Hoskins Sotutu of the Blues. Photo: Photosport
Blues number eight Hoskins Sotutu, one of the standouts of this Super Rugby Pacific season, has recommitted to New Zealand Rugby through till 2026.
"I'm incredibly proud and honoured to extend my time with the Blues. This club means a lot to me, and I'm committed to contributing my best both on and off the field in the coming seasons," Sotutu said in a statement released by the Blues on Thursday.
"This club feels like home to me, I've got a lot of mates here who I've played many seasons of rugby alongside. We're building nicely this season and know we have a massive match this weekend against the Hurricanes."
Sotutu was currently the competition's top try scorer with nine tries. His coach, Vern Cotter, said: "Hoskins can do things no other player in his position can do with ball in hand. His five point contributions have helped us build scoreboard pressure and he's getting regular turnovers at lineout and tackle situations.
"He's building his performance from game-to-game and his consistency each week is remarkable considering he's playing big minutes. I have no doubt he will help his team mates seek a top performance this weekend."
Since making his Blues debut in 2019 against the Crusaders, Sotutu has become a mainstay in the Blues pack and was called up to the All Blacks in 2020. He has played 14 tests and his form this season has led to growing talk of a recall to the side under new coach Scott Robertson.
The Blues take on the Hurricanes at Eden Park on Saturday afternoon in a top of the table clash. The Blues have only lost one game this season, which was to the Hurricanes in round three.
Blues v Hurricanes
Kick-off: 4:35pm Saturday 11 May
Eden Park, Auckland
Live blog updates on RNZ Sport
Blues: 15 Zarn Sullivan, 14 Mark Tele'a, 13 AJ Lam, 12 Bryce Heem, 11 Caleb Clarke, 10 Harry Plummer, 9 Taufa Funaki, 8 Hoskins Sotutu, 7 Dalton Papali'i, 6 Akira Ioane, 5 Sam Darry, 4 Patrick Tuipulotu (c), 3 Marcel Renata, 2 Ricky Riccitelli, 1 Ofa Tu'ungafasi
Bench: 16 Kurt Eklund, 17 Joshua Fusitu'a, 18 Angus Ta'avao, 19 Josh Beehre, 20 Adrian Choat, 21 Sam Nock, 22 Corey Evans, 23 Cole Forbes
Hurricanes: 15 Ruben Love, 14 Josh Moorby, 13 Billy Proctor, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Kini Naholo, 10 Brett Cameron, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Brayden Iose, 7 Peter Lakai, 6 Brad Shields (c), 5 Isaia Walker-Leawere, 4 Caleb Delany, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Kianu Kereru-Symes, 1 Xavier Numia
Bench: 16 Raymond Tuputupu, 17 Pouri Rakete-Stones, 18 Pasilio Tosi, 19 Justin Sangster, 20 Devan Flanders, 21 Du'Plessis Kirifi, 22 Richard Judd, 23 Bailyn Sullivan