Hurricanes lock Dion Waller stayed on the field against the Blues in Friday night's 60-7 Super 12 rugby loss because fellow lock Paul Tito had struggled off injured.

But how much damage he might have done to an already broken bone in his right hand was uncertain early today and awaiting a final clearance before the team leaves for South Africa on Saturday.

The Hurricanes were also waiting to hear whether star fullback Christian Cullen, who suffered a hamstring strain in the final minutes of the game, would be making the trip.

One good piece of early news was the clearing of Tito, who had to be assisted from the team's dressing room to the team bus by three team-mates after suffering a bang in the hip area, but he was much freer on Saturday morning.

Waller started the game despite the hand and showed a huge amount of guts in battling through, but by early in the second half he was a one-handed tackler.

He was handicapped in the scrum and in general play and coach Graham Mourie was on the verge on pulling him from the field when Tito suffered his side strain.

"It's pretty sore. I've iced it and we'll see how it turns out," Waller said.

"It took quite a few knocks in the game."

Waller admitted the injury worsened as the game went on.

"No-one stomped on it, it was just contact, trying to grab jerseys and tackling - and in scrums," Waller said.

Waller said he had never considered coming off.

"If you're considering coming off, you're sort of waiting to come off and saving yourself at the same time. You just have to try and keep going. When Fish (Tito) was hurt and went off that took away any disappointment that I wasn't coming off. It stopped the pain a bit. It refocused me."

Waller said some of the Hurricanes targets for the match had been achieved, despite the size of the loss.

"We set ourselves targets of good scrums and good lineouts - better than our last game - and those came. I know I missed a tackle and I had a ball turned-over from me. And that was the first one (where Doug Howlett scored after 1min 28sec).

"That was my own fault, but it had nothing to do with the hand."

Waller, a senior member of the pack, says the aim through the game was to keep battling for 80 minutes - "and I think we did. That was good, at least.

"We've got 10 games to go now and we have to give 80 minutes in all those. Our pre-season wasn't good, and tonight proved why we didn't have a good pre-season."

Good points, say Waller, included "a brilliant game" from loosehead prop Tony Penn and a good one as well from hooker Andrew Hore.

"This is a confidence team, and there were some good signs, despite the score."