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The massive challenge facing last year's All Blacks bolter: 'That still all seems quite a long way away at the moment'

By Tom Vinicombe
Luke Jacobson. (Original photo by Michael Bradley/Getty Images)

The last time Luke Jacobson had any substantial minutes for a professional rugby side was in September, when New Zealand faced Tonga.

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The then-22-year-old was in his first season with the All Blacks, who were in the midst of their preparations for the Rugby World Cup.

Despite notching up just eight appearances for the Chiefs during Super Rugby and only 24 minutes in his international debut against Argentina, Jacobson was named in the squad to travel to the World Cup – illustrating just how highly the All Blacks coaches rated the promising loose forward.

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Tom Vinicombe talks to Auckland Blues and All Black prop Karl Tu’inukuafe about his career so far.

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Tom Vinicombe talks to Auckland Blues and All Black prop Karl Tu’inukuafe about his career so far.

Unfortunately for Jacobson, coming off the bench against Tonga was going to be his last act on the field for his national team in 2019. In fact, since that game in early September, Jacobson has only managed a 10-minute cameo off the bench for the Chiefs against the Brumbies this year.

That’s due to a combination of lingering concussion symptoms last year and, most recently, a problematic hamstring.

Needless to say, it’s been a frustrating period for the Waikato-man – but there’s light at the end of the tunnel.

“After six weeks off, it’s definitely right,” Jacobson told RugbyPass regarding the niggly hamstring issue.

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“I haven’t been held out of rugby at all from my concussion this year. I was ready to go but then in the pre-season with the Chiefs, I did something to my hamstring and it just put me on the sidelines for a few more weeks.

“Then, I got out for 10 minutes against the Brumbies and re-injured it – that put me on the sidelines until isolation started.

Jacobson was technically fit and ready to go after a few weeks of rest but wasn’t named in the Chiefs’ touring squad for their cancelled trip to South Africa.

“I hadn’t played any rugby [since recovering from the injury] and the other guys in my position were playing bloody well as well so that there wasn’t room for me on the tour at that stage,” Jacobson said.

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And while the Super Rugby suspension brought on by coronavirus has been a point of frustration for many a rugby player and fan, it’s given Jacobson plenty of time to ensure that his body is 100% fit for when the season kicks off again in mid-June.

“Isolation’s probably helped a little bit because I probably would have pushed to try get back a little bit early,” Jacobson admitted.

“I’ve been able to get in some real good training which I’ve been really happy with and get on top of a few other little injuries as well.”

Jacobson’s Chiefs haven’t been struggling with quite as many injuries this year as in the past – potentially due to the changes at training made by new coach Warren Gatland, which means that the abrasive flanker-cum-eighthman may face a tough struggle to force is way back into the squad.

Captain Sam Cane is an automatic pick while Lachlan Boshier’s performances have been second-to-none on either flank. Mitch Karpik and Pita Gus Sowakula have also had their moments while the likes of Mitchell Brown and Tyler Ardron have gone from strength to strength playing lock.

“We’ve had good competition in amongst us loosies and I think this year it’s shown a lot,” said Jacobson.

“Sam Cane’s always been the bloody leader there but we’ve got a lot of good competition between the rest of us and it drives you pretty well. There’s definitely not much of a drop off from player-to-player and we all bring different things to the game.”

Jacobson is also appreciative of Brown and Ardon’s exceptional contributions in the second row.

“It’s been working well for us this year,” he said. “I guess we probably are just a little bit short on genuine locks – big tall bastards – but I guess Tyler and Mitch probably bring something else to the game that maybe those big locks can’t.”

When Super Rugby returns next month, New Zealand’s five franchises will duke it out for ten weeks on the trot (with each team handed two byes) and, given the intensity and physical requirements of the local derbies, it’s hard to imagine coaches not rotating their players regularly.

One way or another, Jacobson will add some more minutes to his Super Rugby ledger in the coming months and while he will simply be happy to get out on the pitch and play some footy, the long-term goal must be to earn his spot back in the All Blacks.

Jacobson should take plenty of confidence into the re-formatted season, given that the national selectors opted to take the loose forward to Japan last year despite his limited experience.

“I didn’t play too much [in 2019] and that can take away a little bit of confidence but the coaches definitely didn’t look into that too much and backed what they had seen at the beginning of the year,” Jacobson said.

“I’m confident I can definitely get back to where I was but I know it’s not going to just happen, especially with what’s going on at the Chiefs at the moment as well. I mean, I’m going to have to work hard just to try and get back into the team here.

“I’m definitely not going to be taking anything for granted. I’m going to put my head down like anybody else but just worry about what’s in front of me first, rather than thinking, ‘I’ve got to be back in the All Blacks’ sort of thing.

“I’ve got to get back into the Chiefs first – into the XV and then go from there sort of thing. That still all seems quite a long way away at the moment.”

There’s no question that Luke Jacobson possesses the skills, attributes and mentality to play at the highest level of rugby and the 23-year-old is better versed in returning from injury than most of his peers. While his teammates and rivals have already been clocking minutes up across the park this year and showing the national selectors what they’re capable of, Jacobson now has the rare opportunity to enter what could be the toughest Super Rugby season on record with a completely fresh body, ready to do some damage.

It will take some brave men to take down the rampaging loose forward once he finds his feet back on the field – and it would take braver men still to predict that the black jersey isn’t back on offer for Jacobson again in the near future.

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Jon 3 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”?

35 Go to comments
j
john 6 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.

28 Go to comments
A
Adrian 7 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

28 Go to comments
T
Trevor 10 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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