| Date & time | 22 March 2024 |
| Television | SKY Sports & Foxtel Now |
Read More: Crusaders Super Rugby
Hurricanes vs Rebels Head to Head
After defeating the Rebels in their previous ten meetings, the Hurricanes have dominated this matchup. The Canes have scored 43 points per game on average across those ten games. The Canes travel, moving from Wellington’s Sky Stadium to Palmerston North’s CET Arena.
Hurricanes vs Rebels Match Prediction
In order to gauge the depth of his team before the derby trip to Dunedin to play the Highlanders the following weekend, coach Clarke Laidlaw is making a number of changes throughout the game.
With a 2-2 record, the Rebels are ranked sixth in the standings. Although they score plenty of tries, their defence is terrible; they gave up the fewest points in the competition with 140, which is why they lost 53–26 to the Reds last Friday at home.
The hosts on Friday lost their first meeting with the opposition in 2011, but they have since won eleven of their encounters, and their track record against Australian teams suggests they will be strong favourites to defeat them once more.
Hurricanes vs Melbourne Rebels Squad
Central Energy Trust Arena, Palmerston North, 5:05pm [AEDT]
Hurricanes: Harry Godfrey, Dan Sinkinson, Ngane Punivai, Jordie Barrett, Salesi Rayasi, Aidan Morgan, TJ Perenara, Devan Flanders, Du’Plessis Kirifi, Brad Shields (capt), Caleb Delany, Justin Sangster, Tyrel Lomax, James O’Reilly, Pouri Rakete-Stones.
Replacements: Asafo Aumua, Tevita Mafileo, Pasilio Tosi, James Tucker, Brayden Iose, Richard Judd, Riley Higgins, Josh Moorby.
Rebels: Andrew Kellaway, Lachie Anderson, Lukas Ripley, David Feliuai, Glen Vaihu, Carter Gordon, Ryan Louwrens, Rob Leota, Vaiolini Ekuasi, Tuaina Taii Tualima, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Angelo Smith, Jordan Uelese, Isaac Kailea.
Replacements: Alex Mafi, Cabous Eloff, Taniela Tupou, Josh Canham, Daniel Maiava, Jack Maunder, Mason Gordon, Nick Jooste.
Referee: Nic Berry
Assistant Referee: Angus Mabey, Marcus Playle
Key match-up: If the Rebels are going to have any chance of upsetting the Hurricanes then they need their big name players to standup. None are bigger than world class fullback Andrew Kellaway who jousts with Hurricanes youngster Harry Godfrey in the 15 jersey.
NZR+ Expert Tipsters call: Hurricanes by 22