Super Rugby - Saturday Morning Preview

There is plenty of Super Rugby action happening today with the Hurricanes and Crusaders kick the day off with a massive New Zealand derby.

The Hurricanes have a good record against the Crusaders having won 7 of the last 10 games against the Canterbury side.

The Saders will be looking to avoid back-to-back losses on the road in the regular season since May 2015.

The Crusaders have only lost one Super Rugby game since the start of the 2017 season - that match was against the Hurricanes in the Crusaders final regular season match of the season.

Beauden Barrett and Ben May will lineup for their 100th Super Rugby match in this encounter while the Crusaders have named Matt Todd in the starting line up despite nursing a fractured thumb.

Players to watch: Beauden Barrett, Brad Shields, Sam Whitelock and Jack Goodhue

The Bulls will be looking to get back to winning ways against the Reds at Suncorp Stadium. Both sides look as if they have put their poor 2017 seasons behind them under their new coaches with the Bulls playing a high tempo running game while the Reds have adopted a more physical approach under Brad Thorn.

The Bulls will look to improve their record outside of South Africa having only won 2 of their last 19 matches abroad - the last of which was in 2016. The Reds will be looking for consecutive wins for the first time since 2014.

Players to Watch: Taniela Tupou, Filipo Daugunu, Lood de Jager and Warrick Gelant.

The Sharks and Sunwolves face off for only the third time and the second time in Durban. The South Africans won both encounters scoring no fewer than 38 points on each occasion.

The Sunwolves look a lot stronger this season under Jamie Joseph as they caused the Brumbies some issues in the opening match and battled well against the Reds- considering all their injuries in the match.

The Sharks will be look to improve on a slow starting having gone down to the Lions and drawing to the Waratahs. The Sharks scrum has come under scrutiny recently and will be up against a well organised Sunwolves pack that is one of only three sides not to lose a scrum on their own feed.

Players to Watch: Ruan Botha, Lukhanyo Am, Michael Leitch and Hosea Saumaki