Lynagh's return as Reds eye 28-year Hurricanes hoodoo

Wed, Mar 25, 2026, 9:28 PM
Murray Wenzel - AAP
by Murray Wenzel - AAP

Tom Lynagh is set for his first Super Rugby Pacific minutes of the season, but Carter Gordon has been added to the injury list ahead of the Queensland Reds' clash with the table-topping Hurricanes.

Captain Fraser McReight will also return after he was rested against the Drua as the fourth-placed Reds (4-1) hunt a fifth-straight win and first over the Hurricanes in New Zealand since 1998.

Watch every second of the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season live and on demand via Stan Sport.

Lynagh and Gordon, who both wore the Wallabies No.10 last year, are yet to feature on the same teamsheet since Gordon's arrival at Ballymore this season.

Gordon flourished with match-winning plays against the ACT Brumbies and NSW Waratahs before he was rested on the weekend, Harry McLaughlin-Phillips deputising in their historic win in Fiji.

A lower leg injury which the Reds deem minor will keep him out of this Saturday's Wellington clash, with McLaughlin-Phillips to again wear the No.10 and Lynagh on the bench.

Lynagh, who started in all three British and Irish Lions Tests last season, has been sidelined as he attempts to strengthen a troublesome leg injury.

"We just wanted to get through some full weeks of training and this week's been the right week for him," Reds coach Les Kiss said.

"If everything's going right we should probably see more of him going forward."

The Hurricanes have won their last 10 games against the Reds and last 11 on home soil.

"There's history there and it's not missed, but it's not front and centre," Kiss said.

"They're the most lethal team in the competition and we feel we're 70, 75 per cent of who we can be, (but) you don't win the competition this time of year, you just have to keep improving."

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