Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd reveals there's no stress over the injury-forced absence of captain Dane Coles.
Another week has brought another declaration that captain Dane Coles could've played "if it had been a final."
Instead, the "niggly" knee injury the Hurricanes hooker suffered in the March 18 win over the Highlanders, will now keep him out until April 15 at the earliest. Ricky Riccitelli will again be the starting No 2, when the team hosts the Waratahs at Westpac Stadium on Friday.
Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd said Coles has a posterior or medial cruciate ligament issue - he isn't sure which - and "if he's fit to play next week, he'll play."
"Again, if it had been a final he probably would've been able to play. But we've taken a long-game approach to that," Boyd said.
And so the Hurricanes should. It's just that they keep saying Coles is in contention to play, only for him not to. All that does is breed suspicion about how serious this injury actually is.
Just on the fitness front, Boyd made positive noises that loose forward Ardie Savea might be back to meet the Blues at Eden Park on Saturday-week. Savea left Suncorp Stadium in some discomfort last week and was subsequently diagnosed with a calf problem.
Boyd said on Wednesday that the calf is now in decent shape and it's a hamstring that's restricting Savea most.
Wings Julian Savea and Vince Aso will almost definitely play the Blues. The pair's starting spots have gone to Wes Goosen and Cory Jane this week, as Boyd looks to keep the squad "ticking over."
Cory Jane is looking forward to being back in Hurricanes colours, coach Chris Boyd says.
But he indicated the regular wings wouldn't be out long.
As good as the Hurricanes' backs have been this season, it's the forwards who'll need to perform best against the Waratahs.
If we go back to the run Boyd's boys made to the 2016 title, there's an argument their 28-17 win over the Waratahs in Sydney was the best of the season. The Hurricanes were as combative and confrontational as they've ever been, which included Coles giving referee Chris Pollock a gobful.
A bit of that mentality wouldn't go astray on Friday.
"[In] 2015 they came here and gave us a bit of a pasting in the round-robin. It was the only round-robin game we lost at home - from memory - and they were particularly tough on us physically," said Boyd.
"So last year when we went there we thought we needed to stand up in that space, to be competitive. It's not the same Waratahs team and it's not the same Hurricanes team [but] they're a very big side and they're very physical and I'm sure they'll try and dominate us again and that's something we'll need to circumvent."
The absence of Coles and Ardie Savea will hardly aid that process, leaving blokes such as Brad Shields, Jeff To'omaga-Allen and Michael Fatialofa with big roles to play.
Hurricanes: Jordie Barrett, Cory Jane, Matt Proctor, Ngani Laumape, Wes Goosen, Beauden Barrett, TJ Perenara (c), Reed Prinsep, Callum Gibbins, Brad Shields, Michael Fatialofa, Mark Abbott, Jeff To'omaga-Allen, Ricky Ricciteli, Ben May. Reserves: Leni Apisai, Chris Eves, Mike Kainga, Vaea Fifita, Toa Halafihi, Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, Otere Black, Vince Aso.
Photo By: HAGEN HOPKINS/Getty Images (The Hurricanes remain without captain Dane Coles).