Auckland Blues coach Vern Cotter is anticipating an "extremely competitive" Super Rugby season as the defending champions look to bounce back this weekend after being upset by Waikato Chiefs in round one.
They face Jamie Joseph's Otago Highlanders in Dunedin on Saturday with Cotter hoping the return from injury of 2024 Super Rugby Player of the Year Hoskins Sotutu will give them a boost.
"We did not get the outcome we wanted against a very good Chiefs team, but it was just the start of a long season and we will be much better for it this week," said Cotter.
"There were a lot of things done well but the boys are well aware of the areas in which they need to improve, and are working very hard this week in training."
The Blues lost at home to the Chiefs 25-14, despite holding an eight-point lead.
"This competition is going to be extremely competitive between all New Zealand and Australian teams, as we all saw with the close results throughout all matches in the opening round," added Cotter.
"We need a strong platform along with accuracy at the collision for us to prosper."
Sotutu will slot back in at No.8, allowing the powerful Cameron Suafoa to return to his favoured blindside flanker role.
All Black scrum-half Finlay Christie, who was sharp off the bench on Saturday, has been elevated to the starting lineup, with the rest of the team unchanged.
The Highlanders are also looking for their first win of the season after an agonising 37-36 defeat in Sydney to the NSW Waratahs last week.
Joseph said he expected a bruising encounter against the Blues.
"The way they play their game is physical and they're very prescribed, if you like, and use their forwards well," he told reporters.
"Then they've got a backline of All Blacks, so there's plenty of threats everywhere.
"If we can match them up then we've got a good opportunity."
Two yellow cards proved costly for the Highlanders in Sydney, with Joseph demanding better discipline this time.
"The match was lost in the dying moments, so how much did that 20 minutes playing with 14 men pay in the outcome?," he said.
"Looking back there's a hell of a lot of little things that we need to fix, but the discipline's probably the biggest one."
mp/pst
