In-form backrower Hoskins Sotutu will play a bit of a different role for the Blues in the third round of Super Rugby Pacific after being named to come off the pine against the Hurricanes.
Sotutu, 25, has been among the standout performers across the opening two rounds of the new season with the loose forward crossing for a competition-high five tries.
But after starring against both the Fijian Drua and Highlanders, and also the Blues’ three pre-season fixtures, Sotutu will take a backseat with Akira Ioane set to don the No. 8 jersey.
As reported earlier on Friday, coach Vern Cotter cited both “fatigue” and the importance of having a strong bench as the reason for Sotutu’s shift out of the First XV ahead of the Blues’ derby in the nation’s capital.
“He’s played five 80-minute games, so the idea was to put him on the bench so the beginning of the week could be easy,” Cotter told reporters.
“He’s picked it up today [Thursday] and he’ll be flying. They’ve got a strong bench and I think our bench is important. Hoskins will give us another profile coming on and he can play a number of positions. And that will be important in the last 10 minutes.”
Germany-born backrower Anton Segner will start at blindside flanker, while captain Dalton Papali’i will man the ship from the other side of the scrum.
Partnered with Akira Ioane at the back, the Blues have named a formidable backrower trio to take on the undefeated Canes at Wellington’s Sky Stadium.
It also presents Sotutu with a somewhat foreign challenge. The opportunity to provide impact off the bench, as the 14-Test All Black explained, is something that doesn’t happen “too often.”
“I feel like in the game you can sort of get a feel for how the ball’s rolling,” Sotutu told RugbyPass after training on Thursday.
“The biggest thing is, when you come off the bench, it’s not about trying to get involved too much. That way you’ll give away penalties (by) overplaying.
“It’s more about just getting out there and slotting in seamlessly and then just working out a bit harder just to cover the boys and stuff.
“It’s definitely different to starting.”
After being left out of both All Blacks and All Blacks XV honours last year, Sotutu is hoping is prove some “doubters” wrong this season.
Sotutu, who is firmly focused on the year ahead with the Blues as opposed to a potential callup to the national team, sent a message with an Instagram post last week.
“They want reasons to H8. Here are three more,” Sotutu wrote after scoring a hat-trick against the Highlanders in Super Round. At least so far, there’s no questioning that Sotutu and the Blues are thriving under coach Vern Cotter.
“I’m pretty proud of our pre-season and how we’ve built into the season, especially with a new coaching group and a lot of new players as well. We’re pretty happy with that.
“We know in spots in games, like last week for example, probably started not too great and had areas throughout the game where we’re not at our best and probably let in a few easy tries.
“It’s a matter of being a great team for 80 minutes and being able to close out.”
