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Nathan Hines' radical idea to lighten the load on his Top 14 players
With their Champions Cup hopes long gone, Montpellier’s energies are focused on the Top 14. However, they will still put pride on the line against European rivals Connacht this Sunday.
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“We underperformed again against Gloucester last weekend,” said assistant coach Nathan Hines, reflecting on last weekend’s 29-6 defeat at Kingsholm. “Our attack wasn’t working. Our defence didn’t work for the first 20 minutes – we’re struggling a bit with injury and sickness. We were up against it from the start. Indiscipline cost us. We didn’t play in the right areas of the field and we got punished.”
These are issues the staff at Montpellier want to get right before Connacht visit the GGL for a match that in qualification terms is a dead rubber but which Hines still regards as hugely important. “We’re at home. We want to carry a bit of momentum into the (Top 14) game against La Rochelle next week, which is important for us.
“Just because we cannot make it through in Europe doesn’t mean we’re any less motivated to win – it’s just there’s no carrot of qualification. We don’t want to get beaten at home.”
No one at the club is underestimating the challenge Connacht will set. They sit three points ahead of Montpellier in Pool Five and beat the French side 23-20 at the Sportsground in November. “They punch above their weight. They always do. They’re a very well organised team. They don’t have as many internationals as other teams, but they’re well-coached and well-drilled.
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“They sometimes lack a little power, but they’re traditionally tough to play against. What they have going for them that most teams don’t is that they play for each other. You can really see that they’re used to dogging it out together – they have a good team spirit. You can’t buy that.
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“A lot of teams don’t have that, but Connacht do and they can fall back on that when they have to – that’s what makes them so hard to play against.”
The French club’s season so far has been a muddle. After a slow start, they have edged their way into the sixth place in the Top 14 in a pack of teams including Toulon, La Rochelle, Racing 92, Toulouse and Clermont. But they have only won once in Europe and come into the final round of group matches rooted to the foot of Pool Five.
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Montpellier lost key players to the World Cup at the start of their campaign, including Louis Picamoles, Yacouba Camara and Frans Steyn, while new arrivals Handre Pollard and Guilhem Guirado, who picked up a serious injury in his sole outing for the club to date, were late to arrive which hit their plans.
Hines, though, also hinted at a deeper historical issue at the club. “This year’s a bit particular because you’ve had a World Cup. Players come back and they need time off – and then you’re straight into Europe and need results quite quickly.
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“It’s a funny year. A lot of guys have been getting a lot of minutes that they normally wouldn’t get, which makes them more fatigued than normal, and obviously internationals haven’t had a lot of prep time having been at the World Cup.”
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He refused to use the World Cup as an excuse: “You suck that up. All clubs are in the same boat, more or less, but you just give young guys the opportunity.”
For all Mohed Altrad-bankrolled money, giving youngsters a chance is a problem. “That’s where we’re lacking depth. Our centre de formation (academy) was depleted somewhat a couple of years ago under Jake White. Usually you can call on those guys to help you. We didn’t have that luxury.”
Now, with just matches against Connacht and La Rochelle before the international break, Hines has looked back at the first half of the season for Montpellier. “We could have done with winning the three games we’ve drawn,” he said. “Against Bordeaux at home, we could have played better… and the referee missed a key forward pass, which would have been nice for him to spot.
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“We were stupid away at Toulon – we had a penalty and then got into a scuffle, so the referee reversed it. That would have given us three pots for the win. We’ve got a difficult game against La Rochelle coming. They’re starting to find their way just a little bit. It’s going to be difficult.
“They’ve got a strong scrum whereas, at Montpellier, we’ve got the most penalised scrum in the competition. It’s going to be difficult but the ideal will be to go there and get some points.”
He admitted to wishing he could lighten the load on his players. “There is a lot of rugby in the Top 14 and the Premiership. It needs cutting. Maybe cut two teams out of the Top 14, to make it more competitive. There’d be fewer games for players – this season we started in August and we’ll finish in July. As a coach that’s demanding. As a player it’s even more demanding.
“The provinces in Ireland come under fire in England and France for rotating and protecting their players. If you can do that, do it. In Premiership and Top 14, they can’t. Players are playing a lot of games – and they don’t get as much protection from the unions as players in Ireland.”
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Comments on RugbyPass
Exeter were thumped by 38 points. And they only had to hop on a train.
29 Go to commentsI am De Groot.
1 Go to commentsHad hoped you might write an article on this game, Nick. It’s a good one. Things have not gone as smoothly for ROG since beating Leinster last year at the Aviva in the CC final. LAR had the Top 14 Final won till Raymond Rhule missed a simple tackle on the excellent Ntamack, and Toulouse reaped the rewards of just staying in the fight till the death. Then the disruption of the RWC this season. LAR have not handled that well, but they were not alone, and we saw Pau heading the Top 14 table at one stage early season. I would think one of the reasons for the poor showing would have to be that the younger players coming through, and the more mature amongst the group outside the top 25/30, are not as strong as would be hoped for. I note that Romain Sazy retired at the end of last season. He had been with LAR since 2010, and was thus one of their foundation players when they were promoted to Top 14. Records show he ended up with 336 games played with LAR. That is some experience, some rock in the team. He has been replaced for the most part by Ultan Dillane. At 30, Dillane is not young, but given the chances, he may be a fair enough replacement for Sazy. But that won’be for more than a few years. I honestly know little of the pathways into the LAR setup from within France. I did read somewhere a couple of years ago that on the way up to Top 14, the club very successfully picked up players from the academies of other French teams who were not offered places by those teams. These guys were often great signings…can’t find the article right now, so can’t name any….but the Tadgh Beirne type players. So all in all, it will be interesting to see where the replacements for all the older players come from. Only Lleyd’s and Rhule from SA currently, both backs. So maybe a few SA forwards ?? By contrast, Leinster have a pretty clear line of good players coming through in the majority of positions. Props maybe a weak spot ? And they are very fleet footed and shrewd in appointing very good coaches. Or maybe it is also true that very good coaches do very well in the Leinster setup. So, Nick, I would fully concurr that “On the evidence of Saturday’s semi-final between the two clubs, the rebuild in the Bay of Biscay is going to take longer than it is on the east coast of Ireland”
6 Go to commentsWhat was the excuse for the other knockout blowouts then? Does the result not prove the Saints were just so much better? Wise call to put your eggs in one basket when you’ve got 2 comps simultaneously finishing.
29 Go to commentsReally hope Kuruvoli and his partner rock the Canes.
1 Go to commentsI wonder what impact Samson has had on their attack, as the team seems less prone to trundle it up the middle, take the tackle and then trundle it up again. I lost faith in the coach last year as the Rebelss looked like a 2nd/3rd rate South African team. I also disliked Gordon standing back, often ignored as the forward battle went on and on. Maybe its our Aussie way of not getting off our A***’s until the enemy is at the gate.
83 Go to commentsThanks for the write up. Great to see the Rebs winning, I am a little interested in how they will go against the remaining kiwi teams, I think they’ve only played Hurricanes and Highlanders but how great to see these players performing!! I also see Parling has a job beyond June 30! A good move by RA? Also how do you fix the Rebels previously scratchy defence?
83 Go to commentsbe smart - go black
13 Go to commentsNext week the Crusaders hopefully have Scott Barrett back. Will be great to have the captain back. Hopefully he will be the All Black captain as well.
12 Go to commentsExciting place to be for the young fella. I expected he was French Polynesian when I saw him included in the France 6N squad (after seeing him in NZs), and therefor be strong grounds we might loose him to rugby down here. Good, in that he is good enough to warrant such a profile, and from a journalism’s fan interaction aspect, to finally get a back ground story on the fella. Hope he has settled into NZ OK and that at least one rugby country will fit with him to help his development, which, if so, he should surely continue for a few years, and then that he can experience France to it’s fullest with a bit more maturity and less reliance on family than you would have at his current age. A good 3 or 4 years before he would be ready for International duty if he wanted to wait. Of course he already sounds good enough to accept a call up, and to cap himself, in the more immediate future (he’d have to be very very good in the case of the ABs), and he’ll get a great taste of that being with the Canes who have a bunch who are just a few years further into their career and looking likely Internationals themselves.
13 Go to commentsI remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.
4 Go to commentsOh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on their @r$e$ one week later?
29 Go to commentsYou know he can land a winning conversion after the full time siren is up. (Even if it takes two attempts.)
5 Go to commentsA very insightful article from Jake. I would love to know how South African’s feel about their move to Europe. Do you prefer playing in Europe or want to go back to Super Rugby?
4 Go to commentspure fire
1 Go to commentsA very well thought out summary of all the relevant complications…agree with your ”refer the Cricket Test versus 20/20 comparison”. More also definitely doesn't necessarily mean better!
4 Go to commentsMust be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
13 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
6 Go to commentsI know Leinster did a job on La Roche but shortly after HT Leinster were 30-13 ahead of them and at a similar time Toulouse were trailing Exeter. At 60 mins Leinster were 27 ahead but after 67 mins Toulouse were only 19 ahead before Exeter collapsed. That’s heavier scoring by Leinster against the Champions. I think people are looking at Toulouses total a little too much. I also think Northhampton are in with a real chance, albeit I’d put Leinster as favourites. If Leinster make the final I expect them to win by more than ten and with control.
6 Go to commentsHey Nick, your match analysis is decent but the top and tail not so much, a bit more random. For a start there’s a seismic difference in regenerating any club side over a test team. EJ pretty much had to urinate with the appendage he’d been given at test level whereas club success is impacted hugely by the budget. Look no further than Boudjellal’s Toulon project for a perfect example. The set ups at La Rochelle and Leinster are like chalk and cheese and you are correct that Leinster are ahead. Leinster are not just slightly ahead though, they are light years ahead on their plans, with the next gen champions cup team already blooded, seasoned and developing at speed from their time manning the fort in the URC while the cream play CC and tests. They have engineered a strong talent conveyor belt into their system, supported by private money funnelled into a couple of Leinster private schools. The really smart move from Leinster and the IRFU however is maximising the Irish Revenue tax breaks (tax relief on the best 10 years earnings refunded at retirement) to help keep all of their stars in Ireland and happy, while simultaneously funding marquee players consistently. And of course Barrett is the latest example. But in no way is he a “replacement for Henshaw”, he’s only there for one season!!! As for Rob Baxter, the best advice you can give him is to start lobbying Parliament and HMRC for a similar state subsidy, but don’t hold your breath… One thing Cullen has been very smart with is his coaching team. Very quickly he realised his need to supplement his skills, there was talk of him exiting after his first couple of years but he was extremely shrewd bringing in Lancaster and now Nienaber. That has worked superbly and added a layer that really has made a tangible difference. Apart from that you were bang on the money… 😉😂
6 Go to comments