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'They can develop into a world-class midfield': Tony Brown's vision for Highlanders duo
Highlanders head coach Tony Brown believes his side’s midfielders who started against the Crusaders over the weekend could blossom into a “world-class” pairing.
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For the first time, Brown partnered promising 24-year-old Thomas Umaga-Jensen with two-test Tongan international Fetuli Paea in a starting lineup as the Highlanders fell to a 34-19 defeat to the Crusaders in Dunedin on Friday.
Both players were viewed as the preferred midfield options last year after Paea arrived at the Highlanders on a two-year deal following one season at the Crusaders.
Together, the duo offer plenty of power, pace, size and strength, which Brown got excited about when he unveiled his 2021 Highlanders squad.
At the time, Brown described Umaga-Jensen as “a bit of a beast” who was “weighing in at 113kg and running as quick as a winger”, while, in September 2020, he earmarked Paea as a player with “world-class” potential.
However, neither player took to the field alongside each other at all last year, with Paea’s campaign finishing before it even got going when a high ankle sprain sustained in pre-season prevented him from making his Highlanders debut.
Umaga-Jensen, meanwhile, continued to endure the injury woes that have plagued him since he was first signed by the Highlanders in 2018 as he only managed to feature twice last year, taking his career total for the franchise to 10 matches.
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In their absences, utility back Scott Gregory and the departed Michael Collins ended the season as the first-choice midfielders, but both Paea and Umaga-Jensen, the twin brother of one-test All Black Peter, appear to have turned a corner.
The former made his long-awaited Highlanders debut against the Chiefs a fortnight ago, while the latter looks to have kept his injury concerns at bay thus far this season.
As such, the pair made their much-anticipated starting debut alongside each other against the Crusaders over the weekend, with Umaga-Jensen promoted to the No 12 jersey after impressing off the bench against the Chiefs.
Following a quiet showing in his side’s season-opener the week beforehand, Paea was thoroughly involved throughout the course of the fixture as he constantly got in the face of his former teammates with quick defensive line speed.
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The 27-year-old also carried frequently, as did Umaga-Jensen, occasionally to powerful effect, and while they didn’t set the world alight in their first start together, Brown said he saw enough to show they could prosper into a dangerous midfield pairing.
“I think both Tuli [Paea] and Tug [Umaga-Jensen] were outstanding in the midfield,” Brown told media after his side’s loss to the Crusaders at Forsyth Barr Stadium.
“Both of them haven’t played a lot of rugby and they haven’t played a lot together, so that’s a pretty exciting midfield combination for us. I’m hoping with more game time, they can develop into a world-class midfield.”
All indications, then, point towards Brown retaining Umaga-Jensen and Paea – who is now eligible for the All Blacks after having not played for Tonga since 2018 – for this weekend’s clash against the Hurricanes in Dunedin.
Their selection chances look likely after Brown implored his side to provide the same energy that saw them begin their match against the Crusaders with such a ferocity that earned them a 13-0 lead after only 15 minutes.
That much will be even more important given the Hurricanes are riding high after their last-gasp 33-32 win over the Blues on Saturday, a match that the Wellington-based side’s midfielders, Julian Savea and Bailyn Sullivan, shone in.
Eager to negate the threat posed by Savea Sullivan, Brown could do worse than to thrust Umaga-Jensen and Paea back into his starting midfield as their search for a first-up win this season continues.
“I was just proud of the intensity and physicality we brought to the challenge tonight,” the Highlanders boss said of the Crusaders match.
“I think if there’s any area of the game we need to improve on, it’s just to be able to do it again against the Hurricanes, because this competition doesn’t get any easier, it just gets harder, so we’ve got to get up and bring the same intensity and physicality next week.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Dagg is still trying to get enough headlines to make himself relevant enough to get a job. The Crusaders went back to square one at all levels. Shelve this season and nail the next one.
4 Go to commentsHe was in such great form. Sad for him but only a short term injury and it will be great to see him back for the finals.
1 Go to commentsAfter their 5/0 start, I had the Crusaders to finish Top 4 only…they lost the plot in Perth but will reload and back themselves vs 4th placed Rebels…
3 Go to commentsBoth nations missed a great opportunity to book a game that would have had a lot of interest from around the world. I understand these games can’t be organised in 5 minutes but they should have found a way to make it happen. I don’t think Wales are ducking anyone but it’s a bad look haha.
3 Go to commentsIt will be fascinating to see the effect that Jo Yapp has. If they can compete with Canada and give BFs a run for their money that will be progress
1 Go to commentsFollowing his dream and putting in the work. Go well young fella!
3 Go to commentsPerhaps filling Twickenham is one of Mitchell’s KPIs. I doubt whether both September matches will be at Twickenham on consecutive weekends. I would take the BF one to a large provincial stadium so as not to give them the advantage and experience of playing at Twickenham before a large crowd prior to the RWC.
3 Go to commentsvery unfortunate for Kitshoff, but big opportunity potentially for Nché to prove he is genuinely the best loosehead in the world, rather than just a specialist finisher. Presuming that if Kitshoff is out, it will also give Steenekamp a chance to come into the 23? Or are others likely to be ahead of him?
1 Go to commentsA long held question in popular culture asks if art imitates life or does the latter influence the former? Over this 6 nations I can ask the same question of the media influencing the thoughts of its audience or vice versa. Nobody wants to see cricket scores in rugby, as a spectacle it is not sustainable. With so many articles about England’s procession and lack of competition it feeds the epicaricacy of many looking for an opportunity to pounce. England are not the first team to dominate nor does it happen only in rugby, think Federer, Nadal, Red Bull or Mercedes, Manchester Utd, Australia in tests and World Cups. Instead of celebrating the achievements why find reasons to falsify it pointing towards larger playing pool, professional for a longer period or mitigate with the lack of growth in other nations. Can we not enjoy it while it is here and know that it won’t last for ever, others coveting what England have will soon take the crown, ask the aforementioned?
6 Go to commentsShame he won’t turn out for the Netherlands now they’re improving. U20s are Euro champs and in the U20 Trophy this year. The senior sides gets better every year too.
3 Go to commentsWill rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
6 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
6 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
3 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
36 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
3 Go to comments