Super Rugby
'Canes lose Smith and Cruden
ESPNscrum Staff
April 10, 2011
Hurricanes centre Conrad Smith is helped from the field, Brumbies v Hurricanes, Super Rugby, Canberra Stadium, Canberra, Australia, April 9, 2011
Conrad Smith will miss the Hurricanes' South African tour © Getty Images
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Players/Officials: Aaron Cruden | Conrad Smith
Tournaments/Tours: Super Rugby

The Hurricanes will be without key playmakers Aaron Cruden and Conrad Smith for their two-match South African tour after the pair sustained injuries in Saturday's 17-16 Super Rugby loss to the Brumbies in Canberra.

Cruden suffered a left Achilles strain and was substituted at half time while Smith clashed heads with a Brumbies player late in the second-half, resulting in a fractured nose and a cut to the forehead which required stitches.

The pair will return to New Zealand tomorrow, while the rest of team fly on to Johannesburg. Taranaki players Jayden Hayward and Beauden Barrett have been called in as replacements from the Hurricanes' wider training group.

They fly to Sydney tomorrow and meet with the team before travelling on to South Africa where they play the cheetahs in Bloemfontein next Sunday and the Sharks in Durban on April 24.

Hayward made his debut for the Hurricanes in round four against the Chiefs, while Barrett will make his debut if named in the playing 22.

'Canes skipper Andrew Hore called on his players to turn possession into points on tour. A charge-down try to Cruden was their sole five-pointer against the struggling Brumbies.

"We started fairly well but with all that ball we need more points," he told Fox Sports. "We're making line breaks but we're succeeding in making our rugby pretty hard at the moment. We need to build pressure when you get into the 22, we're trying to score straight away. The big ask for us is to get over to Africa and start playing some rugby."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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