Canterbury head west for Taranaki clash

A trip to the West Coast and Pukekura Park beckons for the Canterbury NPC team this week, tasked with tackling the Bulls in New Plymouth.

The side will be boosted by the return of both Luke Romano, starting in place of the injured Zach Gallagher, and Braydon Ennor, who returns from the All Black’s trip to Africa to take his place on the bench. 

“Luke’s chomping at the bit to be out on the park,” said Forwards Coach Craig Dunlea. “He’s a leader, and the type of guy that loves to put his shoulder to the wheel and keep us moving forward, so it’ll be great to have his experience out there.”  

“He’s had a couple of weeks in the stalls so I’m sure he’ll be rearing to go come Saturday.” 

Both Shilo Klein and Wil Gualter are presented with the opportunity to start their first games of the season, with the latter rewarded for two impressive substitute appearances, including picking up a try on debut against Manawatu. 

“Wil has provided real impact in the first couple of games coming off the bench, it’s now a case of harnessing that energy to bring that same sort of influence right from the start.” Backs Coach Alex Robertson said. 

Elsewhere, Oli Jager is promoted to the starting lineup following a successful return from an injury last week, with Seb Calder drafted onto the bench. George Bell gets another crack in jersey 16 after his own debut last week, while there’s plenty of experience on the bench in the shape of both Owen Franks and Willi Heinz. 

The match against Taranaki kicks off at 2:05pm on Saturday and will be live on Sky.