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'It's been frustrating for the players and it's been frustrating for the coaches'

By Tom Vinicombe
(Photo by Michael Bradley/Getty Images)

Despite injuries taking their usual toll on the Chiefs, head coach Clayton McMillan has typically refrained from making too many changes to his team from week to week.

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The obvious exception came when the Chiefs played their dead-rubber match against the Blues in the final round of the regular Super Rugby Aotearoa season.

McMillan made 21 positional changes for that match, including naming six players to make their Chiefs debuts.

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There’s been relative consistency in the starting lineup throughout the rest of the Waikato-based side’s campaign, however.

Aidan Ross, Samisoni Taukei’aho and Angus Ta’avao have been the preferred front-row while Tupou Vaa’i and Naitoa Ah Kuoi have been the regular selections at lock.

Luke Jacobson has been the preferred starter at number 8 while Mitch Brown and Pita Gus Sowakula have shared the blindside flanker duties, depending on who’s fit at the time. Sam Cane wore No 7 to begin the year while Lachlan Boshier has taken over since the All Blacks captain’s season-ending injury.

This weekend, Ta’avao, Ah Kuoi and Sowakula are all absent from the starting side.

The former two are both sidelined with injury while Sowakula has dropped to the bench with centurion Liam Messam promoted into the first XV.

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Youngster Josh Lord will retain his place from last week’s match in Ah Kuoi’s absence while Sione Mafileo has been promoted to wear the No 3 jersey. Internationals Zane Kapeli and the returning Atu Moli will provide cover from the bench.

“We’re carrying a fairly dinged up squad at the moment,” McMillan said after naming his team for Saturday’s clash with the Brumbies.

“In some positions we’re starting to run pretty thin. The most obvious one is lock, where [regular loose forward] Zane’s been used.”

Even after factoring in injuries, the consistency hasn’t quite been there in the backs – although halfback Brad Weber and midfielder Anton Lienert-Brown have started most matches in their respective positions.

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The other centre position was Quinn Tupaea’s for the early stages of the Chiefs’ campaign before injury forced him to the sidelines and Alex Nankivell stepped into the vacated role.

In the outside backs, however, changes have come by the bucketload.

Damian McKenzie’s regular switching between fullback and first five is just one cause of the constant disruption, but McMillan has also been frustrated that no one has really put their hand up to demand selection with the opportunities they’ve been given.

Former Hurricane Jonah Lowe has been excellent on the both wings and has been called upon whenever fit while Etene Nanai-Seturo’s excellence on attack made up for his sometimes less than savoury defence.

Nanai-Seturo has now linked up with the New Zealand sevens side, however, which has forced McMillan to rethink his selections – and that’s causing a few headaches.

“In the backs, particularly around our back three, for a good portion of the season we’ve seen a little bit of rotation there and it’s been frustrating for the players and it’s been frustrating for the coaches that no one has really taken the opportunity to bang the door down and say, ‘Hey this is my jersey’,” McMillan said.

“It’s not that Shaun [Stevenson] played poorly last week, we’re just searching for that person to put their hand up and say, ‘Hey, I’m the guy’. It’s a little bit of a Ferris wheel there. Hopefully sooner rather than later we settle on a combination.”

It’s Waikato utility back Bailyn Sullivan who will wear the No 14 jersey on the Saturday – for the second time this season, after starting in the game against the Blues.

He’s one of three players to suit up on the right wing, alongside Stevenson and Lowe.

This weekend, Lowe will again wear No 11 in Nanai-Seturo’s absence – though the injured Sean Wainui has also been given a chance there this season.

A wild card option for McMillan is 20-year-old Gideon Wrampling, who has been named in the New Zealand Under 20 squad for 2021. Wrampling was handed a debut off the bench against the Blues but hasn’t featured since, but has all the skills necessary to excel at Super Rugby level.

Somewhat ironically, former Chief Solomon Alaimalo – who many considered an All Blacks in waiting – shifted south to the Highlanders at the beginning of the season in the search for more regular game time at fullback but has had few chances to press his claim in Dunedin.

The Chiefs kick off their match with the Brumbies at 7:05pm NZT on Saturday.

Listen to the latest episode of the Aotearoa Rugby Pod below:

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J
Jon 1 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”?

34 Go to comments
j
john 4 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.

15 Go to comments
A
Adrian 6 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

15 Go to comments
T
Trevor 8 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

21 Go to comments
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