Akira Ioane starts at number eight for Blues in place of in-form fellow All Black

Blues boss Vern Cotter has sprung a surprise by naming Hoskins Sotutu on the replacements bench for Saturday’s clash with the Hurricanes in Wellington with fellow All Black Akira Ioane starting at number eight.

Ioane shifts from the blindside flank to the base of the scrum with Anton Segner coming in to the starting line-up to wear the number six jersey while captain Dalton Papali’i starts on the openside.

Second-row alteration

Meanwhile, Cameron Suafoa comes into the run-on side to start at lock as a replacement for Sam Darry, who will be sidelined for between six and eight weeks due to a knee injury.

Suafoa will lock the scrum with Laghlan McWhannell while Marcel Renata and Joshua Fusitu’a are the starting props and will pack down in the front-row alongside starting hooker Kurt Eklund.

The latter replaces Ricky Riccitelli, who is demoted to the bench, while Fusitu’a takes over from experienced All Black Ofa Tu’ungafasi, who drops out of the matchday squad.

In the backline, there are four changes with Harry Plummer and Rieko Ioane coming in as a new centre combination at the expense of Bryce Heem and AJ Lam respectively.

Lam is still in the run-on side as he shifts to the left wing, where he takes over from Caleb Clarke, while the final alteration sees All Black Finlay Christie coming in at scrum-half for Taufa Funaki.

The rest of the backline sees Zarn Sullivan continuing at full-back while Mark Tele’a and Stephen Perofeta retain their positions on the left wing and at fly-half respectively.

Cotter said he is happy with the Sullivan’s early season form.

“Zarn’s had a solid start to the season, his defence in particular was instrumental in getting us on the front foot against the Highlanders and his tactical kicking has been superb in the opening few rounds,” he told the Blues‘ official website.

“The more time Zarn spends on the paddock, the more confident and influential he becomes – we’re hoping for another strong performance from him this weekend.”

The coach also expressed his delight with the form of his front-rowers during the opening rounds of Super Rugby Pacific.

“There’s some good, healthy competition for spots in the front row at the moment and that group are all working hard to improve our overall performance. Fus, Kurty and Marce get the starting nod this week but the bench boys will no doubt play a role, ” said Cotter.

Meanwhile, Cotter is excited to see what Akira Ioane can do at number eight after Sotutu shone in the position in the first two matches.

“Akira is proving his versatility slotting in at number eight against the Hurricanes. We’re expecting a fierce battle up front and so his no nonsense approach to the game will help us gain ascendancy in that area on Saturday night,” he added.

Blues team to face the Hurricanes

Blues: 15 Zarn Sullivan, 14 Mark Tele’a, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Harry Plummer, 11 AJ Lam, 10 Stephen Perofeta, 9 Finlay Christie, 8 Akira Ioane, 7 Dalton Papali’i, 6 Anton Segner, 5 Cameron Suafoa, 4 Laghlan McWhannell, 3 Marcel Renata, 2 Kurt Eklund, 1 Joshua Fusitu’a
Replacements: 16 Ricky Riccitelli, 17 Jordan Lay, 18 Angus Ta’avao, 19 Josh Beehre, 20 Hoskins Sotutu, 21 Adrian Choat, 22 Taufa Funaki, 23 Cole Forbes

Date: Saturday, March 9
Venue: Sky Stadium, Wellington
Kick-off: 19:05 local (06:05 GMT)
Referee: Jordan Way (Australia)
Assistant Referees: Nick Hogan (New Zealand), Natarsha Ganley (New Zealand)
TMO: Richard Kelly (New Zealand)

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