Chiefs midfielder Quinn Tupaea says his side are fully aware of the threat Hurricanes opposite Jordie Barrett poses in the Super Rugby Pacific semifinal.
The Hurricanes have already beaten the Chiefs twice this season and will be favourites to do it again in Wellington on Saturday afternoon.
Second-five Barrett is the strike weapon around which the Hurricanes base their attack and there is little doubt the Chiefs, who thrashed the Reds 43-21 in their quarter-final, will be targeting him.
"We’re very familiar with Jordie’s game," Tupaea told 1News. "He’s their main target on attack and there is a big focus from our midfield group around him and Billy [Proctor]. It’s not easy to shut him down but we’ll be sending a couple of bodies on him."
All Blacks incumbent Barrett and centre Proctor, a good chance to be named in his first All Blacks squad this month, are two of the best performing midfielders in the country and are a big reason for their team’s success this season, along with the much-improved Hurricanes’ pack.
The top-seeded Hurricanes overcame some early nerves to thrash the Rebels 47-20 in their quarter-final but will face a far more physical challenge this Saturday.
Tupaea, hampered by injury and possibly just outside the All Blacks frame after making his Test debut in 2021, said of last weekend’s win: "We were very happy with the way we started but there was a bit of [substandard] goal-line defence there and some discipline that we’ll look to tidy up this weekend."
Hard-hitting Chiefs and All Blacks loose forward Samipeni Finau has brought a ruthless edge all season but assistant coach Liam Messam said he wasn’t always so thorough with his preparation.
"As a young fella he was pretty poor with his habits… but having a couple of years under his belt and learning those professional habits have really helped him to perform on the Saturday."
The Hurricanes play the Chiefs at Sky Stadium on Saturday at 4.35pm.
The Blues play the Brumbies in the other semifinal at Eden Park on Friday at 7.05pm.
Watch the interview with the Chiefs ahead of their semifinal on 1News at Six.
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