1
'He's got to prove he's good enough': Why Nehe Milner-Skudder's Highlanders debut may have to wait until next year
He may have been heralded as one of the biggest signings leading into the Super Rugby Aotearoa campaign, but Highlanders outside back Nehe Milner-Skudder may not be available until next season.
ADVERTISEMENT
That was the verdict given by the franchise’s assistant coach Tony Brown, who revealed on Wednesday the injury-riddled former All Black has returned to full contact training following a lengthy sideline stint.
It has been over a year-and-a-half since the 29-year-old last appeared on the field, with his most recent outing coming for the All Blacks in their 69-31 victory over Japan in November 2018.
A persistent shoulder injury has kept him from playing, though, with a deal with Top 14 side Toulon thwarted by his ongoing rehabilitation.
Unable to link up with the French club, Milner-Skudder subsequently inked a two-year contract with the Highlanders in May.
Hopes have been high in Dunedin that the 13-test star would be able to strut his stuff under the roof of Forsyth Barr Stadium during Super Rugby Aotearoa.
An increased volume of training in recent weeks have been positive signs that the ex-Hurricanes speedster will be able to play, with Highlanders boss Aaron Mauger previously indicating that he could appear at the latter end of the Kiwi domestic league.
ADVERTISEMENT
That, however, hasn’t happened yet, and Brown provided an update on when fans can expect Milner-Skudder to don the blue and gold jersey.
“Milner-Skudder’s starting to get into some full contact stuff with us, but he’ll still be a couple of weeks away,” Brown said.
Brown, who was assistant coach for Japan when Milner-Skudder last played against the Brave Blossoms two years ago, added that the new signing could feature in the last match of the season against the Hurricanes in Dunedin on August 15.
That would see him pitted against his old franchise, and potentially against his former teammate Julian Savea, who has re-joined the Hurricanes from Toulon as injury cover for the remainder of the campaign.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Hurricanes conceded that, like Milner-Skudder, Savea will need to be brought up to speed in terms of fitness, with the Wellington club targeting the Highlanders clash as a possible return date for the 54 test ex-All Black.
Milner-Skudder, meanwhile, will need to come through unscathed at grassroots level before he is considered for Highlanders selection.
“I think Nehe’s got to prove himself that he’s good enough to play at this level, and obviously in the past he has been,” Brown said.
“He’s been out a long time, so he’s going to have to get into a lot of contact, potentially play a bit of club rugby, and if the signs are good, he potentially might make it for that last game.”
He noted a precautionary approach has been taken with Milner-Skudder’s return to action as he re-adjusts to the rigours of professional rugby.
“It would have been great to get Nehe out there three or four weeks ago, but we’ve just got to make sure that he’s a hundred percent confident in his shoulder.
“He’s been through the work, and if he can prove that he is good enough to fit into the side, then we’ll select him.”
Should he fail to prove his fitness in training and at club level, though, Highlanders fans will have to wait until 2021 to see Milner-Skudder turn out for their side.
In the meantime, the southerners will continue to prepare for their do-or-die encounter with the Blues in Dunedin on Sunday.
The outcome of that match will go a long way to determining which sides will still be in the running for the tightly-contested Super Rugby Aotearoa title.
This match was supposed to be dead in the water but the latest reports suggest that's no longer the case. #AllBlacks #Kangarooshttps://t.co/sctIfwdKm7
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 28, 2020
That alone means there will be no shortage of motivation for either team, but Highlanders co-captain Ash Dixon highlighted the significance of the fixture as the Gordon Hunter Memorial Trophy is set to go on the line.
Hunter coached both franchises prior to his passing in 2002, and Dixon made no secret of the legacy the former All Blacks selector left in Dunedin.
“I think the longer I’ve been in this team, the more it’s impacted me,” Dixon said of the unique rivalry between the Highlanders and Blues.
“Especially when the older guys turn up and come in, from Browny’s [Tony Brown] era, and talk about, not what he was like as a coach, but what he actually did for the team.
“His whole love for the game and the club was awesome, so we use that as a bit of inspiration.
“We obviously didn’t get to meet him or be coached by him, but the way they speak about him, half of them are quite teary and get really emotional about it.
“We’ve had it for eight years now, and that’s by no surprise, there’s been some pretty big efforts against mighty Blues teams, but we’ve had to dig really deep, and there’s no surprises this weekend we’re going to have to [dig deep again].
“But we’re prepared for it, and we’ve just got to go out there and enjoy our rugby and play the rugby we can.”
Comments on RugbyPass
What happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to commentsGregor I just can’t agree with you. You are trying to find something that just isn’t there. Jordie Barrett has signed until 2028. By the end of that he would have spent probably 11-12 years on Super Rugby and you say he can’t possibly have one season playing somewhere else. It is absurd. What about this scenario, the NZR play hard ball and he decides to leave and play overseas. How would that affect the competition. There seems to be an agenda by certain journalists to push certain agendas and don’t like it when it’s not to their liking. I fully support the NZR on this. Gregor needs to get a life.
2 Go to commentsHope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to commentsMake what step up? Manie has a World Cup winner’s medal around his neck and changed the way the Springboks can play. He doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone. The win record of the Boks with him in the team is tremendous. Sacha can be wonderful and I hope he has a very succesful Bok career, but comparing him to Manie in terms of the next Bok flyhalf is very strange. Manie is the incumbent (not the next) and doing pretty incredibly.
1 Go to comments00 😍 U
1 Go to commentsSabbaticals have helped keep NZ’s very best talent in the country on long term deals - this fact has been left out of this article. Much like the articles calling to allow overseas players to be selected, yet can only name one player currently not signed to NZR who would be selected for the ABs. And in the entire history of NZ players leaving to play overseas, literally only 4 or 5 have left in their prime as current ABs. (Piatau, Evans, Hayman, Mo’unga,?) Yes Carter got an injury while playing in France 16 years ago, but he also got a tournament ending injury at the 2011 World Cup while taking mid-week practice kicks at goal. Maybe Jordie gets a season-ending injury while playing in Ireland, maybe he gets one next week against the Brumbies. NZR have many shortcomings, but keeping the very best players in the country and/or available for ABs selection is not one of them. Likewise for workload management - players missing 2 games out of 14 is hardly a big deal in the grand scheme of things. Again let’s use some facts - did it stop the Crusaders winning SR so many times consecutively when during any given week they would be missing 2 of their best players? The whole idea of the sabbatical is to reward your best players who are willing to sign very long term deals with some time to do whatever they want. They are not handed out willy-nilly, and at nowhere near the levels that would somehow devalue Super Rugby. In this particular example JB is locked in with NZR for what will probably (hopefully) be the best years of his career, hard to imagine him not sticking around for a couple more after for a Lions tour and one more world cup. He has the potential to become the most capped AB of all time. A much better outcome than him leaving NZ for a minimum of 3 years at the age of 27, unlikely to ever play for the ABs again, which would be the likely alternative.
2 Go to commentsJake White talks more sense than anything I've read in the last 5 years. Hope someone's listening.
9 Go to commentsThe Springboks tried going down the road of only picking home-based players and it was an unmitigated disaster in 2016 and 2017. Picking overseas-based players has been one of the main reason the Boks have done so well since 2018, not only because of the quality Rassie could call on, but because of the knowledge and experience those players brought into camp from England, France and Japan. With some of the big names playing abroad it also gave younger players in SA the chance to break through at franchise level. Would we have seen the emergence of a Ruan Nortje if RG and Lood were still at the Bulls? Not so sure. I understand why Jake would want to block players leaving since his job depends on good results but it’s an approach that would take Bok rugby back to the bad old days and no South African wants to see that.
9 Go to commentsExeter were thumped by 38 points. And they only had to hop on a train.
39 Go to commentsI am De Groot.
1 Go to commentsHad hoped you might write an article on this game, Nick. It’s a good one. Things have not gone as smoothly for ROG since beating Leinster last year at the Aviva in the CC final. LAR had the Top 14 Final won till Raymond Rhule missed a simple tackle on the excellent Ntamack, and Toulouse reaped the rewards of just staying in the fight till the death. Then the disruption of the RWC this season. LAR have not handled that well, but they were not alone, and we saw Pau heading the Top 14 table at one stage early season. I would think one of the reasons for the poor showing would have to be that the younger players coming through, and the more mature amongst the group outside the top 25/30, are not as strong as would be hoped for. I note that Romain Sazy retired at the end of last season. He had been with LAR since 2010, and was thus one of their foundation players when they were promoted to Top 14. Records show he ended up with 336 games played with LAR. That is some experience, some rock in the team. He has been replaced for the most part by Ultan Dillane. At 30, Dillane is not young, but given the chances, he may be a fair enough replacement for Sazy. But that won’be for more than a few years. I honestly know little of the pathways into the LAR setup from within France. I did read somewhere a couple of years ago that on the way up to Top 14, the club very successfully picked up players from the academies of other French teams who were not offered places by those teams. These guys were often great signings…can’t find the article right now, so can’t name any….but the Tadgh Beirne type players. So all in all, it will be interesting to see where the replacements for all the older players come from. Only Lleyd’s and Rhule from SA currently, both backs. So maybe a few SA forwards ?? By contrast, Leinster have a pretty clear line of good players coming through in the majority of positions. Props maybe a weak spot ? And they are very fleet footed and shrewd in appointing very good coaches. Or maybe it is also true that very good coaches do very well in the Leinster setup. So, Nick, I would fully concurr that “On the evidence of Saturday’s semi-final between the two clubs, the rebuild in the Bay of Biscay is going to take longer than it is on the east coast of Ireland”
11 Go to commentsWhat was the excuse for the other knockout blowouts then? Does the result not prove the Saints were just so much better? Wise call to put your eggs in one basket when you’ve got 2 comps simultaneously finishing.
39 Go to commentsReally hope Kuruvoli and his partner rock the Canes.
1 Go to commentsI wonder what impact Samson has had on their attack, as the team seems less prone to trundle it up the middle, take the tackle and then trundle it up again. I lost faith in the coach last year as the Rebelss looked like a 2nd/3rd rate South African team. I also disliked Gordon standing back, often ignored as the forward battle went on and on. Maybe its our Aussie way of not getting off our A***’s until the enemy is at the gate.
86 Go to commentsThanks for the write up. Great to see the Rebs winning, I am a little interested in how they will go against the remaining kiwi teams, I think they’ve only played Hurricanes and Highlanders but how great to see these players performing!! I also see Parling has a job beyond June 30! A good move by RA? Also how do you fix the Rebels previously scratchy defence?
86 Go to commentsbe smart - go black
13 Go to commentsNext week the Crusaders hopefully have Scott Barrett back. Will be great to have the captain back. Hopefully he will be the All Black captain as well.
12 Go to commentsExciting place to be for the young fella. I expected he was French Polynesian when I saw him included in the France 6N squad (after seeing him in NZs), and therefor be strong grounds we might loose him to rugby down here. Good, in that he is good enough to warrant such a profile, and from a journalism’s fan interaction aspect, to finally get a back ground story on the fella. Hope he has settled into NZ OK and that at least one rugby country will fit with him to help his development, which, if so, he should surely continue for a few years, and then that he can experience France to it’s fullest with a bit more maturity and less reliance on family than you would have at his current age. A good 3 or 4 years before he would be ready for International duty if he wanted to wait. Of course he already sounds good enough to accept a call up, and to cap himself, in the more immediate future (he’d have to be very very good in the case of the ABs), and he’ll get a great taste of that being with the Canes who have a bunch who are just a few years further into their career and looking likely Internationals themselves.
13 Go to commentsI remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.
9 Go to commentsOh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on their @r$e$ one week later?
39 Go to comments