Auckland Blues

Cotter, who starts with the Blues this week, will be joined by new assistant coach, Jason O'Halloran, also on a two-year deal, working alongside members of the existing Blues coaching team.

Cotter is an experienced Head Coach at both domestic and international level and was most recently head coach of Fiji from 2020-22.

He was also Head Coach of Scotland from 2014-2017 - where he joined forces with O'Halloran - the pair taking the team from tenth to fifth in the World Rugby Rankings and credited with having a strong impact on the culture and performance of the team.

Barrett will start at flyhalf as the Blues look to end the Drua’s unbeaten run on home soil in this year’s Super Rugby Pacific season.

Blues coach Leon MacDonald has made six changes to the run-on XV for this clash, which is set to get underway at 2.05pm NZST.

The Blues have been preparing for the “physical” clash with “heat fitness sessions” at training this week.

“We know these guys will be physical, we know the crowd will be loud and we know we’ll need to be at our best to come away with the points on Saturday,” MacDonald said in a statement.

Tuivasa-Sheck requested an early release from the Warriors to switch to rugby late in 2021 but chief executive officer Cameron George kept the door open for him to come back.

"When he went to rugby union he did so knowing he was always welcome back here if he wished to return to rugby league. We couldn't be more delighted it's happening.

"He's popular with the players and a real fan favourite. It's going to be so good seeing him back in our jersey."

The Force made the Blues work for it early and didn't concede a try until the 29th minute, but were ultimately put away comfortably at Eden Park in their second straight defeat.

It leaves them still searching for their first win against an New Zealand-based side since returning to the competition in 2021, without a victory in seven attempts.

The Perth side matched it with opponents at the breakdown and forced some early penalties, although a missed shot at goal combined with Gareth Simpson failing to find touch from a kick meant they had no points to show for it.

The home side were put under pressure early on at Eden Park, as the Brumbies' second-five Irae Simone silenced the home crowd with a barnstorming try in just the third minute of the game.

After a perfect start by the Brumbies the Blues quickly took control of the game, playing open running rugby which ultimately led to their first try of the game through number-eight Hoskins Sotutu.

The home side continued to dominate the game in the first-half, with first-five Beauden Barrett orchestrating much of the play.

That excruciating night in Canberra, settled only by a Beauden Barrett dropped goal at the death, forms a significant backdrop to Saturday’s semifinal at Eden Park.

The Auckland based side kept the Highlanders try-less in their dominant 35-6 quarter-final win at Eden Park last night.

A red card to Highlanders hooker Andrew Makileo put his side on the back foot from the 22nd minute, but the Southerners were still in the contest at half-time, trailing 14-6.

The Blues outshone the valiant Highlanders in the second half, running in three tries to close out the contest.

Beauden Barrett finished with a brace, while Akira Ioane, AJ Lam and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck all crossed the line for tries of their own.

The 2018 Dally M medallist was in sparkling touch and continued to push his case for All Blacks selection, creating a try for Beauden Barrett on 48 minutes before slashing through for his own on 69 minutes.

Despite losing hooker Andrew Makalio to a red card for a no-arms tackle in the 22nd minute, the Highlanders managed to keep the Blues at bay for the first half an hour of the contest, taking a 6-0 lead through two Marty Banks penalties.

The Force started the match brightly, with In-form winger Manasa Mataele racing in for the first try of the match in the eighth minute.

The free-flowing scoring continued in the early stages, with Blues fly-half and All Blacks star Beauden Barrett narrowing the margin to five with a straightforward penalty goal in the 12th minute.

The Blues hit the front in the 19th minute courtesy of a close-range Sam Darry try.

Akira Ioane stormed over in the 21st minute, with AJ Lam adding a third try in the 29th minute, as the Blues took a 22-8 lead into half time.

This Saturday they play their first trans-Tasman game against the Blues in Melbourne.

It'll be a whole new ball game altogether facing New Zealand-based teams, especially the Super Rugby Pacific leaders, however, Byrne said the players are excited.

The big Pacific match-up against Moana Pasifika takes place on May 14 in Sydney.

Byrne said this weekend will be an opportunity for the Drua to measure themselves against the best.