Highlanders to bring same staunch attitude - Super Rugby 2018 Preview
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.
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.
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.
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)
More Super Rugby Previews
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Comments on RugbyPass
🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
26 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
1 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 Crusades , you can keep going.
1 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!😭😭😭 !!!
26 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
26 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.
26 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 commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
26 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
11 Go to comments