What Dane Coles expects from the USA, Wales, Italy, Ireland and France
It has been some time since veteran All Blacks hooker Dane Coles has played international rugby, but the 34-year-old is as excited as ever to get back onto the field at test level.
Coles was one of five All Blacks – including captain Sam Cane, Sam Whitelock, Shannon Frizell and uncapped lock Josh Lord – who embarked on a trip to Washington DC on Thursday ahead of the team’s clash against the USA Eagles next weekend.
The quintet of players either haven’t played for the All Blacks for an extended period of time for a variety of reasons, or, in the case of Lord, haven’t played for the All Blacks at all.
Instead, while the All Blacks secured the Rugby Championship title in Australia over the past month-and-a-half, the five aforementioned players remained in New Zealand, where they rehabilitated, trained and played at various levels of the game.
For Coles, the reason he didn’t travel across the ditch with the Ian Foster’s squad – which is still based on the Sunshine Coast and will link up with the recently-departed group of players in the American capital on Sunday – was due to injury.
The 76-test rake was supposed to play off the bench in New Zealand’s opening Bledisloe Cup win over the Wallabies at Eden Park in August, but was withdrawn at the last minute due to a calf injury that has proved troublesome in years gone by.
Coles didn’t feature in the following week’s series-clinching win over Australia in Auckland, and he was then left out of the travelling All Blacks squad to recuperate and get himself back to full fitness ahead of the end-of-year tour.
It means that, up until last week’s 47-minute appearance for Wellington against Canterbury in the NPC, Coles hadn’t played rugby of any kind since the All Blacks thumped Fiji 60-13 in Hamilton in July.
Starved of test rugby for three months, Coles is understandably excited to get back into the swing of things ahead of New Zealand’s five-test tour of the northern hemisphere.
“Pretty pumped, to be fair,” he told reporters on Thursday when asked of how he feels being back in the All Blacks environment.
“Really excited to join the lads. I’ve watched enough footy, but there’s a few of us that are pretty keen and hopefully can bring a bit of energy to the group.
“Keen to go over to Washington and just get stuck into training and obviously give ourselves a chance of playing, so can’t wait.”
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Given his prolonged spell without action, Coles must be a frontrunner to be included in the match day squad to face the United States at FedEx Field next Sunday morning (NZT).
That match is expected to end in a heavy victory in favour of the All Blacks, especially considering the USA lost to Uruguay in a World Cup qualifier last weekend and suffered a 74-6 thumping at the hands of New Zealand last time they played each other in Chicago seven years ago.
However, despite the gulf in class between the two teams, the test should provide Coles, Cane, Whitelock, Frizell and Lord with a good platform to integrate themselves into the All Blacks set-up and test rugby ahead of more challenging matches on the tour.
Those include fixtures against Wales in Cardiff, Italy in Rome, Ireland in Dublin and France in Paris, all of which come in consecutive weeks following on from the USA clash.
It will be the first time the All Blacks have played any teams from the Six Nations since their 2019 World Cup bronze final win over Wales in Tokyo, and Coles said a return to facing European sides adds to the element of excitement surrounding the tour.
“I’ve seen a little bit of the Six Nations and watched a bit of the British and Irish Lions tour as well. It’s a bit of an unknown, to be fair, having not played them in a while,” he said.
“Once we get over there, we’ll see a bit of footage and stuff like that, but I reckon it’s a real excitement too, playing teams that we haven’t played in a couple of years and being in different countries, even though it’s a bit restricted.
“But, especially for myself and the guys that haven’t played, it’ll be a good excitement and playing different teams.”
Whether Coles features in those tests remains to be seen, but he knows he has a challenge on his hands to become New Zealand’s premier hooker once more following the emergence of youngsters Samisoni Taukei’aho and Asafo Aumua.
Having watched the entire Rugby Championship from the comfort of his own home, Coles was forced to spectate as the duo piled pressure on the incumbent Codie Taylor for starting honours in the No 2 jersey.
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Now back in the All Blacks camp, Coles is eager to learn from his juniors as he finally gets the chance to reassert himself as the top dog in the middle of the front row.
“Nah, bloody Soni [Taukei’aho] and Saf [Aumua] have cemented themselves as All Blacks,” Coles said when asked if he has received any messages from the young guns for advice from afar.
“It’s been awesome to see, as much as I’m on the couch and can’t do anything, but it’s been good for All Black rugby and New Zealand rugby to see a couple of young hookers come along and put pressure on Codie, who’s gone to another level as well, so no texts.
“The new generation knows it all, so I’ll give advice when I can, but we’ve got a good relationship with the hookers and I’ll be picking their brains and getting them, once I’m in the environment, to see where I can get up to scratch and be helped out.”
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Comments on RugbyPass
Did footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper 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?
10 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.
10 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…??? 🤑🤑🤑
34 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
34 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 comments