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'We think he can get his game to the next level': Glowing endorsement for Hurricanes midfield

By Ben Smith
(Photo by Graham Denholm/Getty Images)

The Hurricanes run with Jordie Barrett at 12 was temporally over as head coach Jason Holland inserted Peter Umaga-Jensen alongside rising star Bailyn Sullivan for the side’s match against the Queensland Reds.

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The Hurricanes overcame a 17-deficit to build a 30-17 win over Brad Thorn’s side, in part due to the defence of their new midfield combination who were tasked with marking Wallaby hitman Hunter Paisami at outside centre.

Sullivan rebounded after an early yellow card for a tip tackle on Paisami to add two tries on the night, his first a long range intercept after an errant Reds’ pass was batted backward by Julian Savea.

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His second came in the 70th minute to seal the result when he won the race to a smart grubber kick by reserve first five Jackson Garden-Bachop.

The Hurricanes head coach had high praise for the performance of his three midfielders, with Billy Proctor coming into the game from the bench.

“Peter’s [Umaga-Jensen] obviously been desperate to get a start and done some really good things off the bench for us. I thought he was really solid tonight, he played really well,” he said.

“We’ve talked a lot about how we think he can get his game to the next level and I saw some real signs around that, especially around his D tonight.

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“Bailyn’s a massive threat in attack and D’d up really well so they were really good. And I actually thought Billy came on and was really solid for us when he came on and pushed
Bailyn to the wing.

“So really good signs and really competitive obviously with those three boys that can play there. Really happy with the way all the midfielders went.”

The Hurricanes new midfield combined with young first five Aidan Morgan who earned his third start after two showings against Moana Pasifika.

Holland was happy with how his young 10 is developing and the depth of the position within the squad with Ruben Love and the experience of Garden-Bachop.

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“I think Aidan is developing really well. He’s a confident young man, he’s a really good 10,” he said.

“They’re quite different, the 10s we’ve got, they’re quite different in the way they play, different strengths. Whoever’s got the attributes that we want and think can win the
game against certain opposition we’ll play.

“Jackson [Garden-Bachop] came on and put the game away quite nicely too. All capable and we’re confident we can throw all of them in. Plus Ruben [Love] is
obviously injured at the moment so it’s a good dilemma to have.”

 

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J
Jon 9 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”?

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