Hurricanes flanker Ardie Savea bracketed for Super Rugby final

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - Openside flanker Ardie Savea will be given every opportunity to prove his fitness ahead of the Super Rugby final after being bracketed in the starting lineup by Wellington Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd on Thursday.





Callum Gibbins will play in Savea's place if he is unable to start Saturday's match against the Otago Highlanders at Wellington Regional Stadium.

Savea, considered to be unlucky not to have made the extended All Blacks squad this season, injured his knee in the 29-9 semi-final victory over the ACT Brumbies last Saturday and was considered the only real injury concern ahead of the final.

Winger Nehe Milner-Skudder, who had a slight hamstring injury that forced him off at halftime against the Brumbies, was named.

Six of the Hurricanes match-day squad of 23 will be playing their final game for the side, with All Blacks Conrad Smith, Ma'a Nonu, Jeremy Thrush and Ben Franks all heading offshore after the World Cup later this year.

Replacement centre Ray Lee-Lo and scrumhalf Chris Smylie are also leaving.

Hooker Motu Matu'u is the only change from last week's side as he has recovered from a knee injury and will deputise from the bench for All Blacks hooker Dane Coles.

Hurricanes: 15-James Marshall, 14-Nehe Milner-Skudder, 13-Conrad Smith, 12-Ma'a Nonu, 11-Julian Savea, 10-Beauden Barrett, 9-TJ Perenara, 8-Victor Vito, 7-Ardie Savea/Callum Gibbins, 6-Brad Shields, 5-James Broadhurst, 4-Jeremy Thrush, 3-Ben Franks, 2-Dane Coles, 1-Reggie Goodes

Replacements: 16-Motu Matu'u, 17-Chris Eves, 18-Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, 19-Mark Abbott/Callum Gibbins, 20-Blade Thomson, 21- Chris Smylie, 22-Rey Lee-Lo, 23-Matt Proctor













(Reporting by Greg Stutchbury; Editing by Ian Ransom)


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