The Hurricanes have set themselves a target of winning three consecutive Super Rugby matches before their bye next week.
The Hurricanes had an awful start to the season in Canberra and then lost to the Highlanders but they have now earned back to back wins (the Blues and the Force) and only the Kings stand in their way.
Hurricanes assistant coach John Plumtree says they appear to have come through the victory over the Force in Palmerston North in good shape and the only concern is a calf strain for Victor Vito which he could recover from by the weekend.
Plumtree is more pleased that there were signs against the Force that the side is continuing to improve.
“Our stats tell us that we have been a bit more accurate, particularly in the second half against the Force, in the first half we created plenty of opportunities but we didn’t quite finish them off, but we’ve been really happy with our set piece,” Plumtree said.
“Our defence was right up there in the weekend as well which was great, not conceding a try, the tackle accuracy was really good and we finished off some tries which was really pleasing.”
Plumtree said that preparation for the Kings this week would be focused on getting the right attitude and to ensure that everyone was aware of their strategy.
“Really, it’s for them to focus and making sure the leaders are pumping the rest of the team up and we’re into it.”
“We know the Kings will be excited about playing us and we’ve just got to make sure we’re excited about playing them,” he said.
Evidence shows that the Kings are good side in the first half and they come out hard so the Hurricanes will have to absorb that as well as handle the physicality that comes with playing a South African side.
Plumtree said that he was with the leadership shown in Palmerston North and that having the team captain and hooker Dane Coles is a benefit.
“We were defending really well and we got three tries from turnovers from our good work at the breakdown so once we absorbed that pressure and put a couple of tries on the board you could see that confidence coming and our bench did a really great job – all the guys put in the hits,” he said on the All Black site.
The assistant coach said that there could be one or two changes to the side for the Kings match as some players need an opportunity to start.
“They won’t be whole sale changes, we want to keep the momentum. ”
“We’re happy with some of the combinations we want to keep growing but there are one or two guys who deserve an opportunity,” Plumtree said.
