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Luka Connor: 'It’s unbelievable to think that rugby is my job'
Chiefs Manawa are into the final of Super Rugby Aupiki with a fortnight remaining in the regular season.
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The 2023 runners-up have won all four matches and confirmed their place in the decider last Friday with a resounding 43-12 thumping of Hurricanes Poua in Palmerston North.
Black Ferns hooker Luka Connor has been instrumental in Manawa magic. She has scored a record 15 tries in 12 matches; an architect and benefactor of an imposing lineout drive.
In the 38-22 victory against reigning champions Matatu, Connor became the first forward in Aupiki history to score a hat-trick. All three tries were scored from mauls.
“The lineout is such a big thing. Everyone involved has to nail their role. The throw has to be on, the jump, the lift, everything tight,” Connor told Rugby Pass.
“As a forward pack, we’ve nailed those areas and that’s special. If the lineout drive is our weapon, we’re going to keep using it until we can’t,”
“We’re lucky we’ve got Charmaine Smith and Chelsea Bremner making the lineout calls. They share that responsibility and their chemistry and experience are huge.
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“There are so many calls they have, we don’t know which one is coming, and sometimes you don’t hear it, but it’s all about nailing positions and working together.”
It’s perhaps ironic leading Black Ferns are embracing the lineout drive with such enthusiasm. England has come under fire from some New Zealand critics for their frequent use of the maul.
However in the 2022 Rugby World Cup final at Eden Park the Black Ferns scored twice from the maul themselves. Professional rugby demands the repeating of good habits.
“It’s unbelievable to think that rugby is my job. A couple of years ago we couldn’t believe we had a one-off Super Rugby game. Now we get paid as Chiefs Manawa and have two rounds of Aupiki,” Connor said.
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“This competition is only going to get better. For the next generation, there’s a possibility that girls can leave school and go straight into professional rugby. It could be like the men where we play Super Rugby half the year with Australia and then play internationals.”
Clinical play from the Chiefs Manawa 😮💨#Aupiki24 #LoveEveryMinute pic.twitter.com/FXhiN6iFOd
— Super Rugby NZ (@SuperRugbyNZ) March 25, 2024
While Connor always has an eye on the future she is very much stuck in the present. She insists the Chiefs haven’t thought about the final which is likely to be against this weekend’s opponent, the Blues.
“We beat the Blues 17-10 a couple of weeks back. It was a messy game in not-perfect weather. Hopefully, it will be more entertaining this weekend.
“If you look at the Blues team they’re pretty much the Auckland Storm that won the FPC [Farah Palmer Cup] last year. They’ve been together a while and when they get it right, they’re a good team.
“It’s pretty wild to think that Matatu has been knocked out but that shows how the competition has evolved and how any team can win on the day. “
The Chiefs have shown they can win without Connor. Against Poua, Japanese international Seina Saito played hooker and scored two tries.
Backrowers Mia Anderson, Kennedy Simon, and Victoria Edmonds have impressed. The switch by Grace Steinmetz from wing to second-five has been a masterstroke. Black Ferns winger Ruby Tui has caught fire.
Connor will likely add to her 20 Black Ferns Test matches in the World Rugby Pacific Four Series against the USA, Canada, and Australia in May. Last year she made six appearances for New Zealand but it wasn’t always smooth sailing for the World Champions.
“We’re in a development phase, which is no excuse for not coming through against England. We had a few debutants who mixed well with the older players. That bodes well for the future,” Connor said.
“I enjoyed the Test against Canada. They have a different style of play, fit and fast. Typically they’ve replied on Sophie de Goede but they’re a growing threat across the park. Their home crowd was very passionate.”
The Black Ferns achieved their 100th Test win 52-21 in Ottawa in July, Connor scored one of their eight tries.
The penultimate round of Super Rugby Aupiki kicks off on Friday afternoon with Matatu hosting Poua in Christchurch. The Chiefs host the Blues at FGM Stadium in Hamilton on Saturday.
Comments on RugbyPass
Why cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to comments