'It would be nice to have top six': Dane Coles on Super Rugby Pacific playoffs
Hurricanes star Dane Coles says he would like to see the Super Rugby Pacific playoffs reduced from eight teams to six sides.
Speaking ahead of his side’s quarter-final clash against the Brumbies in Canberra on Saturday, Coles carefully delivered his verdict about the competition’s current playoff structure, which has come under criticism for its bloated nature.
As things stand, eight of Super Rugby Pacific’s 12 teams qualify for the post-season, with the Highlanders claiming eighth place this year despite winning just four of their 14 regular season matches.
That has led to questions about whether the southerners deserve their place in the post-season, and while the current playoff system has been defended by some in recent days, Coles said he would like to see a format change.
“It would be nice to have top six, but the Landers are going to go out there and try beat the Blues, aren’t they?” Coles said on Thursday.
“None of us can control how they do the top eight or top six, but, maybe looking forward, you want to look at it a bit differently.
“I know those Landers boys have thrown a bit on social media and they’re pretty keen to get stuck into the Blues. Fair credit to them, they’ll turn up and play, but that’s out of my packet to restructure the comp.”
The clash between the Blues and Highlanders will take place only a couple of hours before the Hurricanes do battle with the Brumbies in Canberra for a place in the Super Rugby Pacific semi-finals.
Both teams head into that match on the back of losses, with the Hurricanes having fallen short against the Western Force in Perth last weekend.
The Brumbies, meanwhile, will be aiming to snap a three-match losing streak after suffering defeats to the Crusaders, Blues and Moana Pasifika.
However, the Brumbies have also enjoyed plenty of success against Kiwi opposition this season, having beaten the Highlanders, Hurricanes and Chiefs earlier in the year.
It’s for that reason that Coles said Australia’s top-ranked side cannot be taken lightly by the Hurricanes, who have been bolstered by the returns of Jordie Barrett and Julian Savea into their match day squad.
“I think obviously the weekend was disappointing, but I think the big thing for us is we’ve had to move on pretty quick,” Coles, who has been named to start at hooker against the Brumbies, said of the Force loss.
“Not dwell on it too much because we’re into the business end of the season, so we took a few little learnings out of it.
“I think the excitement of just playing the Brumbies in a quarter-final, obviously the record’s not great, but what a challenge for us of going out and putting a performance we can be proud of.
“They’re a quality team, but there’s massive belief in this group that we can give it a good crack.”
Hurricanes assistant coach Chris Gibbes echoed that sentiment, noting that while there was a sense of “complacency” from his side against the Force, there is a strong feeling within the squad that they can beat the Brumbies at GIO Stadium.
“All our energy’s gone into this. We’ve worked really hard during the regular season to get to this point. We’re in the playoffs and we get 80 minutes to prove how good we are, and that’s what we’re focused on,” Gibbes said.
“We’re excited as hell about it, there’s a lot of belief in the group that we can achieve this, so we put our energy into that and it’s exciting.”
Comments on RugbyPass
The shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
1 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
8 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
56 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
8 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to comments