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Tony Brown hails all-international front row ahead of showdown with All Blacks props

Jermaine Ainsley. (Photo by Joe Allison/Getty Images)

The Blues may be without Karl Tu’inukuafe and Patrick Tuipulotu, but Highlanders coach Tony Brown has suggested that three All Blacks front-rowers should be enough to make the Blues scrum more than a formidable challenge for the Highlanders this weekend. Fortunately for Brown, the Highlanders have been cultivating a handy tight five of their own over the opening weeks of the Super Rugby Pacific season.

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While the Highlanders may be sitting on three losses from three matches played, their forwards have typically well and truly stood up to the might of the Chiefs, Crusaders and Hurricanes over the opening three rounds of the season. Tries have been hard to come by for the southerners, who have mustered just four to date – the worst-equal hit rate of any team in the competition. Up front, however, parity or better has been achieved against their Kiwi opposition.

“I don’t know if we’re in a better position or not [compared with last year] but definitely our boys are playing well,” said Brown after naming his side to take on the Blues on Friday.

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“We’re doing the simple things well in the set-pieces and our boys are getting around the park pretty well. Obviously having Jermaine Ainsley there has helped that.

“We’re pretty happy with where we’re at but the Blues are loaded with All Blacks so that’s going to be a different challenge altogether.”

 

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Three-test Wallabies prop Ainsley joined the Highlanders last year but was ruled out from taking part in the 2021 campaign through injury. The New Zealand-born tighthead – who is now eligible for the All Blacks due to last year’s changes to the World Rugby regulations – has been one of the Highlanders’ best performers this season, adding some additional starch to the set-piece while also showing up well in open play.

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Unsurprisingly, Ainsley has been called upon to make his fourth start of the season against the Blues in a front row that remains unchanged from the opening week of the competition. Similarly, Brown’s only made one change to the reserve front-rowers this year, with Saula Ma’u coming onto the bench last week for the injured Josh Hohneck. Hohneck, however, is back on deck to take on the Blues.

“I think we’ve actually created a bit of starting front row and then an impact front row and they’re all doing an amazing job,” Brown said. “I think Rhys Marshall’s adding a lot when he’s coming off the bench at hooker and then obviously Daniel Lienert-Brown’s probably playing the best rugby he’s played for the Highlanders in a number of years.

“Just really happy how all six of our front-rowers are going, really.”

With Ethan de Groot earning an All Blacks call-up last season, Liam Coltman managing a number of appearances for the NZ national side throughout his career and Ainsley representing the Wallabies back in 2018, the starting front row comprised of three internationals has been one of the key pillars of the Highlanders’ work this season, even if the team as a whole doesn’t have any victories to show for it just yet.

This weekend, they’ll front up against test props Alex Hodgman, Nepo Laulala and Ofa Tuungafasi (coming off the bench), which will prove another good litmus test for the Highlanders trio.

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The Highlanders will take on the Blues at Eden Park on Friday evening at 7:05pm NZT.

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f
fl 1 hour ago
Ex-Wallaby laughs off claims Bath are amongst the best in the world

I ultimately don’t care who the best club team in the world is, so yeah, lets agree to disagree on that.


I would appreciate clarity on a couple of things though:

Where did I contradict myself?

Saying “Trophies matter. They matter a lot. But so does winning games. So does making finals.” is entirely compatible with ranking a team as the best - over an extended period - when they have won more games and made more finals than other comparable teams. It would be contradictory for me to say “Trophies matter. They matter a lot. But so does winning games. So does making finals.” and then completely ignore Leinster record of winning games and making finals.


“You can get frustrated and say I am not reading what you write, but when you quote me, then your first line is to say thats true (what I wrote), but by the end of the paragraph have stated something different, thats where you contradict yourself.”

What you said (that I think trophies matter) is true, in that I said “Trophies matter. They matter a lot. But so does winning games. So does making finals.”. Do you understand that Leinster won more games and made more finals than any other (URC-based) team did under the period under consideration?


“Pointless comparison on Blackburn and Tottenham to this discussion as no-one includes them on a list of the best club. I would say that Blackburns title season was better than anything Tottenham have done in the Premier League. My reference to the league was that the team who finished second over two seasons are not better than the two other teams who did win the league each time. One of the best - of course, but not the best, which is relevant to my point here about Leinster, not comparing teams who won 30 years ago against a team that never won.”

I really don’t understand why you would think that this is irrelevant. You seem to be saying that winning trophies is the only thing that matters when assessing who is the best, but doesn’t matter at all when assessing who is 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc.


“What I referred to in my Leinster wouldn’t say the were the best is your post earlier where you said Leinster were the best overall. You said that in two separate posts. Seasons dont work like that, they are individual. Unless the same team keeps winning then you can say they were the best over a period of time and group them, but thats not the case here.”

Well then we’ve just been talking at cross purposes. In that my position (that Leinster were the best team overall in 2022-2024) was pretty clear, and you just decided to respond to a different point (whether Leinster were the best team individually in particular years) essentially making the entire discussion completely pointless. I guess if you think that trophies are the only thing that matters then it makes sense to see the season as an individual event that culminates in a trophy (or not), whereas because I believe that trophies matter a lot, but that so does winning matches and making finals, it makes it easier for me to consider quality over an extended period.

24 Go to comments
M
MT 1 hour ago
Ex-Wallaby laughs off claims Bath are amongst the best in the world

As I said in one of my first replies to you - we can agree to disagree. If you want to leave it no problem. I completely disagree with your ranking of Leinster as the best team in the world. Now you have said you will change it if Bordeaux win the Top 14. Well as Leinster themselves prioritise the CC over the URC and Bordeaux won the CC, how are they not ranked higher by you? Are Leinster one of the best teams, yeah - never said they weren’t. But not the very best team, as the very best team have trophies to show for their seasons. They matter when you discuss the very best.


You can get frustrated and say I am not reading what you write, but when you quote me, then your first line is to say thats true (what I wrote), but by the end of the paragraph have stated something different, thats where you contradict yourself. Just so we are clear, you said you would too on my statement that I would rather be a fan of a team that won a trophy over the three seasons, but end the paragraph saying you would rather be a fan of the team that won the most matches but didn’t win a trophy. Both cant be true. Thats one example of where you contradict yourself.


Pointless comparison on Blackburn and Tottenham to this discussion as no-one includes them on a list of the best club. I would say that Blackburns title season was better than anything Tottenham have done in the Premier League. My reference to the league was that the team who finished second over two seasons are not better than the two other teams who did win the league each time. One of the best - of course, but not the best, which is relevant to my point here about Leinster, not comparing teams who won 30 years ago against a team that never won.


What I referred to in my Leinster wouldn’t say the were the best is your post earlier where you said Leinster were the best overall. You said that in two separate posts. Seasons dont work like that, they are individual. Unless the same team keeps winning then you can say they were the best over a period of time and group them, but thats not the case here.

24 Go to comments
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