The Hurricanes coach Colin Cooper is convinced there will be no repeat of the early gift his team granted the Waratahs in last year's Super 14.

The two highly rated teams once again have an opening round date in Wellington on Saturday with Cooper satisfied the Hurricanes won't bring the headless chooks approach of last year.

That resulted in a 20-3 win for the Waratahs in Sydney, an error-plagued Hurricanes recording their lowest score for eight years and prompting a rapid tactical review from Cooper.

He said they had a great pre-season last year but it gave them a bit of a false perception of the Experimental Law Variations and though they just had to be fit, keep the ball alive and go width to width but territory is important and the Waratahs outsmarted them in the kick and chase game.

The Hurricanes/Waratahs match on Saturday will kickoff at 6:35pm in Wellington.