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Last chance saloon for Ngani Laumape?
Patrick McKendry / NZ Herald
One of the more surprising aspects of the Hurricanes’ relatively close quarter-final victory over the Bulls was how well the visitors contained second-five Ngani Laumape, a player with 11 tries this season but who hardly fired an attacking shot last weekend.
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He and the Hurricanes will have plenty to ponder over the next few days ahead of their semifinal against the Crusaders in Christchurch on Saturday because if the same thing happens, they’ll have next to no chance of an upset victory against a side who haven’t lost a home playoff match in 22 attempts.
Laumape is the Hurricanes’ go-to guy in terms of providing them momentum against rush defences. The Crusaders will certainly provide that as they seek to again disrupt Beauden Barrett and so there will be an expectation that Laumape will buy the visitors time and space with his carrying against two fellow All Black midfielders in Ryan Crotty and Jack Goodhue.
Strangely, he ran only six times with the ball against the Bulls in his team’s 35-28 win, and made only three tackles (missing one). He passed the ball only four times. For such an important player to handle the ball so infrequently is odd.
There is even more at stake for him in Christchurch. If the 26-year-old can rediscover his attacking and defensive spark there, he will impress the All Blacks selectors hugely and do no harm to his World Cup hopes.
At the moment, he is probably behind Crotty, Goodhue, Anton Lienert-Brown and Sonny Bill Williams in the pecking order, with Crusader Braydon Ennor also in the mix, and so it’s entirely possible that despite being close to unstoppable at times for the Hurricanes this season, he could miss out on a trip to Japan.
The selectors feel that good performances during the pressure and intensity of a playoffs match is a greater indication of a player’s readiness to go to the next level.
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There has never been that doubt with Crotty, Goodhue or Williams, and the selectors admire Ennor, likely to again be named on the bench on Saturday, for his pace, decision-making and ability to play in the midfield or as an outside back.
Lienert-Brown’s greatest strength as far as the All Blacks are concerned is his ability to add impact off the bench.
Last year, Laumape was told by Steve Hansen and company to work on his communication with first-five Barrett.
“We have got a plan for Ngani,” Hansen said after Laumape wasn’t included in the Rugby Championship squad.
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“We want him to spend some time with a little bit less pressure, working on his ability to help his first-five control the game.
“With Ngani, we just want him to have more of a voice, and to learn how to use that, and to be more confident in using it — rather than just being out there and doing his thing. It’s about seeing the bigger picture.”
Laumape, a schoolboy rugby player who spent time with the Warriors before returning to the code via Manawatu and the Hurricanes, has probably made improvements here but if ever there was a time for him to get more involved, it is now, because as their head coach John Plumtree said after their recent win, they need to get everything right against the defending champions.
“It’s a formidable pack and we are mindful of that,” assistant coach Carlos Spencer told Radio Sport’s D’Arcy Waldegrave of the Crusaders. “But look at their backline, some of the quality players they’ve got out there as well means they’re a very good side all over the pitch.
“We’ve definitely got talent, no doubt about that.
“It’s about getting them ball, and front-foot ball. If we’re struggling up front, it’s hard for our boys out the back to get quality ball and show what they can do.”
This article first appeared on nzherald.co.nz and is republished with permission.
Comments on RugbyPass
Dagg is still trying to get enough headlines to make himself relevant enough to get a job. The Crusaders went back to square one at all levels. Shelve this season and nail the next one.
4 Go to commentsHe was in such great form. Sad for him but only a short term injury and it will be great to see him back for the finals.
1 Go to commentsAfter their 5/0 start, I had the Crusaders to finish Top 4 only…they lost the plot in Perth but will reload and back themselves vs 4th placed Rebels…
3 Go to commentsBoth nations missed a great opportunity to book a game that would have had a lot of interest from around the world. I understand these games can’t be organised in 5 minutes but they should have found a way to make it happen. I don’t think Wales are ducking anyone but it’s a bad look haha.
3 Go to commentsIt will be fascinating to see the effect that Jo Yapp has. If they can compete with Canada and give BFs a run for their money that will be progress
1 Go to commentsFollowing his dream and putting in the work. Go well young fella!
3 Go to commentsPerhaps filling Twickenham is one of Mitchell’s KPIs. I doubt whether both September matches will be at Twickenham on consecutive weekends. I would take the BF one to a large provincial stadium so as not to give them the advantage and experience of playing at Twickenham before a large crowd prior to the RWC.
3 Go to commentsvery unfortunate for Kitshoff, but big opportunity potentially for Nché to prove he is genuinely the best loosehead in the world, rather than just a specialist finisher. Presuming that if Kitshoff is out, it will also give Steenekamp a chance to come into the 23? Or are others likely to be ahead of him?
1 Go to commentsA long held question in popular culture asks if art imitates life or does the latter influence the former? Over this 6 nations I can ask the same question of the media influencing the thoughts of its audience or vice versa. Nobody wants to see cricket scores in rugby, as a spectacle it is not sustainable. With so many articles about England’s procession and lack of competition it feeds the epicaricacy of many looking for an opportunity to pounce. England are not the first team to dominate nor does it happen only in rugby, think Federer, Nadal, Red Bull or Mercedes, Manchester Utd, Australia in tests and World Cups. Instead of celebrating the achievements why find reasons to falsify it pointing towards larger playing pool, professional for a longer period or mitigate with the lack of growth in other nations. Can we not enjoy it while it is here and know that it won’t last for ever, others coveting what England have will soon take the crown, ask the aforementioned?
6 Go to commentsShame he won’t turn out for the Netherlands now they’re improving. U20s are Euro champs and in the U20 Trophy this year. The senior sides gets better every year too.
3 Go to commentsWill rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
6 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
6 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
3 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
37 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
3 Go to comments