'I can get Browny in the elevator or down the corridor and he can't walk the other way': Why tours are a welcome return for Super Rugby
While two and three-week international tours have been off the menu for Super Rugby since the global pandemic cut short last year’s season and effectively ended South Africa and Argentina’s involvement in the competition, overseas matches have at least made a return in this year’s Trans-Tasman tournament.
Tours provide players and coaches with the opportunity to better get to know one another away from the comforts of home and naturally lead to better relationships amongst squads.
Instead of heading home to family after practice, team members spend time interacting with and getting to know one another off the field.
As such, Chiefs assistant coach David Hill is pleased with his side’s current sojourn to Queensland – although the time away from home has now been extended due to the Rebels’ inability to travel to New Zealand.
“Not a lot of our crew have done lots of touring before,” Hill said on Tuesday afternoon. “A few young fellas haven’t done tours of Africa or anything like that.
“This week we’ve got a couple of down days that we’ve got team activities and that kind of thing and from a coaching perspective, our trainings won’t change too much in terms of how we train but there is good opportunities to spend some time together, having coffees, little chocolate cakes every now and then – whatever treats are going round.
“For the boys, they’ve played a lot of cards and hanging out so lots of benefits to being on tour from the coach and the players.”
“It’s the beauty of the tour. I can get Browny [Chiefs lock Mitch Brown] in the elevator or down the corridor and he can’t walk the other way.”
Brown agreed with his coach.
“It’s just being able to stay together, train together, eat together and just get around each other a lot more, whether it’s playing cards, talking around lineout with Lordy and Tups [Josh Lord and Tupou Vaa’i] and stuff like that,” he said. “Just being under the same roof obviously gives you a lot of time to discuss the upcoming matches and review and preview so it’s awesome.”
Talk about kicking a man when he's down… But at least the game is going ahead! #SuperRugbyTT #CHIvREBhttps://t.co/zugGePiZBo
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) June 2, 2021
The Chiefs travelled to Sydney on Wednesday in anticipation that their final home game of Super Rugby Trans-Tasman might get shifted to Australia and while Hill acknowledged that perhaps playing in Sydney might lead to fewer disruptions, the former All Blacks first five would still have preferred to take the team back to New Zealand and line up in front of the fans.
“We’ve got everything we need here, we’ve been looked after really well in Townsville,” Hill acknowledged. “We’ve got great facilities and resources, it’s all going pretty well.
“Obviously we want to get home for the game and do our part for the community and the Chiefs rugby club and try and bring some revenue in but it’s sort of out of our hands so we’ll just do what we can and keep training.
“[It might be] potentially simpler and easier [to remain in Sydney] but we love playing at home so I think everyone would just lump [the extra travel]. The travel’s the travel. Had a big old travel day before we got up here and we did that really well.
“It’s simpler being in one spot, yep, but we’re pretty keen to head home and play at home so we’ll see what pans out.”
Originally scheduled to play on Saturday in Hamilton, the Chiefs’ match against the Rebels has now been shifted to Sunday afternoon at Leichardt Oval in Sydney.
Comments on RugbyPass
The RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
1 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
2 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
2 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
2 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
2 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
4 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
21 Go to commentsJake 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
21 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.
4 Go to comments00 😍 U
1 Go to comments