IN THE WARS: Sam Cane has hardly played since he discovered a small fracture in his knee before the test season kicked off in June.
Sam Cane could have been excused if he sneaked off to find a heavy punching bag in Napier yesterday to vent some frustration.
It was hard not to feel a little sorry for the 22-year-old openside as the All Blacks assembled ahead of Saturday’s Rugby Championship match against Argentina.
That’s because around about the same time the All Blacks were being welcomed by 1200 fans at Napier Airport, Cane’s Bay of Plenty teammates were preparing to play Taranaki in a national provincial championship match in New Plymouth.
The thought of an extended run a game of rugby must consume a player who has seen just 40 minutes of action this year, but, unlike 10 of his All Blacks teammates, he was not released for provincial duties.
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He’d been hoping for a release after the Bledisloe Cup win over the Wallabies in Auckland.
“I thought, ‘keep that out and prepare for the test’, but once that was out of the way I was waiting to get the word from Steve [Hansen] and the coaching staff,” Cane said. “But I just have to trust them in what they say. I had a good week’s training in Hamilton and got some Ks [kilometres] in the legs. If that’s what they say is best then I’m all for it.”
Cane has hardly played since he discovered a small fracture in his knee before the test season kicked off in June.
He had 20 minutes before a cut ended his comeback match for the All Blacks during a training match against Northland and North Harbour, 11 minutes during the 12-12 draw with the Wallabies in Sydney, then nine minutes at Eden Park a week later.
His problem is he’s become incredibly important to the All Blacks despite his lack of game time.
“We’re one loosie down with Jerome [Kaino] out and we didn’t want to take the risk of losing another one,” Hansen said. “He’s [Cane] fit enough, his testing results are good and he’s had a wee bit of rugby with us and we’re comfortable with him not playing this week.”
With 16 tests already under his belt, Cane won’t always be Richie McCaw’s back up, but for now he’s an insurance policy should one of the world’s greatest No 7s go down.
Cane’s not the only Bay of Plenty forward growing in importance to the All Blacks on the training field.
Nathan Harris couldn’t prevent Bay of Plenty losing 41-3 to Taranaki yesterday, but Hansen confirmed he would take some part in the All Blacks’ tour to Argentina and South Africa later this month as a replacement for test incumbent Dane Coles.
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Nostalgia would lend itself to Israel Dagg making a feel-good return to the All Blacks test side at McLean Park on Saturday.
THE BEST OF TIMES: Israel Dagg added the Ranfurly Shield to his long list of rugby achievements when helping Hawke’s Bay to lift the log ‘o wood from Counties-Manukau at Pukekohe on Saturday.
Certainly there will have been plenty of support for such a bold move at Hawke’s Bay’s Ranfurly Shield victory parade yesterday just a few hundred metres from the All Blacks’ hotel.
The famous log ‘o wood has provided a fitting backdrop to the build-up to what will be just the second time the All Blacks have played a test match in Napier after their 51-10 win over Samoa in 1996.
The big question now is whether coach Steve Hansen will tweak his line-up or reward the side that started the 51-20 Bledisloe Cup demolition of the Wallabies at Eden Park.
There is likely to be at least one change with confirmation that second five-eighth Ma’a Nonu has recovered from his shoulder injury and will be available for selection.
However, if Hansen’s comments yesterday are anything to go by, major changes seem unlikely against a Pumas side that has clearly grabbed his attention during two close losses to South Africa.
“They should have probably won one of them, if not both of them,” Hansen said.
“Their scrum is very, very good, their lineout has variation, which makes it difficult to upset their ball and I’ve always thought they’re one of the best defensive sides in the world.
“They show a lot of space on the outside, but seem to be able to shut it down pretty quickly and their backs are looking to play. They’ve introduced a new fullback [Joaquin Tuculet] and he looks sharp, so it’s going to be an interesting contest.”
A year ago Hansen’s comments could have been dismissed as respectful platitudes, but the Pumas’ performance during their 33-31 loss to South Africa in Salta made everybody sit up.
They dominated the first half and had the test in hand before hesitating in the final 15 minutes to blow what should have been their first Rugby Championship win.
A feature was the clever kicking games of five-eighths Nicolas Sanchez and Juan Hernandez, who ran South Africa’s back three ragged.
Could Dagg be given a chance to help diffuse those kicks in his hometown on the back of his performance in the Magpies’ Shield win over Counties Manukau?
“It’s difficult isn’t it,” Hansen said. “He’s not playing in our team with our players around him and the game structures are different, but I did enjoy watching him play. He thoroughly enjoyed his time out there in the game, so he’ll come up for selection this week.”
Hardly a glowing appraisal, but there may also be some risk in leaving Dagg on the outer for too long.
A confidence player, the 26-year-old hasn’t added to his 39 test caps since the opening match against England on June 7, with automatic selection Ben Smith wearing the No 15 jersey.
Restoring Smith to the right wing where he was so devastating last year, and starting Dagg at fullback could be an option with Cory Jane classy and quiet in equal portions this test season.
The other much debated position in the All Blacks has been first five-eighth with many still keen to see Beauden Barrett given a chance to run the cutter in a big test.
As with fullback, Hansen may not want to jeopardise his side’s momentum after such a brilliant performance against Australia.
Likewise it is difficult to see many, if any changes to a pack that Hansen said would have to “at least equal” their efforts against the Wallabies, if they wanted to quell the physical Pumas forwards.
Of the All Blacks squad in Napier, only lock Patrick Tuipulotu and loose forward Jerome Kaino are unavailable this week.
Magpies relish Dagg’s shield influence
Hawke’s Bay coach Craig Philpott has hailed All Black Israel Dagg’s influence in the Magpie’s Ranfurly Shield win over Tana Umaga’s Counties Manukau.
While Philpott stressed the game was won up front, where Hawke’s Bay dominated the set pieces, he said Dagg had made a major contribution, as much off the field as on it.
“It was obvious, even more so at training than in the game. Just having him around for the week was a major boost.”
Philpott said Dagg was a “positive bubbly character” as well as a “classy athlete” and “a proud Hawke’s Bay man” with 40-odd games for the Magpies.
“He hadn’t played for Hawke’s Bay for three years, so he was pretty excited to get a chance to play.”
Dagg, who won the World Cup with the All Blacks in 2011, said lifting the Log o’ Wood after the 27-21 win over the Counties Steelers at Pukekohe on Saturday was “right up there”.
“The shield has been around forever and to be able to say I’ve won it is pretty special.”
Dagg won’t be around for Hawke’s Bay’s first defence, against Otago on September 14. He’ll be on Rugby Championship duty with the All Blacks instead.
But Philpott is looking only as far as Friday’s visit to Northland. “We won’t have the pressure of defending the shield, but it’s a really difficult game for us. It’s our third on the road out of four games this year and our first game against a non-premiership team, so there will still be a lot of pressure on us there.”
Philpott – who coached Hawke’s Bay to a shield win over Otago last year only to lose it to the first challenger, Counties – said he knew the Magpies’ and Steelers’ backlines would be evenly matched so the onus was on the pack to lay the platform. “The pleasing thing from my perspective was our set piece was very good and we were able to exert pressure on their set piece.”
Hawke’s Bay were superbly led by Blues flanker Brendon O’Connor who scored two tries. Halfback Chris Eaton and wing Ryan Tongia also dotted down.
Wellington rugby fans will be supporting Hawke’s Bay over the next month. If the Magpies beat Otago and then struggling Bay of Plenty on September 20 then Wellington will be the next challenger on October 1.