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Aaron Smith returns to action following six-week match-less spell
All Blacks star Aaron Smith has successfully returned to action at provincial level following a six-week sideline spell.
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Up until Saturday, the All Blacks centurion hadn’t played any rugby since New Zealand’s 57-22 Bledisloe Cup and Rugby Championship thumping of the Wallabies at Eden Park in Auckland on August 14.
Since then, Smith opted against travelling with the All Blacks to Australia for the remainder of their Rugby Championship campaign as he decided to stay in New Zealand ahead of the imminent arrival of his second child.
Although Smith’s second child isn’t due until November, uncertainty over the availability of MIQ spots reigned supreme in his decision to stay put, meaning he is unlikely to feature for the All Blacks again this year.
Instead, the 32-year-old has turned his attention to Manawatu and the NPC as he turned out for the Turbos in their 31-19 win over Northland in Palmerston North on Saturday.
Smith’s 46th appearance for the province was a long time coming after the NPC was put on hold for four weeks after New Zealand entered a nationwide lockdown following a community outbreak of the Covid-19 Delta variant just three days after the All Blacks’ resounding win over the Wallabies.
That delayed Smith’s return to the green-and-white jersey, but the 101-test veteran resumed his provincial career with a victory over the Taniwha that keeps Manawatu in second place on the NPC Championship standings.
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Smith played 74 minutes of the contest, and while his outing was marred by a few uncharacteristic handling errors, the match is likely to act as a fine way to alleviate the rustiness that came with his prolonged stint without action.
Despite his moments of sloppiness, Smith was an instrumental figure for Manawatu as he still managed to deliver some crisp passes, one of which proved to be key in Manu Samoa wing Ed Fidow’s 21st minute try.
Smith’s leadership and authoritative presence was also evident throughout the match as the hosts ran in three tries to keep Northland winless this season.
The visitors also crossed the chalk for three tries of their own, but the goal-kicking of Smith’s halves partner and one-test All Blacks first-five Brett Cameron was enough to guide Manawatu to victory as he contributed 16 points of his own off the tee.
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Smith and Cameron weren’t the only All Blacks in action for the Turbos, as former All Blacks wing Nehe Milner-Skudder made his first appearance of the NPC campaign off the bench midway through the second half.
Provided Taranaki don’t earn any competition points against Bay of Plenty on Sunday, the result at Central Energy Trust Arena means Manawatu will head into next week’s clash against Otago four points astray from the Championship leaders.
Smith is expected to feature in that match next Saturday as he continues to work his way towards 50 caps for Manawatu.
Comments on RugbyPass
The Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
3 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
3 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
3 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to comments