After an opening round win against North Harbour to claim The Battle of The Bridge Trophy, the Blue and White Hoops move to a mid-week game against the Turbos.

The Auckland coaching staff continue to provide opportunities for their up-and-coming talent, with another five debuts on the line in Palmerston North, adding to the five debuts in Round 1.

Auckland Rugby Academy graduates Josh Beehre, Sofai Maka, Sam Hainswoth-Fa’aofo and Sam Wye will be up for their first Auckland cap. Beehre is coming off the successful New Zealand Under 20s campaign in Australia.

Robbie Abel’s first appearance of 2022 will be extra special, with his brother Charlie being brought into the gameday squad to cover the front row. The LA Giltinis prop will be in line to come off the bench on Wednesday night and make his Auckland debut.

Jordan Lay, Niko Jones, Pasqualle Dunn and Joel Cobb will also get their first shot of the 2022 NPC season.

Dunn re-joins the Auckland Squad after seasons at Hawkes Bay and in Japan. The Midfielder will lace up for Auckland for the first time since 2016.

Simon Hickey holds the captaincy and will start at first five-eighth outside debutant halfback Sam Wye.

Auckland Coach Craig McGrath acknowledges the planning that has gone into the storm week for his side.

“We named 41 players in our squad for this reason. As a coaching group, we put together a plan to manage these three games (North Harbour, Manawatu, Southland) and have given each player clear expectations on what we require from them over this time.”

With five Auckland debutants and another five named, McGrath welcomes his team to take their opportunities.

“We strive to create a competitive environment within our team for those starting spots. Several guys will get their opportunities this week, and we are excited to see them put their hands up for the rest of our campaign.”

Kick-off is at 7:05pm against the Manawatu Turbos from Central Energy Trust Arena.

Auckland then travels to Invercargill to play Southland on Sunday afternoon.

Auckland team v Manawatu

1. Jordan Lay (University)
2. Robbie Abel (Waitemata)
3. Hamdahn Tuipulotu (Ponsonby)
4. Josh Beehre (DEBUT)(Grammar TEC)
5. Hamish Dalzell (College Rifles)
6. Terrell Peita (Ponsonby)
7. Niko Jones (Waitemata)
8. Vaiolini Ekuasi (East Tamaki)
9. Manu Paea (Manukau)
10. Simon Hickey © Grammar TEC)
11. Salesi Rayasi (Marist)
12. Pasqualle Dunn (East Tamaki)
13. Corey Evans (Grammar TEC)
14. Joel Cobb (Ponsonby)
15. Jordan Trainor (Ponsonby)
16. Soane Vikena (Waitemata)
17. Joshua Fusitua (Grammar TEC)
18. Charlie Abel (DEBUT)/ Marcel Renata (University)
19. Felix Kalapu (Grammar TEC)
20. Sam Hainswoth-Fa’aofo (DEBUT)(Grammar TEC)
21. Sam Wye (DEBUT) (Ponsonby)
22. Zarn Sullivan (College Rifles)
23. Sofai Maka (DEBUT)(Manukau)