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'He's towelled up a few guys at training': Returning All Black ready for major set-piece battle
New Zealand’s propping stocks have just received a huge boost with Atu Moli back on deck for the Chiefs this weekend.
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Moli, who captained the New Zealand Under 20s in their successful 2015 campaign, made his All Blacks debut in 2017 but had to sit out the majority of the following year due to a serious haematoma.
He made his return to action in 2019 and was selected for the Rugby World Cup in Japan where he played two matches.
Major hip surgery followed in 2020 but the 25-year-old is finally back for the Chiefs and will make his return via the bench against the Brumbies on Saturday.
Chiefs coach Clayton McMillan is understandably excited to bring Moli back into the fold, especially given the torrid time that Moli has endured over the past few years.
“We’re really happy for Atu,” he said following Thursday’s team naming. “He’s had a bit of a treacherous run with injury but he’s maintained a whole lot of positivity and continues to add heaps of value off the field, in and around our environment.
“Now that he’s worked himself back to a point where he can get back out on the field I think is great for everybody and rugby to see.
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“It demonstrates a level of professionalism, maturity and understanding that injuries are unfortunately a big part of the pretty physical game that we play. He’s certainly had his fair share but the way you carry yourself under those circumstances tells a lot about the man and obviously, he’s done a great job and it’s been there for everybody to see, both young and old, and he’s set a very good example there.”
If Moli can get himself back into top shape with the Chiefs and Tasman during the NPC, an All Blacks recall is potentially on the cards in the future.
New Zealand aren’t exactly short of depth in the propping department at present, however.
Great news for the @ChiefsRugbyTeam, New Zealand rugby and the man himself ? #AllBlacks #SuperRugbyTT #CHIvBRUhttps://t.co/rzmI9qFM2f
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Joe Moody, Karl Tu’inukuafe and Alex Hodgman were employed by the All Blacks on the loosehead side of the scrum last year while Ofa Tuungafasi, Nepo Laulala and Tyrel Lomax shared the load at tighthead.
Add George Bower, Angus Ta’avao and Aidan Ross into the mix, as well as the talents of youngsters Ethan de Groot and Ollie Norris, and Moli will have his work cut out for him. He does have one advantage over many of his contemporaries, however – the ability to cover both sides of the scrum.
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For now, however, Moli will simply be focussing on the tighthead position with the Chiefs – and that’s where he’ll feature on Saturday evening.
“It’s just one step at a time for him,” McMillan said. “He’s sort of trained with us over the last six or seven weeks at tighthead and it’s really through Gus pulling up with a bit of a join strain from the middle of the game last week that has opened the door for Atu to come in but it’s timing.
“We’ve been sort of asking the last two or three weeks whether he’s ready to go but he wanted a little bit of time at club rugby. He’s got that and now he’s fizzing.”
Despite the club matches under his belt, returning to action against the Brumbies will still be a massive challenge for Moli.
When the Chiefs played the Crusaders in Christchurch at the beginning of the Super Rugby Aotearoa season, Ta’avao and Ross both made their returns to action and were well and truly dealt to by the Crusaders scrum before returning to their best form in subsequent weeks.
While McMillan isn’t expecting the world from his young charge, he’s also not expecting him to crumble under the pressure.
“We wouldn’t put Atu out there, feed him to the wolves, if we didn’t think he was up to it,” he said “He’s towelled up a few guys at training and that’s a pretty good indicator that he’s good to go.
“He’ll have some rusty moments, he’ll be rusty for sure. We don’t expect to see the Atu of 2018 or 2019 straight away. He’ll build his way back and I think the most important thing is he’s actually back and we celebrate the fact that he gets to put on a Chiefs jersey again.”
While the Chiefs have had to deal with losing a number of players to injury this year, they’ve not been able to welcome too many back. Unsurprisingly, McMillan said the squad were ecstatic when Moli’s name was named for Saturday’s match.
“I go back to a couple of weeks ago when we named all those young guys to play the Blues – hadn’t really seen a team naming like that with the enthusiasm and genuine care and excitement for everyone that took the field and it was a little bit like that today with Liam [Messam] being named to start and Atu coming off the bench. [It] reminded me a lot of that.”
The Chiefs’ match with the Brumbies kicks off at 7:05pm NZT on Saturday evening from Waikato Stadium.
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Comments on RugbyPass
I 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.
83 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?
83 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.
4 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?
26 Go to commentsYou know he can land a winning conversion after the full time siren is up. (Even if it takes two attempts.)
5 Go to commentsA very insightful article from Jake. I would love to know how South African’s feel about their move to Europe. Do you prefer playing in Europe or want to go back to Super Rugby?
4 Go to commentspure fire
1 Go to commentsA very well thought out summary of all the relevant complications…agree with your ”refer the Cricket Test versus 20/20 comparison”. More also definitely doesn't necessarily mean better!
4 Go to commentsMust be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
13 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
5 Go to commentsI know Leinster did a job on La Roche but shortly after HT Leinster were 30-13 ahead of them and at a similar time Toulouse were trailing Exeter. At 60 mins Leinster were 27 ahead but after 67 mins Toulouse were only 19 ahead before Exeter collapsed. That’s heavier scoring by Leinster against the Champions. I think people are looking at Toulouses total a little too much. I also think Northhampton are in with a real chance, albeit I’d put Leinster as favourites. If Leinster make the final I expect them to win by more than ten and with control.
5 Go to commentsHey Nick, your match analysis is decent but the top and tail not so much, a bit more random. For a start there’s a seismic difference in regenerating any club side over a test team. EJ pretty much had to urinate with the appendage he’d been given at test level whereas club success is impacted hugely by the budget. Look no further than Boudjellal’s Toulon project for a perfect example. The set ups at La Rochelle and Leinster are like chalk and cheese and you are correct that Leinster are ahead. Leinster are not just slightly ahead though, they are light years ahead on their plans, with the next gen champions cup team already blooded, seasoned and developing at speed from their time manning the fort in the URC while the cream play CC and tests. They have engineered a strong talent conveyor belt into their system, supported by private money funnelled into a couple of Leinster private schools. The really smart move from Leinster and the IRFU however is maximising the Irish Revenue tax breaks (tax relief on the best 10 years earnings refunded at retirement) to help keep all of their stars in Ireland and happy, while simultaneously funding marquee players consistently. And of course Barrett is the latest example. But in no way is he a “replacement for Henshaw”, he’s only there for one season!!! As for Rob Baxter, the best advice you can give him is to start lobbying Parliament and HMRC for a similar state subsidy, but don’t hold your breath… One thing Cullen has been very smart with is his coaching team. Very quickly he realised his need to supplement his skills, there was talk of him exiting after his first couple of years but he was extremely shrewd bringing in Lancaster and now Nienaber. That has worked superbly and added a layer that really has made a tangible difference. Apart from that you were bang on the money… 😉😂
5 Go to commentsNot sure exactly what went wrong for him at Glasgow but it’s pretty clear he ain’t Franco’s cup of tea. Suspect he would have been better served heading out of Scotland around the same time as Finn, Hoggy and Jonny!
1 Go to commentsBulls disrespected the Northampton supporters and the competition. Decide quickly, fully in or out.
26 Go to commentsI wonder if Parling was ever on England’s radar as a coach? Obviously Borthwick is a great lineout coach, but I do worry he might be taking on too much as both head coach and forwards coach.
1 Go to commentsJason Jenkins has one cap. When Etzebeth was his age he had over 80 caps. Experience matters. He will never amount to what Etzebeth has because he hasn’t been developed as an international player.
2 Go to commentsSays much about the player picking this gig over the easier and bigger rewards offered to him in Japan. Also says a lot about the state sanctioned tax benefits the Irish Revenue offers pro rugby players, with their ten highest earning years subject to an additional 40% tax relief and paid as a lump sum, in cash, at retirement. Certainly helps Leinster line up the financial ducks in a row to fund marquee signings like this!!! No other union anywhere in world rugby benefits from this kind of lucrative financial sponsorship from their government…
5 Go to comments