All Blacks captain Tana Umaga could be set for a double celebration this weekend when his Hurricanes side take on New Zealand rivals the Blues in the 10th round of Super 12 matches.
Umaga is set to become only the fourth player in Super 12 history to play 100 games while the Hurricanes can guarantee themselves a place in the semi-finals if they beat the Blues and the fourth-placed Highlanders lose to the second-placed Crusaders.
The Hurricanes have not beaten the Blues in nine years but coach Colin Cooper insists his team are ready to end that barren run in Auckland on Friday.
"We need to win that to be in contention for the semis and it’s the big boss-man’s (Umaga) 100th game," Cooper said in The Dominion Post.
"I’ve been told the Hurricanes have never won eight games either, so there’s plenty of motivation to do well in these last two weeks.
"We want to head to the semis – big time – I’m really hungry for it. In 2003 we made the semis but we were in awe of them. We have to go there really confident and this will help."
