Hurricanes coach Mark Hammett says the Bulls’ rolling maul is illegal, but the Hurricanes still need to shut it down if they want to win Saturday’s Super rugby clash in Napier.
“The rolling maul is completely illegal in terms of how it’s set up,” Hammett said.
“I’ve talked to refs numerous times, and numerous coaches have done as well, but it’s something they’re not prepared to change.”
Hammett’s issue isn’t with the maul itself, but with players continuously joining the maul in front of the ball carrier.
He says defending players aren’t allowed to enter from an offside position, whereas attacking players are.
“That’s a wide concern, not just ours,” he said.
Hammett says the Hurricanes’ best hopes of negating the rolling maul lie with limiting the Bulls’ opportunities to get one started.
“You need to stop it at the source – you’ve got to stop it before the train gets moving.”
In that respect, the return of loose forward Victor Vito couldn’t be better timed.
Vito and Brad Shields will make their first appearances of the Super Rugby season, with Vito at No.8 for Blade Thomson while Shields will be in the reserves, with both having recovered from knee injuries.
Shields’ return and Thomson’s inclusion on the bench means Ardie Savea drops out of the match-day squad.
The starting 15 for the clash at McLean Park also features the return of All Blacks winger Cory Jane.
Alapati Leiua, who scored a brilliant solo try on the wing in the 29-26 win over the Crusaders last Friday, moves to second five-eighth.
Leiua replaces Tim Bateman who injured a shoulder in the 29-26 win over the Crusaders.
In the front row, prop Jeff Toomaga-Allen, who suffered a head knock in the same match, is bracketed with John Schwalger.
The Bulls are coming off a 34-34 draw with defending champions the Chiefs last week, with lock and captain Flip van der Merwe back in action after a hamstring injury.
In other changes, Jacques Engelbrecht comes in at No.8, with Dewald Potgieter moving to the side of the scrum
