Hurricanes expect experienced players to deliver!

Mar 31 • International • 1279 Views • Comments Off on Hurricanes expect experienced players to deliver!

Hurricanes at Training

Hurricanes at Training

Hurricanes coach Colin Cooper has turned to his experienced campaigners as he looks to drag them out of their Super 14 slump.

The ‘Canes have slipped to four defeats in a row and need to regroup prior to a vital showdown with the Crusaders in Wellington in the latest round. Piri Weepu returns at scrum-half in place of Tyson Keats while out wide there is a recall for Hosea Gear.

“We’ll be looking for a lot more composure than what we had against the Sharks, we were putting a lot of pressure on ourselves and forcing things, so we’ve just got to have a lot of confidence,” Cooper said. “If you look at the team we’ve got a lot of experience in there. We’re not far away, we’ve missed the last two games by four points so we’ve just got to really trust what we’re doing.”

Weepu had been forced onto the bench by the energetic Keats for their last two fixtures but Cooper could not overlook the nous that the 35-cap All Black brings to the game.

“He’s obviously got a lot of experience over Tyson. Tyson’s given us what we needed, particularly in Africa he gave us a lot of energy and Piri wasn’t playing to the standard we know he can play,” Cooper said. “But I felt that Piri really came on and made an impact in that second half against the Sharks so he gets his opportunity, but mainly it’s the experience that he brings.

“There are a lot of caps in Piri and Hosea. Bringing H [Gear] back in, he’s been working the house down as he usually does so he’ll bring experience and confidence. As a coach and leader you look to reasons why you keep losing, particularly four in a row, so we’re doing a lot of things differently.”

[Info from Scrum.com]

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