Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham has given his players a licence to take risks rather than turning to safety kicking as they aim to end a seven match losing streak across the Tasman.

That means unleashing strike weapons Henry Speight, Aidan Toua and Tevita Kuridrani to match the defending champion Hurricanes at their own game.

Speight has scored six tries this season and is the form winger in Australian rugby, but he will come up against Julian "The Bus" Savea in a mouth-watering battle of speed and power.

The Hurricanes also boast the competition's leading try-scorer, Ngani Laumape, and have scored the most points (313) of any team in the Super Rugby this year.

The Brumbies have the best defensive record after the first seven games, leaking just 120 points. But Larkham says the only way to end a Kiwi hoodoo is to find their attacking spark.

"Yes, we've got a good defensive record. But like we've said over the last couple of weeks, we've tried to shift our focus to an attacking game," Larkham said.

"We certainly want to keep the basics of our game there which is out set piece, breakdown pressure and defence.

"But our focus has been to improve our attack. It's not a case of us just trying to hold [the Hurricanes] out, we have to find some space in attack.

"The one thing we've learnt is that you've got to be very clever strategically [against] New Zealand sides with the opportunities you give them from turnover and counter attack.

"At the same time you've got to score points against them. That's our challenge this week - maintain our defensive record and put some points on."

The Brumbies have made four changes after an "embarrassing" loss to the Melbourne Rebels last weekend, recalling Josh Mann-Rea, James Dargaville, Lolo Fakaosilea and Nigel Ah Wong.

The Hurricanes pulled a selection shock on Wednesday, shifting All Black TJ Perenara to the bench and promoting Brad Shields to the captaincy duties in the absence of Dane Coles.

Hooker Coles will leave a big hole in the Hurricanes' side while Mann-Rea has tied his return perfectly to bolster the Brumbies' set piece.

It was thought Mann-Rea would miss up to two months when he injured his knee against the NSW Waratahs in March, but the 36-year-old is back after just four weeks.

"His body has recovered well ... we weren't sure how long it would take but he's come back in record time," Larkham said.

"Bongo [Mann-Rea] is a marquee player for us. He's a stand-out player at set-piece time but also around the field and I think ahead of schedule with his injury, it's timely to bring him back in."

Dargaville is excited at the prospect of unleashing the Brumbies' back line in New Zealand in his first starting XV call up in a month.

Larkham has been shuffling his outside backs, with Dargaville, Ah Wong and Tom Banks all getting opportunities to shine.

"A bit of rotation [with the trio] has created pretty good competition for spots so I'm just looking forward to making the most of my opportunity," Dargaville said.

"When you're starting games it is very enjoyable ... that's the goal every week. The way [Larkham] sees it, it's our entire squad that will win a championship so you've got to be patient.

"You play rugby to play, you don't want to go into your shell. Particularly against the Kiwi teams, moving forward we need to be able to score points to win tight games."

The Brumbies have never lost eight in a row in New Zealand and the Hurricanes have won their past nine games in a row at home.

But the Brumbies have won five of the past six games against the Wellington-based side, including a 52-10 thrashing in round one last year.

SUPER RUGBY ROUND NINE

Friday: Wellington Hurricanes v ACT Brumbies at McLean Park, Napier, 5.35pm. TV time: Live on Fox Sports 1.

Brumbies team: 15. Aidan Toua, 14. Henry Speight, 13. Tevita Kuridrani, 12. Andrew Smith, 11. James Dargaville, 10. Wharenui Hawera, 9. Joe Powell, 8. Jarrad Butler, 7. Chris Alcock, 6. Scott Fardy, 5. Sam Carter, 4. Rory Arnold, 3. Allan Alaalatoa, 2. Josh Mann-Rea, 1. Scott Sio. Reserves: 16. Robbie Abel, 17. Nic Mayhew, 18. Ben Alexander, 19. Blake Enever, 20. Lolo Fakaosilea, 21. De Wet Roos, 22. Jordan Jackson-Hope, 23. Nigel Ah Wong.

Hurricanes team: 15. Jordie Barrett, 14. Cory Jane, 13. Vince Aso, 12. Ngani Laumape, 11. Julian Savea, 10. Beauden Barrett, 9. Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, 8. Blade Thomson, 7. Ardie Savea, 6. Brad Shields, 5. Vaea Fifita, 4. Mark Abbott, 3. Jeffery To'omaga-Allen, 2. Ricky Riccitelli, 1. Ben May. Reserves: 16. Leni Apisai, 17. Chris Eves, 18. Mike Kainga, 19. James Blackwell, 20. Callum Gibbins, 21. TJ Perenara, 22. Otere Black, 23. Ben Lam.