'We've just got to have a plan': Hurricanes boss explains omission of young duo
Hurricanes head coach Jason Holland has explained the exclusions of young stars Ruben Love and Salesi Rayasi from his side to face the Crusaders on Saturday.
The Hurricanes are looking to bounce back from consecutive defeats against Moana Pasifika and the Chiefs at Sky Stadium in Wellington this weekend, but will do so without two of their most promising youngsters in Love and Rayasi.
Love has been touted as one of the best prospects in Holland’s squad, generating headlines last year when he was thrusted into the Hurricanes’ starting lineup at first-five while still a teenager when they hosted the Crusaders in Super Rugby Aotearoa.
In what was only his second-ever outing, and first-ever start, as a full-time professional, the then-19-year-old acquitted himself impressively against the serial title-winners in a match that the Hurricanes only lost in extra-time.
Since then, much has been made of Love’s potential, with last year’s New Zealand U20 representative – who is capable of playing first-five and fullback – tipped to play a prominent role for the Hurricanes in the years to come.
However, after having started at fullback against the Chiefs last week, the now-20-year-old finds himself on the bench for his side’s clash against the Crusaders.
Including this weekend’s match, Love will have started only three of the six games played by the Hurricanes this year as he struggles to embed himself in Holland’s starting lineup on a regular basis.
As such, Holland was met with plenty of questions about Love’s status when speaking to media on Thursday, especially after he lost his starting fullback spot to little-known Southland rookie Josh Moorby.
In response, Holland explained that he is eager to see what Love can produce from the reserves late in this weekend’s fixture.
“We think that Josh is pretty unique in the way he’s smart and gets in the game. Not that anyone else isn’t, but I just like the idea of Rubs coming off the bench this week at 10 or at 15 and sort of change the game a little,” Holland said.
When pressed about the lack of continuity Love has received in his selections this season, Holland added that was a factor he and his fellow selectors considered when picking a team for this week, but noted there is a long-term plan in place for the young gun.
“It’s a good question, because our job is to help continue players and to keep our young players going, and, don’t get me wrong, Rubs is going pretty good. Sometimes you’ve just to keep making calls that are the best for the team at the time,” Holland said.
“We need to keep balancing that because he’s a super rugby player and we’ve just got to have a real plan around how we make sure that the team’s doing well and Rubs is gaining lots of confidence as he goes. Same for any player we put in.”
Although he has opted for experienced pivot Jackson Garden-Bachop at No 10 this week, Holland said that he views Love as a long-term first-five who also has the ability to slot in at fullback if need be.
As for Rayasi, whose imposing physical frame and elusive running ability has caught the attention of many in recent seasons, Holland said he hasn’t done anything wrong despite having not started since his side’s win over the Highlanders last month.
The high-flying wing got his season off to a rapid start in the opening few weeks of Super Rugby Pacific, impressing with a hat-trick of tries in his first appearance of the year to help the Hurricanes to a late comeback win over the Blues in round two.
Since then, though, Rayasi has been limited to just one more start – against the Highlanders – and has featured just once off the bench, making an appearance in the defeat to Moana Pasifika.
For the third time this season, the 25-year-old hasn’t been included in his side’s match day squad, but Holland said the form of incumbent wings Wes Goosen and Julian Savea meant their selections were warranted.
He added that “the media and the public get carried away with who’s scoring tries” while explaining the reasoning behind Rayasi’s omission.
“Nothing. He’s been really good,” Holland said when asked what Rayasi had done to not be selected to face the Crusaders.
“As I said, we think that Wes and Jules [Savea] have been pretty solid. I know there’s a couple of things that we’ve nailed out around our [defence] from the weekend, but, Sas [Rayasi], he was good and he showed improvement.
“Sometimes the media and the public get carried away with who’s scoring tries without looking at some of the smaller detail, but we’re really happy how Sas has gone.
“As I said earlier, it’s a massive week ahead for people to play some footy and take some opportunities both as a group and individuals.”
Meanwhile, Holland said there was plenty to like about Jordie Barrett as a second-five after naming him there for a second week running, but didn’t rule out the possibility of shifting him back to fullback, where he has primarily played throughout his career.
“I think, defensively, around collisions, he was outstanding for us and stopped a lot of their attack. I think he’s still giving a lot of direction to how we’re going to play the game,” Holland said of the 36-test utility back.
“He’ll do a good job there again this week, but obviously a pretty outstanding 15, so we’ll see what happens.”
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