How the Highlanders are preparing for life after Aaron Smith
The Highlanders will be without the services of Aaron Smith for the first time in a dozen years come 2024, ending an historic era for the club and providing a potential shift in attacking identity.
With Smith’s second-to-none passing accuracy and game management, the Highlanders team benefitted from direct distribution and direction as a foundation of their attacking play.
Now, with the role of the halfback in the modern game varying thanks to the running threat of the likes of Antoine Dupont and Jamison Gibson-Park, especially against rushed defensive lines, the Highlanders have the chance to evolve their attack and play to the strengths of their next generation of talent.
“When you’re putting together a way of attacking, you’ve got to think about the players who do have and what attributes they have,” says new attack coach Kenny Lynn.
“The team is changing now with the likes of Aaron leaving. There’s a chance to use the likes of Folau [Fakatava] in different ways in how we attack off No 9, but also vary it up, and also attack one or two passes a little bit wider.
“I see a willingness to attack the line, and I just see guys [Cam Millar and Ajay Faleafaga] who will certainly improve with time.
“I saw that with Ajay over the NPC season [with Otago]. Cam just needs to get consistent time on the field with his body.
“But, certainly with Cam, I see someone who’s a thinker of the game, with a kicking game, but they don’t mind attacking.
“It means that we can do a little bit more from that point of attack.”
Miller and Faleafaga are both recent New Zealand U20 playmakers who will compete with new recruit and former Welsh international Rhys Patchel for minutes in the 10 jersey. Sam Gilbert has also made an impression at first five-eighth in the 2023 season.
Fakatava’s running game has consistently injected an energy and a different dimension to the Highlanders’ attack when subbed on for Smith later in games, catching defenders around the ruck napping and pressing the line in addition to his snappy deliveries.
The halves will have some new talent in the wide channels to find space for as well, with the additions of Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens and Timoci Tavatavanawai. Both outsides offer very elusive threats for different reasons.
Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens shone in Taranaki’s NPC-winning campaign this year, operating at both fullback and wing.
“I see what he’s done for the Blues and what he did for Taranaki this year. I think he was one of the best in the competition, and he was playing both [positions],” Highlanders coach Clark Dermody said.
Dermody ultimately hinted at his electric newcomer playing the fullback role, while there are no questions over Tavatavanawai’s spot being on the wing.
“They’re two different types of players, but the way defence is now you can have whatever shape you want, but sometimes you just need someone who’s capable of doing something a little bit special,” Lynn continued.
“That’s exactly why we wanted those kind of guys. What we do have in the Highlanders is a bunch of very good, hard-working players who will get the ball and work hard.
“Sometimes you just need a little bit of difference to break it up, but that’s hard to coach.”
Comments on RugbyPass
I am really looking forward to Leigh Halfpenny playing his first Super rugby game for the Crusaders Playing a long side his former Welsh and Scarlets team mate Johnny McNicoll.Johnny has been playing great, back in a Crusaders jersey.The attack has strengthened big time. Also looking forward to David Havili at 10. David is a class act, it also allows Dallas McLeod to remain at 12. A good thing.
1 Go to commentsIf he had stopped insisting on playing in the backrow, instead of wing, where everyone told him he should, he would have been a Bok years ago….
11 Go to comments‘Salads don’t win scrums’ 😂 I love that.
19 Go to commentsCan’t wait for the article that talks about misogyny in Ireland. Somehow.
16 Go to commentsI would like to see a rule change, when the attacking team is held up over the try line, by allowing the defensive team to restart a goal line drop out releases the pressure for the defensive team, but what if the attacking team had to restart a tap 5m out from the defensive team it gives the attacking team to apply more pressure, there are endless options for the attacking side and it will keep the fans in suspence.
2 Go to commentsLess modern South African males predictably triggered.
16 Go to commentsMy heart is with Quins, but the head is convinced Toulouse have too much. Ntamack is back, his timing and wisdom has been missed.
1 Go to commentsWow, what a starting line up for the Sharks) Tasty up front,kremer vs Tshituka or venter …fiery ,,Lavannini ,,will he knobble etzebeth? Biggest game for belleau?
1 Go to commentsIt was rubbish to watch, Blues weren’t even present. Did what they had to do, nothing more. Should be better next week against canes.
1 Go to commentsI’ve just noticed that this match has an all-French refereeing team. Surely a game like this ought to have a neutral ref? Although looking at the BBC preview of the Saints game, Raynal is also down as reffing that - so there may be some confusion about who is reffing what.
1 Go to commentsIf Havili can play anywhere in the back line, why not first 5. #10.
11 Go to commentsThe dressing room had already left for their summer break before they ran out in Dublin that year, and that’s on the coach. Franco Smith has undoubtedly made progress, particularly their maul, developing squad players and increasing squad depth. And against a very tight budget too. That said they were too lightweight last year and got found out against both Toulon and Munster in consecutive games. Better this season so far but they’ve developed something of a slow start habit occasionally, most notably losing at home to Northampton who played them at their own game. Play offs will ultimately show whether there has been tangible progress on last year, or not…!
2 Go to commentsAustralian Rugby has been a disaster, by not incorporating learning from previous successful campaigns. QLD Reds 2011 - Waratahs 2014. Players, coaches and administrators appoint there representatives for scheduled meetings, organisation’s agreement’s assessments and correspondence. This why a unified Rugby Union under one entity works. Every Rugby nation has taken that path. Was most difficult in the Northern hemisphere with over 100 years of club rugby before the game become professional. Took a lot of humility for those unions to eventually work together.
7 Go to commentsThough Wilson’s sacking was pretty brutal, it wasn’t just down to that Leinster game; Glasgow had a lot of 2nd half collapses that season, in the URC and Europe, and only just scraped into the playoffs. Franco Smith has definitely been an improvement, some players are delivering far more than they did under Wilson.
2 Go to commentsjesus - that front 5!
1 Go to commentsShould be an absolute cracker of a game! Will be great to see DuPont & Ntamack in tandem once again🔥
1 Go to commentsBest team ever…. To have played? These guys are still pressure chokers. Came nowhere when it counted. What a joke
84 Go to commentsMusk defends anonymous terrorism, fascism, threats against individuals and children etc etc But a Rugby club account….lock ‘em up!!!
2 Go to commentsActually the era defining moment came a few years earlier. February 2002 to be precise, when Michael D Higgins as finance minister at the time introduced his sports persons tax relief bill to the dial. As the politicians of the day stated “It seems to be another daft K Club frolic born in Kildare amongst the well-paid professional jockeys with whom the Minister plays golf” and that the scheme represented “a savage uncaring vision of Ireland and one that should be condemned”. The irfu and Leinster would be nowhere near the position they are in today without this key component of the finances.
5 Go to commentsIt is crystal clear that people who make such threats on line should be tried and imprisoned. Those with responsibility in social media companies who don’t facilitate this should be convicted. In real life, I have free speech to approach someone like Reinach and verbally threaten him. I am risking a conviction or a slap but I could do it. In the old days, If someone anonymously threatened someone by letter the police would ask and use evidence from the postal system. Unlike the Post, social media companies have complete instant and legal access to the content in social media. They make money from the data, billions. Yet, they turn a blind eye to terrorism, Nazi-ism and industrial levels of threats against individuals including their address and childrens schools being published online all from ananoymous accounts not real people. They claim free speech. Free speech for anonymous trolls/voilent thugs threatening people under false names? The fault is with the perps but also social media companies who think anonymous personas posting death threats constitutes free speech.
2 Go to comments