The Vodacom Super Rugby third round encounter at the Sky Stadium starts at 08h05 (SA time) and will be televised live on SuperSport 1.
Former Junior Springbok flyhalf Boeta Chamberlain comes in at flyhalf in place of Springbok Curwin Bosch, who has returned to South Africa because of a family bereavement.
The 20-year-old Chamberlain showed some deft touches in his Vodacom Super Hero Sunday cameo against the DHL Stormers a few weeks ago and is set to make his full debut.
The rest of the starting line-up that beat the Highlanders so convincingly in Dunedin last week stays the same.
The Cell C Sharks have not beaten the Hurricanes in New Zealand since 2010 and will be looking to avert a fifth consecutive away defeat against the team from Wellington.
Meanwhile, All Blacks hooker Dane Coles has been named in the Hurricanes match-day 23. Coles, who returns from injury, will be on the bench while the starting line-up remains relatively unchanged from the one that beat the Jaguares in Buenos Aires last weekend.
The Hurricanes have won their last 13 home games against South African opposition, including two come-from-behind wins since the beginning of the 2018 campaign. In fact, their last defeat in such a fixture came in Round 11, 2013 against the DHL Stormers.
The Durban side have won their opening two fixtures of the 2020 season and the last time they enjoyed a better start to a campaign was a four-game unbeaten streak in 2016 (W3, D1).
What they said:
Sean Everitt, the Cell C Sharks head coach said: “Preparations for the game have gone well and the guys are enjoying Wellington. We’re hoping for more of the same from last week, if the weather allows. It looks like it’s going to remain the same, which is good, and we can then look to unleash our backs again.”
The teams:
Hurricanes: 15 Jordie Barrett, 14 Wes Goosen, 13 Vince Aso, 12 Ngani Laumape, 11 Ben Lam, 10 Jackson Garden-Bachop, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Reed Prinsep, 7 Gareth Evans, 6 Vaea Fifita, 5 Scott Scrafton, 4 Isaia Walker-Leawere, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Asafo Aumua, 1 Fraser Armstrong. Replacements: 16 Dane Coles, 17 Pouri Rakete-Stones, 18 Alex Fidow, 19 Liam Mitchell, 20 Du’Plessis Kirifi, 21 Jamie Booth, 22 Fletcher Smith, 23 Billy Proctor.
Cell C Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Madosh Tambwe, 13 Lukhanyo Am (captain), 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Boeta Chamberlain, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7 Tyler Paul, 6 James Venter, 5 Hyron Andrews, 4 Ruben van Heerden, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Kerron van Vuuren, 1 Ox Nche. Replacements: 16 Craig Burden, 17 Juan Schoeman, 18 John-Hubert Meyer, 19 Le Roux Roets, 20 Dylan Richardson, 21 Phepsi Buthelezi, 22 Sanele Nohamba, 23 Jeremy Ward.
Head to head:
Played: 23
Hurricanes won: 11
Cell C Sharks won: 11
Drawn: 1
Hurricanes points: 617
Cell C Sharks: 586
Average score: 27-25
Match information
Venue: Sky Stadium, Wellington
Date: Saturday 15 February
SA time: 08h05
Referee Ben O'Keeffe
Assistant referees: Mike Fraser, Rebecca Mahoney
TMO: Aaron Paterson
TV: SS1
