MARIETTE ADAMS looks ahead to the first three Super Rugby matches of round nine, including the game between the Hurricanes and Chiefs.

HURRICANES vs CHIEFS (Friday, 09:35)

With two star-studded lineups, this could be the biggest, most entertaining match of round nine. Big in terms of positioning in the highly competitive New Zealand conference, and entertaining in terms of the players’ ability and the teams’ approach.

The second-placed Hurricanes are two log points ahead of the Chiefs, while the latter have scored a single point more (200 to 199) in the 2018 competition. A win for either team will take them to the top of the New Zealand table, above the Crusaders, who’ve already played seven matches.

The Chiefs needed a big second-half performance to beat the Blues last week after a poor first half saw them trail 19-14 at the break. They cannot afford a similar start against a Hurricanes side featuring Beauden Barrett.

The flyhalf has been a thorn in the flesh of most Super Rugby teams, but the Chiefs, in particular, have suffered from his exploits. Barrett has scored 10 or more points in seven of his last nine games against the Chiefs and provided three try assists in his last four games against them.

Damian McKenzie has made a successful transition from fullback to flyhalf, and the duel between him and Barrett will be pivotal in deciding the outcome of this game.

But while it should make for compelling viewing between two of the most exciting individual talents, as well as two of the best teams, history favours Barrett and the Hurricanes to come out on top.

Stats and facts 

• Six of the last seven games between the Hurricanes and Chiefs have been decided by a margin of eight points or fewer, with the Chiefs picking up four wins in that time.
• The Chiefs are on the hunt for back-to-back away wins against the Hurricanes for the first time since a three-game run between 1997 to 2001.
• The Hurricanes have won 16 of their last 17 games on home turf, including each of their last four.
• The Hurricanes have won seven of their last eight games at home against fellow New Zealand teams, but their only loss in that time came against the Chiefs.
• The Chiefs have won their last three New Zealand derbies; the last time they won more in succession was a four-game stretch across the 2014 and 2015 campaigns.
• Solomon Alaimalo has made 20 clean breaks this campaign, five more than any other player in the competition (teammate Damian McKenzie has 15).

Hurricanes – 15 Jordie Barrett, 14 Vince Aso, 13 Matt Proctor, 12 Ngani Laumape, 11 Ben Lam, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Jamie Booth, 8 Gareth Evans, 7 Sam Henwood, 6 Brad Shields (c), 5 Sam Lousi, 4 Vaea Fifita, 3 Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, 2 Ricky Riccitelli, 1 Toby Smith.
Subs: 16 James O’Reilly, 17 Chris Eves, 18 Ben May, 19 Michael Fatialofa, 20 Reed Prinsep, 21 Richard Judd, 22 Ihaia West, 23 Wes Goosen.

Chiefs – 15 Charlie Ngatai (cc), 14 Sean Wainui, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 12 Johnny Fa’auli, 11 Solomon Alaimalo, 10 Damian McKenzie/Marty McKenzie, 9 Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, 8 Taleni Seu, 7 Sam Cane (cc), 6 Lachlan Boshier, 5 Tyler Ardron/Michael Allardice, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Angus Ta’avao-Matau, 2 Nathan Harris, 1 Aidan Ross.
Subs: 16 Liam Polwart, 17 Karl Tu’inukuafe, 18 Jeff Thwaites, 19 Luke Jacobson, 20 Liam Messam, 21 Jonathan Taumateine, 22 Marty McKenzie/Tiaan Falcon, 23 Alex Nankivell.

SUPERBRU: SA Rugby magazine’s predictions

SUNWOLVES vs BLUES (Saturday, 05:05)

These teams are rooted to the bottom of the combined log, with the 14th-placed Blues having won just one out of six matches and the last-placed Sunwolves none.

Normally, you’d back any New Zealand team against foreign opposition, but the Blues are making it increasingly difficult to stick to that notion with their luke-warm performances.

There are few teams as intriguing as the Blues. A squad laden with quality players in every position, including several All Blacks, they are ranked first for defenders beaten, offloads and lineout success. And yet their season is fast unravelling.

Against the Sunwolves, there’s a golden opportunity to make a statement and steer their campaign back in the right direction, but fans shouldn’t be overly optimistic.

The Sunwolves have done well to run a couple of teams close – none more so than the Lions – but most of their games have been headlined by top individual performances.

A complete team effort could see them pull off another upset win against a Blues team that they beat last year.

Stats and facts 

• The Sunwolves triumphed 48-21 when these teams met in round 17 last season, their only previous encounter.
• The Blues have lost their last three games in a row; the last time they lost more in succession was a nine-game drought across the 2014 and 2015 campaigns.
• The Sunwolves have conceded just seven penalties per game this season, fewer than any other team in the competition.
• Akira Ioane has scored six tries in as many games this campaign.

Sunwolves – 15 Kotaro Matsushima, 14 Semis Masirewa, 13 Timothy Lafaele, 12 Michael Little, 11 Lomano Lemeki, 10 You Tamura, 9 Yutaka Nager, 8 Kazuki Himeno, 7 Lappies Labuschagne, 6 Yoshitaka Takunaga, 5 Grant Hattingh, 4 James Moore, 3 Jiwon Koo, 2 Shota Horie, 1 Craig Millar.
Subs: 16 Jaba Bregvadze, 17 Shintaro Ishihara, 18 Nikoloz Khatiashvili, 19 Wimpie van der Walt, 20 Willie Britz, 21 Fumiaki Tanaka, 22 Hayden Parker, 23 William Tupou.

Blues – 15 Michael Collins, 14 Jordan Hyland, 13 Orbyn Leger, 12 Rieko Ioane,  11 Matt Duffie, 10 Stephen Perofeta, 9 Jonathan Ruru; 8 Akira Ioane, 7 Kara Pryor, 6 Jimmy Tupou, 5 Josh Goodhue, 4 Patrick Tuipulotu, 3 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 2 James Parsons (c), 1 Pauliasi Manu.
Subs: 16 Matt Moulds, 17 Ross Wright, 18 Mike Tamoaieta,  19 Ben Neenee, 20 Dalton Papali’i, 21 Sam Nock, 22 Bryn Gatland, 23 TJ Faiane.

REBELS vs JAGUARES (Saturday, 07:15)

The Rebels are the only team in the competition with a 100% losing record against the Jaguares.

In the midst of their best season since joining Super Rugby in 2011, the Rebels have laid down a marker in the Australian conference and a first win against the Jaguares on Saturday will strengthen their playoff credentials.

Based solely on form, the Rebels should overcome the Jaguares. But the South Americans are a different beast when the mood takes them. A Test-laden squad, who in reality should be title contenders, the Jaguares are as wonderful a team to watch as they are frustrating.

Coming off the back of heavy defeats last weekend, it’ll be interesting to see which of these teams has the mettle and fortitude to get back to winning ways.

Stats and facts

• The Jaguares picked up a 32-29 win in their only previous encounter with the Rebels in round 17 last season.
• The Rebels have won three of their last four games at home, losing only to the Hurricanes in that time.
• This will be the Jaguares’ third Super Rugby game in Australia, having picked up wins in Australia against the Waratahs and Rebels late last season.
• The Jaguares finished with a 100% scrum and lineout success rate in each of their previous two games in Australia.
• Will Genia has made six try assists this campaign, the second-most of any player behind Elton Jantjies (seven).

Rebels – 15 Dane Haylett-Petty, 14 Jack Maddocks, 13 Tom English, 12 Billy Meakes, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Jack Debreczeni, 9 Will Genia, 8 Amanaki Mafi, 7 Richard Hardwick, 6 Ross Haylett-Petty, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Geoff Parling, 3 Sam Talakai, 2 Anaru Rangi, 1 Tetera Faulkner.
Subs: 16 Jordan Uelese, 17 Ben Daley, 18 Jermaine Ainsley, 19 Matt Philip, 20 Colby Fainga’a, 21 Lopeti Timani, 22 Michael Ruru, 23 Sefa Naivalu.

Jaguares – 15 Emiliano Boffelli, 14 Ramiro Moyano, 13 Matías Orlando, 12 Jerónimo de la Fuente, 11 Sebastián Cancelliere, 10 Nicolás Sánchez, 9 Martín Landajo, 8 Javier Ortega Desio, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Tomás Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 2 Julián Montoya, 1 Santiago García Bosta.
Subs: 16 Agustín Crevy, 17 Javier Díaz, 18 Juan Pablo Zeiss, 19 Matías Alemanno, 20 Leonardo Senatore, 21 Gonzalo Bertranou, 22 Bautistá Escurra, 23 Joaquín Tuculet.

Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images