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Rising Highlanders star may miss 2024 Super Rugby season with knee injury
The Super Rugby Pacific season is still five months away but bad news has befallen the Highlanders, with promising midfielder Thomas Umaga-Jensen suffering a knee injury in the NPC.
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The diagnosis is a ruptured ACL, an unfortunately common injury in the sporting world and one that often takes around nine months to make a full recovery from.
Umaga-Jensen has been a bright spark in an otherwise underperforming Highlander outfit in recent years, bruising his midfield opponents with hard running.
That damaging form is what the 25-year-old was hoping to build on in 2024 and progress his case at higher honours, but it’s likely he’ll miss at least a decent chunk of the season while rehabbing the injury.
The ligament damage was sustained in a loss to Bay of Plenty, the team announced.
“Thomas Umaga-Jensen has unfortunately sustained a serious knee injury last weekend,” Otago said in a statement.
“He has sustained an ACL rupture and he is now going through the process of seeing the knee surgeon and will undergo surgery in due course.”
The blow hits a rebuilding Highlanders franchise that lost 16 players at the conclusion of the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season.
Aaron Smith and Shannon Frizell are the headline names who are departing the club but are joined by some key contributors in the form of Josh Dickson, Marino Mikaele Tu’u and Mitch Hunt.
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New recruits include Fijian winger Timoci Tavatavanawai, former Blues dangerman Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens, one-time All Blacks camp attendee Mitchell Dunshea, Wales flyhalf Rhys Patchell and a host of young talent from around the region.
Off the field, the Highlanders made a major move by signing the influential Jamie Joseph to a newly created Head of Rugby role.
Joseph is currently at the Rugby World Cup as head coach of Japan.
“I guess there are some similarities between the Highlanders and Japan,” he said when the appointment was announced.
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“When I first started with the Highlanders they were on a bit of a lean run but over time we were able to connect with the community and put together a successful team and coaching group. I can see no reason why that cannot be repeated.
“It was a bit the same when I first came to Japan, I knew we would have to galvanise the public behind the Brave Blossoms for the World Cup tournament to be a real success in Japan. The key to that was always going to be a lot of hard work and a team playing a brand of rugby that folks could be proud of and excited by.”
Comments on RugbyPass
I’m not surprised by such ‘virtue signalling’ by Sonny Boy. Butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth. He’s such a pious Islamic muppet, imo.
39 Go to commentsI’ve actually never heard of the guy (then I don’t watch League as it is boring). But if he is good enough.. then good luck to him. If not, well, he can always return to league.
2 Go to commentsIt is pretty clear that by almost any measure that NZ are a more successful rugby nation than South Africa. Quite aside from the distasteful events during the last RWC final. NZ lead SA in all significant measurements.
37 Go to commentsDickson went to his pocket for a card, saw who it was, changed his mind and spoke at length to TMO. One angle clearly shows Care diving over a Saints player to kill the ball. 1st yellow, reason given for not Red was player was falling backwards. He was only falling backwards after contact with Lawes. Graham try should have stood. Mitchell did not have both hands on the ball, ball went forward from a Saints boot dragging over it. 2 intentional knock-on's. One of which had an overlap on the outside. If Quins are happy to win by intentional foul play, then it does not say much for them. Would appear to be a bad day for Karl Dickson, also for the RFU in appointing a Ref who spent 8 years as a player at one of the clubs.
1 Go to commentsLet’s not forget about Ardie Savea just yet.
4 Go to commentsThe URC and the Euro Championscup can’t run at the same time, basically dilutes both competitions.
1 Go to comments“While Sotutu should start at No.8 for the All Blacks against England, but it’s only in that arena that he can prove just how good he really is.” And that my friends is where simply hasnt shone despite multiple opportunities. Even in this performance you can see what did him in in the test arena..he almost always still runs at the opposition almost ramrod upright making him easier to stop than it should be.
4 Go to commentsShould have been 0-0 and a message from SR CEO to both teams - “don’t worry about turning up next year”.
4 Go to commentsGreat work Owen Franks. A great of this team, scoring his first try for the Crusaders since 2010.He was beaming, justifiably. A fine win, he and the rest did the job up front.
1 Go to commentsDanny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
4 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
4 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
4 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
39 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
4 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
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