The three players capable of changing the Highlanders' fortunes in Super Rugby Aotearoa
It’s been three months since Super Rugby – or any kind of professional rugby, for that matter – took place.
That’s a long time between drinks, but that’s all set to change this week when the highly-anticipated Super Rugby Aotearoa campaign kicks-off this weekend under the roof of Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin.
It’s there where the Highlanders will have the unenviable task of playing hosts to the Chiefs, who were high-flyers in Super Rugby before its suspension 13 weeks ago.
With the likes of Aaron Cruden, Damian McKenzie and Brad Weber pulling the strings in the backline, and Lachlan Boshier and Aidan Ross providing serious grunt up front, Warren Gatland’s men were sitting in fifth spot with four wins from six outings before the action was brought to a halt.
In stark comparison, the Highlanders were lagging behind in 11th place, securing just one victory from six matches.
That’s left the southerners considered serious underdogs to even challenge for the New Zealand domestic crown, with the TAB paying an incredible $31 for them to emerge as champions at the time of writing.
No doubt the most optimistic punters will take their chances with those odds, but they’ll be hoping for vast improvements from a side that badly underfired in the opening rounds of the original competition.
Many onlookers targeted the blame for the Highlanders’ lacklustre start towards the decision to play All Blacks first-five Josh Ioane out of his regular position to accomodate new recruit Mitch Hunt.
Instead, Ioane was fielded at No. 12 in every match he played between February and March, with the franchise eager to deploy a dual playmaking axis in the five-eighth positions as they endeavoured to shift the ball wide quickly and early.
The old adage of ‘earning the right to go wide’ rang true, though, as the Highlanders frequently leaked tries through interceptions or misplaced passes in defeats to the Sharks, Crusaders, Rebels and Bulls.
The extended time off has given head coach Aaron Mauger and his assistants plenty of time to reflect, reassess and make amendments to their game plan leading into the new competition.
That has led to the decision to reinstate Ioane back in the No. 10 jersey, where he flourished and earned a maiden All Blacks call-up last year.
One-test All Blacks first-five Josh Ioane's midfield experiment for the Highlanders is over.https://t.co/tIiTL5yis0
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) May 27, 2020
In doing so, however, Mauger issued a stern warning to his squad’s forward pack, who he believes made Hunt’s task of guiding his team around the park a difficult one.
“I think Mitch Hunt probably copped a lot of flak through that period that was unjust,” Mauger said last month.
“When your forward pack’s on the front foot, the game’s a whole lot easier and we didn’t provide that as a pack, so we made our No. 9’s and No. 10’s job really hard in that early part of the season, so all the things we know Mitch is capable of as a class fly-half he wasn’t able to always deliver.”
“The challenge for us is to make sure our pack’s firing, and that’s where we’ve put a bit of accountability on those boys.”
For all the benefits that the Highlanders are set to reap from Ioane’s shift back to first-five from the midfield, that hasn’t been the biggest talking point of the coronavirus-enforced lay-off for the Dunedin club.
That mantle belongs to All Blacks wing Nehe Milner-Skudder, who was a shock signing as injury cover for the likes of Connor Garden-Bachop, Thomas Umaga-Jensen and the injury-cursed Tevita Nabura last month.
The 13-test World Cup-winning star joins the club after a deal with French side Toulon fell through due to the ongoing rehabilitation of a problematic shoulder.
The former Hurricanes flyer’s inclusion in the squad will add both excitement and experience to a team that is lacking the latter attribute following the exodus of an array of long-serving players last year, as well as their skipper James Lentjes, who succumbed to a season-ending injury against the Rebels.
The outside back department was hit particularly hard, with Ben Smith and Waisake Naholo among those to have departed, so the addition of both Milner-Skudder and All Blacks Sevens star Vilimoni Koroi will be warmly welcomed.
The postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics until next year has allowed Koroi to come into the side a season earlier than expected after the 22-year-old signed a three-year deal with the club that was set to commence in 2021.
“It’s awesome to have a few new faces in after the break,” Highlanders midfielder Teihorangi Walden said last month.
“Those boys coming into our environment have added a lot already. Skudz and Vils, they’re awesome, they’re electric on the field and they’ve definitely added into our environment already and I’m sure they’ve got plenty more to offer too.”
That means there will be plenty of competition for places in the outside backs, with Jona Nareki, Josh McKay, Michael Collins Tima Fainga’anuku, Ngane Punivai, Scott Gregory and Chris Kuridrani also vying for starting spots in the back three.
“It’s good, though, that stuff,” Collins told RugbyPass of the fight on his hands to retain his place at fullback last week.
“That’s going to bring out the best in everyone in those positions, so even if you’re not playing, you realise you’ve got to step up every training.
“I think it’s pretty exciting, it’s already created a lot of buzz, so those two [Milner-Skudder and Koroi] are going to do pretty well.”
Milner-Skudder’s involvement in Saturday’s clash against the Chiefs remains unlikely as he continues to work through his shoulder issues, while whether Koroi takes part remains to be seen.
Either way, Mauger is upbeat about his side’s chances in front of what’s set to be a packed crowd this weekend.
“The Chiefs, they’re high on energy, obviously got a good buzz in their environment, they’ve played some good footy,” he said.
“They’re a pretty dangerous side. They’ve got some threats. Damian McKenzie’s in good form, Aaron Cruden has been outstanding for them in those early rounds, so I’m sure they’ll be looking to pick up where they left.
“They like to keep the ball alive, that’s certainly some parts of their game that we’ve looked at, so I’m sure we can expect the same, especially when they come down here under the roof, they’ll be excited about playing with dry ball – as will we.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Super rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
7 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
7 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
14 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
14 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
6 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
22 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
7 Go to comments