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Hurricanes' explosive No 8's journey through injury battles to become Crusader killer

By Adam Julian
Brayden Iose of the Hurricanes during the round 15 Super Rugby Pacific match between Hurricanes and Crusaders at Sky Stadium, on June 03, 2023, in Wellington, New Zealand. (Photo by Masanori Udagawa/Getty Images)

Brayden Iose laughs he has a better relationship with the Hurricanes physiotherapists than his teammates.

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Serious injuries to a hip, wrist, and both knees’ have side-lined Iose for extensive chunks of his professional career. He missed the whole of 2018 injured and last year was restricted to just six appearances for the Hurricanes.

On Saturday, Iose scored the game-winning try against the Crusaders. With seven minutes remaining, and the Hurricanes only leading 22-19, he fended off Scott Barrett and Joel Lam in a scintillating 25m burst off the back of a scrum.

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“We got a good hit in the scrum and remained stable, so I had a good picture of where to go and what to do next,” Iose told RugbyPass.

“I was pretty excited when I saw the space down the short side. Having a crack and expressing myself is the way I like to play the game. I never thought, ‘we’ve got them’, after the rush of the try, it was about the next job.”

Iose was earmarked early to deliver moments of exceptional mental clarity and athleticism. He captained the New Zealand Secondary Schools’ in 2016 but until this season has struggled to settle in Super Rugby.

Iose joined the Hurricanes in 2018 and has only managed 11 games until 2022. This year he’s made 13 appearances, including a handful of starts.

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“She’s been pretty tough with all the injuries. I owe LeeVan Santos and Nicole Armstrong a lot. They’ve been amazing with their patience and my rehabbing.

“Recovery, routine, and how you fuel your body is super important. I’ve also picked up a few tips from older guys about how to manage consistent injuries. These things might not save you, but they help a young fella reduce risk and come back stronger.”

In April, Iose scored two tries in a 45-35 victory against the Force in his hometown of Palmerston North. In May against the Chiefs, his startling turn of pace saw him score a try after an intercept at halfway.

The Hurricanes rallied from a 19-3 deficit against the Crusaders. Iose was yellow-carded for a shoulder-to-head tackle in the first half that was considered for a red upgrade.

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“That was anxious. There was no malice in it, but I got my technique and timing wrong,” Iose admitted.

“Tevita Mafileo chopped at the legs, and I didn’t adequately adjust the height in time. It all happened very quickly. I was doing cartwheels when I was told it wasn’t red. I wanted to come back on and contribute positively,”

Vintage fire from Dane Coles in his final match in Wellington also helped the Hurricanes.

“Colsey brings so much edge and niggle. He’s inspirational for all the boys. His critical thinking and experienced advice are awesome too,” Iose said.

The Hurricanes second half was easily their best display of the season albeit in a fixture that didn’t prevent the Crusaders from hosting a quarterfinal.

The Hurricanes scored more tries (70) than any team in the round-robin but were frustratingly inconsistent at times with a shock loss to Fijian Dura as well as comprehensive setbacks to the Chiefs and Blues (twice). What do the Hurricanes look like at their best?

“Hurricanes rugby is exciting and about playing at a fast tempo and really nailing the physical aspect. If we do that everything flows from there and we feel like we can go toe to toe with anyone,” Iose responded.

“I don’t try and think about individual battles. I focus internally on what I need to do and how I can contribute collectively. I think our loose forwards complement each other. We’ve got a lot of healthy competition.”

The Hurricanes travel to GIO Stadium in Canberra to play the Brumbies in the 4 v 5 quarter-final on Saturday. The Brumbies eliminated the Hurricanes in the corresponding fixture last year and Iose predicts a tough encounter.

“The Brumbies kicking game and maul is exceptional. We’ll have to be smart about how we defend the maul and accurate in our exits and moments we choose to attack.”

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J
Jon 9 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 11 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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