Two Super Rugby coaches assess lessons from pre-season hitout

Sacred Heart College in Auckland played host to the first Super Rugby Pacific pre-season game of the year between New Zealand sides, when the Blues took on the Hurricanes on Friday afternoon.

The sunny summer afternoon saw the two teams combine for 80 points in the four-quarter showdown, where the away side from Wellington came out on top, 44-36, over the Blues.

Hurricanes first five Lucas Cashmore played a big part in two tries, while Blues winger and former All Blacks Sevens star Cody Vai impressed with a solo try for the Auckland-based franchise.

Both sides used all of their squads, with both coaches experimenting with different combinations and players ahead of the new season.

Speaking to media post-match in Auckland, Blues head coach Vern Cotter admits it’s less about the result of these pre-season games, and more about the work rate the players showcase.

“You’re looking at work rate, looking at how players connect and work together. You’re looking at simple things, the big rocks of the game. You’re looking at your set piece and you’re looking your defence,” Cotter said on Friday. 

“So the boys are saying just now, there’s no better reference than actually playing a game. You can train all you want. You don’t get the real until you start firing real bullets to actually know if you’re on or not. 

“So that’s our first reference point, and I thought there’s some real good stuff there.”

And overall, Cotter is pleased with the performance of his players, especially with the number of changes in personnel throughout the contest.

“So if you round it up, you got the more experienced team that started the first half, and the younger boys coming through in the second half. 

“I’m really pleased with what the young boys brought, and the old boys, they take a little bit longer. They’re big diesel, so they take a while to warm up. So they’ll get another crack at the Crusaders next week.

For Clark Laidlaw, who is going into his third season as head coach of the Hurricanes, he’s confident his team approached the pre-season clash with the right mindset.

“It’s a professional sport, we’ve got to get ready to play Moana Pasifika, and it’s a chance for you to practice and be better,” Clarklaw told media post-match.

“Players want to play in game one, so we approached this with a real mindset around getting after the game and trying to be physical around the areas we want to be physical. 

“So certainly not holding back, and you can see that I thought some of the work we’ve done in defense and that sort of last third was really encouraging.

“So yeah, Cory Jane was happy.”