Why Sam Cane is staying on as a Chiefs captain despite 'arduous' All Blacks duties
Returning to a long-held norm that was curiously missing last season, utilising co-captains at the Chiefs is all about sharing the load for incumbent All Blacks skipper Sam Cane.
It was a departure from the captaincy norms in Chiefs country when Cane was named as the sole skipper of the Waikato-based franchise last season, ditching the use of co-captains for the first time in nine years.
Seen at the time as one of the first big imprints of the Warren Gatland era, it also timed in with Cane’s first full season as All Blacks captain.
The 29-year old had been Chiefs co-captain since 2015, sharing alongside the likes of Brodie Retallick, Aaron Cruden, Liam Messam and Charlie Ngatai.
New interim head coach Clayton McMillan signalled back in January that the Chiefs would look to re-implement the use of co-captains this season under his tenure, with easing the load on Cane being one of the primary factors behind the decision.
Discussions were had about Cane letting go of the Chiefs captaincy altogether, but keeping sharp on leadership skills and remaining in a role of responsibility, all be it in an eased fashion, was the direction the 29-year-old wanted to take in 2021.
“I see the Chiefs captaincy as a role I enjoy and it gives me a chance to stay sharp in my leadership skills,” Cane said
“It’s about getting used to those responsibilities of being a captain full time rather than not having those duties here and having to get used to them again at the next level”.
Joining Cane is Brad Weber, who McMillan concluded was the obvious choice given his experience, standing within the leadership group, and time spent as regular stand-in Chiefs skipper in recent seasons.
“Brad was the obvious choice because he has a huge amount of respect within the team,” McMillan said on Tuesday.
“He’s a current All Black who commands his starting position and we really felt that Sam really needed some support given how arduous his role as All Black captain can be both on and off the field, so we hoped that sharing his responsibilities here at the Chiefs will be good for the team”.
Weber, a mainstay in the Chiefs since 2014 who re-signed with the franchise for another season last year, doesn’t see much change in his elevation to now holding captaincy credentials on an official basis.
The Chiefs have confirmed halfback Brad Weber will join All Blacks captain Sam Cane as co-captain of the Chiefs for 2021.https://t.co/knJs2hur9k
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 22, 2021
“To be honest I don’t see a hell of a lot changing because I’m used to leading in behind Sam,” Weber said.
“We bounce ideas off each other leadership-wise and for me it will be about taking on a bit more responsibility with the outside stuff like talking to referees, dealing with media, and any other sort of load around the leadership group.”
Just who speaks for the team on the field will be partly determined by the referee on match day, but thanks to both familiarity and a good working relationship, the Chiefs don’t anticipate any issues determining who takes the mantle, especially when it comes to utilising the new captain’s challenge.
“It might depend on the referee and I know in the past some of them only like to deal with one player,” Cane said.
“I would like to think that because we’ve been around long enough and are reasonably calm and collected on the field, the referees will respect that and know we won’t be speaking with too much emotion and won’t be going to them with issues unless we feel they’re having a direct impact on us playing the game”.
As the new Super Rugby Aotearoa season looms large on the horizon, a former All Black has named a 'Hype XV' made up of players to take note of over the coming weeks. #SuperRugbyAotearoa https://t.co/nwGOic1rFx
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 23, 2021
With a bye in week one of Super Rugby Aotearoa, the Chiefs will get an opportunity to rest and recover from a busy pre-season.
On the much-talked about injury front, a few niggles were reported this week, with Damian McKenzie (foot) and Pita Gus Sowakula sitting out training.
“We’ve picked up a couple of niggles, but it’s because of the nature of our preseason training,” McMilllan said.
“We’ve had a big overload knowing that we had the bye in week one so the team will be heading off tomorrow to take a few days away and freshen up and I don’t expect any of those who are sitting on the sideline will be out of commission for too long.”
The Chiefs kick their season into gear on March 5 when they play host to the Highlanders at FMG Stadium Waikato in Hamilton.
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Comments on RugbyPass
We had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getitng to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
7 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
7 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
54 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
54 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
7 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
54 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
55 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
54 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
54 Go to comments