ACT Brumbies playmaker Wharenui Hawera hopes to make his Hamilton homecoming a double delight after finalising a new deal to extend his Super Rugby career.
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The Brumbies will announce on Friday morning Hawera has signed a two-year contract to stay with the club and build on a debut season after helping guide them to the play-offs.
The Waikato junior was plucked from obscurity at the start of the season to fill the void left by Christian Lealiifano and Matt Toomua and has been reward for a solid first year.
He is one of only three players retained in the Brumbies' starting XV for a clash against the Waikato Chiefs in his home town on Saturday afternoon as coach Stephen Larkham starts preparations for the finals series.
Lealiifano is set to make his comeback in the first finals game next Friday night, but it is likely he will play his first game in 11 months as a reserve.
Hawera will be one of only two Brumbies to have started in every game of the regular season - a remarkable feat for a rookie.
Larkham will inject 12 new faces into the starting XV with Hawera and Henry Speight to anchor the back line and Scott Fardy to take the captaincy reins in Sam Carter's absence.
Six-game youngster Jordan Jackson-Hope will shift to fullback for the first run-on start of his rising career, admitting he was shocked when told he would be moving to the unfamiliar position.
Jackson-Hope was a schoolboy and Australian under-20s flyhalf or inside centre, but will now walk a similar path to World Cup-winner Larkham to help launch his career as a No. 15.
The 21-year-old is set for a showdown with the Chiefs' smiling assassin, Damien McKenzie, but insists he's not trying to prove a point a week before the finals.
"I never thought my first start for the Brumbies would be in the fullback position, but I'm pretty excited," Jackson-Hope said before flying to New Zealand.
"Fullback is something I definitely want to be able to cover, so you've got to start somewhere.
"I've never really started a game at fullback, I've covered it three or four times. I've been training there all week and been getting more and more confident."
Jackson-Hope is part of an exciting group of Canberra juniors building Super Rugby experience to give the Brumbies a base for teh future.
He signed a two-year contract extension last month, but has been biding his time so far this season and been limited to just 32 minutes in four games from the bench.
Larkham backed Jackson-Hope and Tuggeranong teammate Ryan Lonergan, who is set to make his debut from the bench, to rise to the challenge against one of Super Rugby's most dangerous teams.
"We want to build a winning culture, particularly with this young and exciting group we've got going over with an eye to the future," Larkham said.
"We want to make sure these guys learn how to win."
The Chiefs have won nine of their past 10 games against Australian opponents, including winning four of the past six against the Brumbies.
"I'm not looking to go out and prove anything, just do my role within the team and hopefully get the result," Jackson-Hope said.
"[Larkham] has encouraged me not to over-think it this week ... just read the game as it unfolds and that's given me some confidence."
The Brumbies have secured Australia's guaranteed finals spot and will play either the Chiefs or the Wellington Hurricanes in the first week of the play-offs.
SUPER RUGBY ROUND 17
Saturday: Waikato Chiefs v ACT Brumbies at Hamilton, New Zealand, 3.15pm. TV time: Live on Fox Sports 1.
Brumbies team: 15. Jordan Jackson-Hope, 14. Henry Speight, 13. Nigel Ah Wong, 12. Andrew Smith, 11. James Dargaville, 10. Wharenui Hawera, 9. Tomas Cubelli, 8. Lolo Fakaosilea, 7. Jarrad Butler, 6. Scott Fardy (c), 5. Blake Enever, 4. Tom Staniforth, 3. Leslie Leuluailii-Makin, 2. Robbie Abel, 1. Nic Mayhew. Reserves: 16. Josh Mann-Rea, 17. Scott Sio, 18. Ben Alexander, 19. Ben Hyne, 20. Tom Cusack, 21. Jordan Smiler, 22. Ryan Lonergan, 23. Tom Banks.
Chiefs team: 15. Damian McKenzie, 14. Solomon Alaimalo, 13. Alex Nankivell, 12. Charlie Ngatai, 11. James Lowe, 10. Aaron Cruden (c), 9. Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 8. Michael Leitch, 7. Lachlan Boshier, 6. Liam Messam, 5. Mitchell Brown, 4. Michael Allardice, 3. Nepo Laulala, 2. Nathan Harris, 1. Kane Hames. Reserves: 16. Liam Polwart, 17. Aidan Ross, 18. Atu Moli, 19. Tom Sanders, 20. Mitchell Karpik, 21. Finlay Christie, 22. Stephen Donald, 23. Shaun Stevenson.
