Hurricanes vs Brumbies Prediction: Leaders can bounce back on home soil

It's first versus fourth in Super Rugby this weekend, as the co-leaders Hurricanes play host to the Brumbies in Christchurch.

Warren Ashurst provides his predictions on Saturday’s showdown (6:05 kick-off, live on Sky Sports+), with both teams looking to bounce back after defeats last week.

Hurricanes vs Brumbies Odds

The Super Rugby leaders, with home advantage, are the strong 1/5favourites to win Saturday's clash at the One NZ Stadium.

The Brumbies, who have won five of their opening nine games, can be backed at 18/5, while the draw is available at 28/1.

Team News

Clark Laidlaw has made five changes to his Hurricanes starting XV following last week's 22-17 defeat against the Chiefs.

The hosts will have a brand-new front row, with Siale Lauaki at loosehead prop, Tevita Mafileo at tighthead prop and Raymond Tuputupu starts at hooker.

The other two changes see Caleb Delany recalled in the second row, with Brayden Iose starts at Number 8, while the backline remains unchanged.

Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham makes two changes from the team that suffered a surprise defeat to Fijian Drua last weekend.

Andy Muirhead, known for his work rate, returns to the wing with Ollie Sapsford dropping to the replacements bench.

The other switch sees Rory Scott selected, with the 25-year-old coming in at openside flanker for the trip to New Zealand.

Hurricanes -10 @ 8/13

The Hurricanes have lost just two of their opening eight Super Rugby games this season, with both of those defeats coming on the road.

Laidlaw's men have been very impressive on home soil, winning all four fixtures and scoring 177 points in those matches - an average of 44.25 points per game.

They now face a Brumbies team that has lost their last four Super Rugby games against the Hurricanes in New Zealand, and are currently six points behind their opponents in the table.

The hosts, who are the top scorers in the competition with 50 tries to date, have only lost three of their last 20 games against Australian opposition.

It's also worth noting that meetings between these two sides have been high-scoring affairs in recent seasons. In fact, three of their last four match-ups have seen over 62+ points scored.

Anytime Tryscorer - Andy Muirhead @ 6/4

The versatile Muirhead scored nine tries in last season's Super Rugby campaign and his reappearance on Saturday could be significant.

At the age of 32, the Brisbane-born star has made over 100 appearances for the Brumbies and coach Larkham will hope his experience can have an impact.

Muirhead scored a try in the clash with the Hurricanes in Round 11 in 2025 and looks a good price to cross the whitewash again this time around.

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