'It breaks my heart to see him playing at the Blues' - The player that prevented Ma'a Nonu from returning to the Hurricanes
If Hurricanes head coach John Plumtree had it his way, Ma’a Nonu would be back at the franchise he began his career with.
Instead, Nonu will face Plumtree’s in a Blues kit when the two clubs face off in Auckland on Friday.
That didn’t stop the 53-year-old from lathering the 103-test veteran in praise upon his return to Super Rugby following a three-season stint in the French Top 14 with Toulon.
Plumtree told Stuff that while a move back to the Kiwi capital is something he would have pushed for, the presence of blockbusting second-five Ngani Laumape meant he didn’t require Nonu’s services.
“Ma’a is an absolute legend in Wellington and it breaks my heart to see him playing at the Blues, but when you’ve got another big midfielder here like we’ve got in Ngani, it was obviously a tough decision to not chase Ma’a to come back to us,” Plumtree said.
Plumtree first worked with Nonu while he was head coach of the Wellington NPC side between 2001 and 2006, making the then 23-year-old captain of the side in 2005, before the duo linked up again in 2015 when Plumtree was assistant coach of the Hurricanes as Nonu returned to the club from a second season-long stint with the Blues.
“Ma’a has been an absolute ultimate professional through his career. When I selected him as captain back then, he was a ratbag. I was probably trying to give him a bit of leadership responsibility.
“He’s just grown as a man and as a leader, and he’s been absolutely fantastic for any team he’s represented, and the Blues are benefiting from that now.
“We’ve had to do a lot of homework on how he’s playing for the Blues and we know that we’ve got to look after him this week. He’s not just a finisher, but a playmaker as well and a smart defender. He’s going really well for them.”
This weekend will be the first time Nonu has featured against the side of which he played 126 times for between 2003 and 2011, and then again in 2015.
He will come up against Laumape in what could effectively be an All Blacks trial for the second-five position as preparations for this year’s World Cup begin to ramp up.
Blues head coach Leon MacDonald has rung the changes for the clash, making seven personnel changes in the starting lineup and further six on the bench following his side’s disappointing 26-21 loss to the Brumbies in Canberra last weekend.
The Hurricanes, meanwhile, have made just three changes to their starting side and another three in their reserves as they welcome back skipper TJ Perenara from his All Blacks rest week.
Blues: 1. Karl Tu’inukuafe, 2. James Parsons, 3. Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 4. Patrick Tuipulotu, 5. Jack Goodhue, 6. Dalton Papali’i, 7. Blake Gibson (c), 8. Akira Ioane, 9. Sam Nock, 10. Harry Plummer, 11. Rieko Ioane, 12. Ma’a Nonu, 13. TJ Faiane, 14. Tanielu Tele’a, 15. Melani Nanai
Reserves: 16. Leni Apisai, 17. Ezekiel Leidenmuth, 18. Marcel Renata, 19. Scott Scrafton, 20. Jed Brown, 21. Augustine Pulu, 22. Otere Black, 23. Matt Duffie
Hurricanes: 1. Toby Smith, 2. Asafo Aumua, 3. Jeff To’omaga-Allen, 4. James Blackwell, 5. Isaia Walker-Leawere, 6. Vaea Fifita, 7. Ardie Savea, 8. Reed Prinsep, 9. TJ Perenara, 10. Beauden Barrett, 11. Ben Lam, 12. Ngani Laumape, 13. Matt Proctor, 14. Wes Goosen, 15. Jordie Barrett
Reserves: 16. Ricky Riccitelli, 17. Fraser Armstrong, 18. Ross Geldenhuys, 19. Kane Le’aupepe, 20. Du’Plessis Kirifi, 21. Finlay Christie, 22. James Marshall, 23. Chase Tiatia
The Short Ball:
Comments on RugbyPass
Brayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
5 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.
27 Go to commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
5 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to comments