All Blacks snub aims to impress sceptical Scott Robertson as Blues boosted by returning Super Rugby Pacific MVP
Hoskins Sotutu alongside Finlay Christie for the Blues and All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson.
Defending Super Rugby Pacific champions the Blues have been boosted by the return of Hoskins Sotutu for their clash against the Highlanders on Saturday.
The loose forward missed their opener against the Chiefs through injury but he is back in the team for their Round Two encounter.
Sotutu will feature for the first time since playing a starring role in the Blues’ 2024 Super Rugby triumph, where he was named the competition’s ‘most valuable player’.
Despite that accolade, the back-rower missed out on Scott Robertson’s squad for the mid-year series against England and Fiji as well as the Rugby Championship. He was in line for a call-up for the November Tests after a plethora of injuries in Robertson’s squad but he too sustained a knock that curtailed his chances and ultimately never featured for the All Blacks in 2024.
A chance to impress Scott Robertson
However, with Wallace Sititi sidelined for the whole of Super Rugby, Sotutu has another chance to convince Robertson and he slots in at number eight this weekend.
That means Cameron Suafua shifts to the blindside with Anton Segner dropping out of the 23 for their game with the Highlanders.
The Blues have also made one change among the backs as Finlay Christie – another player that has dropped out of the Test reckoning – is selected at scrum-half.
Christie combines with Harry Plummer in the playmaking positions with head coach Vern Cotter once again opting to keep Beauden Barrett at full-back, despite their opening-round defeat.
The holders succumbed 25-14 to a Damian McKenzie-inspired Chiefs last weekend as they began their title defence in disappointing fashion.
“We did not get the outcome we wanted against a very good Chiefs team, but it was just the start of a long season, and we will be much better for it this week,” Cotter said.
“There were a lot of things done well but the boys are well aware of the areas in which they need to improve, and are working very hard this week in training.
“This competition is going to be extremely competitive between all New Zealand and Australian teams, as we all saw with the close results throughout all matches in the opening round.
“We need a strong platform along with accuracy at the collision for us to prosper. When we did this well on Saturday, the team was dangerous but we need to achieve it for longer periods in the game.”
Blues team to face the Highlanders
Blues: 15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Mark Tele’a, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 AJ Lam, 11 Caleb Clarke, 10 Harry Plummer, 9 Finlay Christie, 8 Hoskins Sotutu, 7 Dalton Papali’i, 6 Cameron Suafoa, 5 Laghlan McWhannell, 4 Patrick Tuipulotu (c), 3 Marcel Renata, 2 Ricky Riccitelli, 1 Ofa Tu’ungafasi
Replacements: 16 James Mullan, 17 Joshua Fusitu’a, 18 Angus Ta’avao, 19 Josh Beehre, 20 Adrian Choat, 21 Taufa Funaki, 22 Corey Evans, 23 Cole Forbes
Date: Saturday, February 22
Venue: Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
Kick-off: 19:05 local (06:05 GMT)
Referee: Nic Berry
Assistant referees: Damon Murphy, Jeremy Markey
TMO: Brett Cronan
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