The Hurricanes won't be paying any extra attention to former teammate Beauden Barrett, when the now-Blues star returns to Wellington this weekend.
After leaving the Hurricanes last off-season, Barrett has been instrumental in helping turn the Blues' fortunes around so far in Super Rugby Aotearoa.
The Auckland side currently hold second spot on the Super Rugby Aotearoa ladder, with three wins and one loss from the opening rounds. However, the Hurricanes could leapfrog the Blues into second with a win this weekend.
While Barrett's Blues debut in round one against the Hurricanes may have grabbed all the headlines, his return to Wellington on Saturday will be sure to once again dominate the build-up to the match.
Speaking to media via Zoom today though, first-five Fletcher Smith made it clear that it would be foolish to solely concentrate on his former teammate.
"He's obviously an influential player for the Blues," Smith said.
"[But] you can't put too much of the focus on him. They've got a lot of gamebreakers in their team.
"If you focus too much on one player, then those other guys can really hurt you throughout the game.
"I'm sure he's as excited to get to Wellington to play us as the other guys are to play against him.
"It should be a good battle."
Barrett and the Blues face the Hurricanes at Sky Stadium on Saturday night.
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