High-flying Hurricanes host in-form Reds in Super Rugby blockbuster

A week after tasting victory in Fiji for the first time, the Reds get a chance to end a longer victory drought on Saturday when they take on the red-hot Hurricanes in the highlight of round seven of Super Rugby Pacific.

Wellington Stadium, known colloquially as "The Cake Tin", was still in the planning stages and most of the Reds team had not been born the last time the Queenslanders beat the Hurricanes in the New Zealand capital back in March 1998.

Coach Les Kiss said the Reds would take confidence from beating Fijian Drua in Lautoka last week to extend their winning streak to four games but accepted that a different order of challenge faced them in the table-topping Hurricanes.

"It's a tough one," he told reporters on Wednesday. "They're the most lethal team in the competition. So if we're to win it, we're going to have to be good in our defence."

The attacking stats compiled by the Hurricanes so far this season bear Kiss out.

Clark Laidlaw's side have scored more points and tries than any other team and, according to Opta, top the competition in carry metres, offloads, line breaks and turnovers.

"They use their forward pack well, and their backs are just so elusive and strong and fast and powerful right across the back line," Kiss said.

"The way they use their backs and forwards together is quite neat actually, and it's a hard thing to contain."

Kiss will have skipper Fraser McReight back after the test flanker was rested for the trip to Fiji, while Wallabies flyhalf Tom Lynagh will make his long-awaited return from the bench.

Laidlaw has been able to recall All Blacks prop Tyrel Lomax to his front row and has tweaked his back row and back three as the Hurricanes look to extend their winning streak over the fourth-placed Reds to 11 matches.

There is no change of position, however, for left winger Fehi Fineanganofo, who scored a hat-trick last week to take his tally for the season to 11 tries as the Hurricanes thrashed the Highlanders 50-7.

Laidlaw said consistency was going to be the key to the Hurricanes being in with a shout of a first title since 2016 and warned against any complacency.

"I think your attention is heightened with the way the Reds are going. To win in Canberra and win in Fiji shows how good they're going," the Scot told reporters on Thursday.

"I feel like they've got a real work ethic to them that keeps them in games ... It's going to be a tough afternoon and something we're really looking forward to."

The Hurricanes are tied on 20 points with the second-placed Blues, who will be confident of beating the Drua later on Saturday at Eden Park, even without injured skipper Dalton Papali'i.

The third-placed Brumbies host the New South Wales Waratahs in Canberra on Friday after Moana Pasifika have opened the round against the Highlanders.

The final match of the round on Saturday in Perth matches 10th-placed Western Force against the sixth-placed Chiefs, who will be desperate to get back to winning ways after a loss to the Brumbies last week.