Only one change has been made to the starting side, with Julian Savea starting at second five-eighths. Playing his first game of the season, from the bench, will be Lotu Inisi, along with Pepesana Patafilo.
Lock Tom Savage said they had taken the hard lessons out of their 7-85 loss to the Chiefs, drawn a line under it and were now looking to the Hurricanes.
"That doesn't mean it doesn't hurt, but that's gone, and we're looking forward to what we can control this weekend.
"We focus on the positives, the things that have been great for us all year and we'll go back to that. Hopefully, that's an anomaly in the the season's results."
Savage said the goal since the start of the year had been to have a chance to play in the playoffs.
"We've had some also 'first times' this season so, hopefully, this can be another one."
Savage said he had seen its potential after joining the side from Suntory Goliath in Japan after playing 194 games for Gloucester in the Premiership and was excited about the challenge ahead.
"I knew it wasn't going to be an easy thing, and a lot of work was going to be involved but I wouldn't be here if I didn't think this could be an A-team that's got a chance to win a title."
Having achieved results in 2025, they could take confidence from them in putting everything into their build-up to the Hurricanes.
Having been beaten at the breakdowns where the Chiefs dominated, Savage said that allowed them to get fast ball and use their exciting players to effect.
"If you can't slow them down in the collision, whether in the process of the tackle, [or] in the breakdown, they're going to get fast ball and the rest is history.
"We know the areas we need to focus on. There's not a bad pack in this competition. Look at how close all the games have been.
"We're prepared. We've analysed them around that defensive side. You need to be dominating the collisions, you need to be getting off the line and in their faces; all the simple things that defence is built on to be able to get a result."
Meanwhile, former Australian Test star and Moana Pasifika's first captain in Super Rugby, Sekope Kepu, said whatever happens in Wellington, the season has been a triumph for the side.
AAP quoted Kepu saying that since winning one game in their opening season, they had improved every year, and their 2025 campaign was already a win so far as he was concerned.
"They've won six games, beat the Blues, it's been massive.
"It's just nice to see them start to bear some of that fruit and put pressure on teams and get wins over the teams that they weren't expected to beat, and it will continue to grow."