The Hurricanes will be determined to build on their impressive start to the tournament when they host the Sharks in Napier on Friday.

Both these sides will be brimming with confidence after notching impressive away victories last weekend. 

The Hurricanes underlined their status as one of the favourites to win the competition when they claimed a superb 50-19 victory over the Rebels in Melbourne while the Sharks did well to beat the Blues 63-40 in Auckland.

The men from Wellington, who were crowned Super Rugby champions in 2016, have won three of their last five games against the Sharks, and will be looking for back-to-back wins against them for the first time since 2005/06. 

In each of the most recent six games between these teams, the home side have been victorious on the day. 

The Sharks may have won last weekend but they haven't been consistent this season. From their six matches played so far this year, they have won two lost three and drawn one and are the only side to make fewer than 100 carries per match this season (97). 

Defence and discipline will be the focus points for the Sharks team as they prepare to take on the high-riding Hurricanes on Friday in the last tour match of the Super Rugby competition.

Sharks head coach Robert du Preez, speaking about preparations for the match, has identified the defence and discipline as important factors for his team if they want to win this encounter.

"We know this week will be tougher than last week, the Hurricanes are the number one team in New Zealand in my opinion," he said.

After their 50-point win over the Rebels, Du Preez is wary of the Hurricanes and warned that big scores are possible if a team’s discipline and defence fall apart.

"It just shows that if you have a little bit of an off day, you can catch 50 points," he added.

"It happened to us against the Rebels and the Blues against us on Saturday.

"This means that our defence is going to have to be out the top drawer. We’ve given away too many soft tries and Saturday showed what a massive effect a yellow card can have on a team, so a massive focus for us will be on a discipline.

"In saying that, we only gave away six penalties, but the card was costly because we gave away three tries in the period. You just can’t lose a player against the New Zealand teams.

"Defence will win us this game."

The last time these teams met: These sides faced off in a quarter-final in Wellington in 2016 and the Hurricanes claimed an emphatic 41-0 win. The Hurricanes scored five tries with Loni Uhila, James Marshall, Jason Woodward, Vaea Fifita and TJ Perenara crossing the whitewash. Beauden Barrett finished with a nine-point haul courtesy of three conversions and a penalty and Woodward also added a penalty.