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We know the Highlanders have an astute, new-look coaching team led by former Leicester Tigers coach and former All Blacks five-eighths Aaron Mauger.
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We know they have nine past or present All Blacks in their ranks. And we know they will be tight, determined, and often hellishly difficult to put away. We just do not know where they will finish up, but they will hope to place higher than seventh (as in 2017) to avoid long-distance hauls in late July.
The draw is in their favour, with little early travel, as is the fact that Ben Smith will almost be jumping out of his skin to play after his sabbatical. Come to think of it, Smith always jumps out of his skin when he wears the Highlanders jersey. His co-captain will be the admirable Maori All Blacks hooker Ash Dixon, who has leapfrogged Liam Coltman in the rankings.
The tight five have few big names, but will be industrious, and the Steelers’ Kalolo Tuiloma is an interesting addition to Super Rugby. Two years ago he was 181kg!
Lock Alex Ainley is out to prove that 36-year-olds should not be put out to pasture. The seven loose forwards include four All Blacks in new international Dillon Hunt, Elliot Dixon, just over a long-term bicep concern, the bruising Liam Squire and the accurate Luke Whitelock.
They will win enough ball for Aaron Smith and Lima Sopoaga, before he links with Wasps, to carry out the game plan and provide prime attacking opportunities for men such as Matt Faddes, and potent finishers Waisake Naholo and Tevita Li. The versatility and skill of rookie Canterbury and NZ Under 20 outside back Josh McKay will be highly valued.
The big loss will be centre Malakai Fekitoa, whose driving defence was punctuated by moments of attacking brilliance in his four successful years with the franchise. Richard Buckman, the Barracuda, could fill the void, and his versatility and uncanny ability to pop up at the right time with or without the ball could be telling.
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The coaching staff are all South Islanders: Mauger, Glenn Delaney, Cory Brown, Mark Hammett and Clarke Dermody. That won’t be a bad thing.
In summation, the Highlanders again do not possess as much X-factor as some of the other New Zealand squads, but the groundwork laid by Jamie Joseph, which culminated in the 2015 title, is still infused in this group. Under-rate them at your peril.
One to watch
Just 20, Thomas Umaga-Jensen is coming off a breakout Mitre 10 Cup season with the Wellington Lions.
He scored five tries and beat 31 defenders in reproducing some of the form that made him a schoolboy star with Scots College from 2014-15. Umaga-Jensen, nephew of Tana Umaga, also looked noticeably trimmer after a difficult 2016. He could well challenge for a starting berth in the Highlanders’ midfield, especially after the exit of Fekitoa.
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Umaga-Jensen played for the 2015 NZ Schools and would have made the 2014 side if his mother had not decided to pull he and his twin Peter out of the reckoning, saying they needed to knuckle down to exams. Fair call, that.
2018 Predictions
New Zealand Conference Placing: 3rd
Player of the Year: Lima Sopoaga
Rookie of the Year: Thomas Umaga-Jensen
Best Signing: Dillon Hunt
Breakout Player: Tevita Li
Squad Movements
Ins: Tyrel Lomax (Tasman), Kalolo Tuiloma (Counties Manukau), Paripari Parkinson (Tasman), Dillon Hunt (Otago), Shannon Frizell (Tasman), Josh Ioane (Otago), Thomas Umaga-Jensen (Wellington), Tevita Nabura (Counties Manukau), Josh McKay (Canterbury)
Outs: Siua Halanukonuka (Glasgow, Scotland), Craig Millar (Sunwolves), Joe Wheeler (Panasonic, Japan), Gareth Evans (Hurricanes), Shane Christie, Marty Banks (Treviso, Italy), Malakai Fekitoa (Toulon, France), Patrick Osborne (Panasonic, Japan), Jason Emery
Squad:
Forwards: Liam Coltman, Greg Pleasants-Tate, Ash Dixon (c), Guy Millar, Aki Seiuli, Tyrel Lomax, Daniel Lienert-Brown, Siate Tokolahi, Kalolo Tuiloma, Paripari Parkinson, Josh Dickson, Jackson Hemopo, Tom Franklin, Alex Ainley, Elliot Dixon, James Lentjes, Dillon Hunt, Dan Pryor, Shannon Frizell, Liam Squire, Luke Whitelock
Backs: Aaron Smith, Kayne Hammington, Josh Renton, Josh Ioane, Fletcher Smith, Lima Sopoaga, Teihorangi Walden, Rob Thompson, Matt Faddes, Sio Tomkinson, Richard Buckman, Thomas Umaga-Jensen, Tevita Nabura, Tevita Li, Waisake Naholo, Josh McKay, Ben Smith (c)
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Comments on RugbyPass
Jake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
13 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
3 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to commentsHe is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
1 Go to commentsWhat do you get if you cross a doctor with a fish? A plastic sturgeon
14 Go to commentsWhat 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.
3 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.
3 Go to commentsJake White talks more sense than anything I've read in the last 5 years. Hope someone's listening.
13 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.
13 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 comments