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Hurricanes welcome back four All Blacks for final pre-season clash against Highlanders
Four All Blacks will make their first appearances for the Hurricanes this year after being named to start against the Highlanders in their final pre-season match in Alexandra on Friday.
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Jordie Barrett, Ngani Laumape, Asafo Aumua and captain Ardie Savea will all start the match at Molyneux Park, provided it goes ahead under New Zealand’s current alert level two restrictions in regions outside of Auckland.
Head coach Jason Holland has also kept last year’s All Blacks squad member Du’Plessis Kirifi and former All Blacks wing Julian Savea in the starting lineup, with both players playing in last week’s game-of-three-halves against the Blues and Chiefs.
Other All Blacks – such as Peter Umaga-Jensen (paternity leave) and Dane Coles, who is slowly working his way back into action following a recent run of injuries – will sit out the fixture.
Hurricanes assistant coach Chris Gibbes was uncertain whether Coles would be available for next week’s Super Rugby Aotearoa season-opener against the Blues.
“We’re taking his training day by day, and it’s a bit hard to say at the moment,” he said, according to Stuff.
Elsewhere, halfback Jonathan Taumateine will don the No. 9 jersey in the absence of veteran TJ Perenra, who is on sabbatical in Japan.
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The 24-year-old, who has been used sparingly since joining the Hurricanes from the Chiefs last year, will link up with first-five Jackson Garden-Bachop in the halves.
That could well be the franchise’s top option at that positional group heading into the Super Rugby Aotearoa season, with Perenara and Jamie Booth (broken leg) out of the selection frame at halfback.
The Hurricanes also have Bay of Plenty rookie Luke Campbell in their ranks and called in Counties Manukau youngster Cam Roigard as injury cover for Booth, but Taumateine remains the most experienced of the trio.
Garden-Bachop, meanwhile, ended last year as the side’s premier No. 10, and is unchallenged to retain that role after Simon Hickey was ruled out for the entire season due to a ruptured ACL.
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Injury cover Orbyn Leger took part in the game-of-three-halves in Upper Hutt, and has been named on the bench to provide back-up to Garden-Bachop.
Ex-All Blacks captain Kieran Read is set to team up with Wallabies skipper Michael Hooper for the first time ever this weekend.https://t.co/IJoavqmNPD
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 17, 2021
Gibbes said it was important Taumateine takes his opportunity well on Friday with neither Perenara nor Booth standing in his way.
“When you’re filling the shoes of someone like TJ it takes a while to build that confidence and to stand up and demand something of the forwards which is what all good nines should be doing: barking at the forwards and they will respond to that,” Gibbes said.
“We’ve put some challenges down for those nines to get to that point. Those connections take time, and they’re working hard. It’s always a work in progress.”
Highlanders chief executive Roger Clark said earlier this week a decision about whether the match would go ahead would be made on Wednesday evening, but the fact that the Hurricanes have named a team is a positive sign.
Hurricanes team to face the Highlanders in Alexandra on Friday
1. Xavier Numia
2. Asafo Aumua
3. Alex Fidow
4. James Blackwell
5. Scott Scrafton
6. Devan Flanders
7. Du’Plessis Kirifi
8. Ardie Savea (c)
9. Jonathan Taumateine
10. Jackson Garden-Bachop
11. Wes Goosen
12. Ngani Laumape
13. Billy Proctor
14. Julian Savea
15. Jordie Barrett
Reserves: James O’Reilly, Tyrone Thompson, Tevita Mafileo, Tyrel Lomax, Pouri Rakete-Stones, Caleb Delany, Liam Mitchell, Vaea Fifita, Brayden Iose, Zane Kapeli, Tyler Laubscher, Luke Campbell, Cam Roigard, Orbyn Leger, Danny Toala, Vince Aso, Salesi Rayasi, Pepesana Patafilo, Lolagi Visinia, Ruben Love.
Comments on RugbyPass
To me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
30 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
2 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
30 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
49 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
30 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
30 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
30 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
30 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
1 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to commentsObscene that SA haven’t been knocking
1 Go to commentsChances of Blackadder being injured seem too high to give him serious consideration. ABs loosie combination finally looked good with 2 committed to tackling and clearing rucks in the centre and Ardie roaming. Hoskins/Ardie together would force one of them into where they don’t excel and don’t get to use their talent, or require a change in tactics. If we continue to evolve last years systems I would take Papali’i and Finau at 6 and 7 (conceding that Blackadder will be injured) and Ardie at 8.
30 Go to commentsArdie’s preferred position 7? Where do they get these writers from? I've no idea where he's playing in Japan, but the previous two seasons he wore the 7 jersey exactly twice.
17 Go to commentsNot good to hear Ulster described as “financially troubled”. Did not think it was getting to that level. I would hope the Irish system of spreading players of talent away from Leinster would kick in now. Better to have a Leinster fringe player with Ulster or Connacht, then getting only a few games a season in Dublin. 10, for example, would seem to be a case for spreading the talent. I would not be at all adverse to a SA man coming in as head coach/DR. Ludeke is worth trying. Certainly got a long and impressive coaching career at this level…..149 games in SR, then Japan, 30 years experience. And Ulster’s ledger of successful SA coaches and players is on the positive side. Is talk of Ruan Pienaar interested in coming back as a coach…..could be a good combination with Ludeke. And Pienaar and family would have no settling in to do, one would judge. He loved life in Ulster when there, by all reports.
1 Go to commentsSome thoughts to consider here, Sam. Thanks
2 Go to commentsI think he is right, SBW is respected in RSA. The guy who never stood up is a worm. Sseems lots of NZ SBW hate, you do the crime do the time.
17 Go to comments