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EXPECTING FATHER: All Blacks hooker Dane Coles admits he was nervous informing management he needed leave during a crucial stage of The Rugby Championship.
Hooker Dane Coles nervously told All Blacks Management he needed leave at a crucial time in play.
This was one ruckus Dane Coles wanted to avoid.
Although chuffed partner Sarah was pregnant with their first child, Coles couldn’t help worrying about how All Blacks coach Steve Hansen would react to his hooker swapping scrums for a birthing unit at such a crucial point of the Rugby Championship.
From a rugby perspective Coles concedes the timing is hardly ideal; the baby is due in the first week of October, coinciding with the blockbuster test against the Springboks in Johannesburg and at a time when the All Blacks are short of experienced hookers.
Yet there is only one place he wants to be on October 5 and it isn’t on a rugby field surrounded by 62,000 screaming South African rugby fans at Ellis Park.
Ewen McKenzie
After a draw and a lopsided loss to New Zealand in the Rugby Championship, Australia goes into its match against South Africa on Saturday with a chance to give coach Ewen McKenzie a first a win against a team ranked ahead of the Wallabies.
In his 18th test as Wallabies coach, McKenzie still hasn’t led the third-ranked team to a win over a side with a better International Rugby Board ranking.
FOCUSED: All Blacks captain Richie McCaw takes a pass during a training session at McLean Park in Napier.
Yellow cards have been an unwanted feature of the All Blacks’ recent tests and Richie McCaw says enough is enough.
The All Blacks captain was one of the chief offenders when the All Blacks belted the Wallabies 51-20 at Eden Park a fortnight ago, having been sent to the sin-bin by French referee Romain Poite for needlessly playing the ball on the ground.
Ben Franks also copped a yellow card in the Auckland match and Wyatt Crockett and Beauden Barrett took an enforced rest against the Aussies in the first Bledisloe Cup test in Sydney.
Greg Growden
Michael Cheika’s re-negotiations with New South Wales Waratahs remain murky, with Ruck’n Maul hearing that Argentina have once again upped their bid to lure the Super Rugby-winning coach.
Our Waratahs snouts say that Argentine officials have told Cheika to “name his price” as they are relentlessly pursuing him to be the country’s director of rugby for the next four years.
The deal includes accommodation, incentives, cars, and schooling for his children.
The Waratahs, meanwhile, have tried lately to entice Cheika by inviting him and his wife to a dinner with the board members. “He has declined the feed,” said one well-connected source.
Michael Hooper
Wallabies captain Michael Hooper has put South Africa on notice, saying he wants both their No.2 world ranking and the Mandela Challenge Plate back.
With Australia ranked third behind the All Blacks and Springboks, wins in Perth and then Cape Town could see them rise to No2 for the first time under new coach Ewen McKenzie.
It would also see them regain the Mandela Plate, which they lost last season after holding it for three years.
And it all starts at Perth’s Patersons Stadium this Saturday.
LOW TACTICS: Pumas wing Horacio Agulla believes Argentina will need to tackle low if they are to beat the All Blacks.
Belief is a valuable commodity. When it comes to the Rugby Championship that mental barrier, more than any physical or skill disparity, is holding the Pumas back.
For the most part, Argentina’s set-piece laid a near exemplary platform in two narrow defeats against the Springboks. Similar dominance saw the All Blacks run up half a century against the Wallabies.
The Pumas should have claimed at least one victory over the Boks, but instead left Auckland for Napier yesterday still feeling the frustration of another missed opportunity.
DAY JOB: Stags player Craig Smith spent some time back on the building site yesterday in Invercargill where he works as a builder outside of the rugby season.
Provincial rugby isn’t a fulltime gig for most players in New Zealand these days.
Outside of Super Rugby players, and the All Blacks, those plying their trade in the national provincial rugby competition need something else.
As provincial unions tighten their belts, in regard to their wage bills, the importance for players having something outside rugby, in terms of employment or eduction, has increased.
That importance also heightens for unions to have buy-in from employers and educators to allow some flexibility for players to juggle their rugby commitments with work.
Most provincial players need to convince their bosses to let them go for four months throughout the NPC season and hope they can return after it.
This weekend sees the resumption of The Rugby Championship with the All Blacks hosting the Pumas in Napier and the Springboks traveling to Perth to face the Wallabies.
Last weekend we had the Round 4 of the ABSA Currie Cup and there has been some movement at the top of the Rugby-Talk SuperBru group.
The 6 Important games we focus on which are played this weekend, consists of the 2 Rugby Championship Test matches as well as 4 ABSA Currie Cup Premier Division matches.
Patrick Tuipolotu (left), Aaron Cruden and Steven Luatua agree that fans’ support plays a vital role in the All Blacks’ success.
The last two tests have shown the highs and lows of All Blacks’ rugby. Paul Lewis talks to Aaron Cruden, Steven Luatua and Patrick Tuipolotu about expectations and pressure from fans from such polarising experiences.
Some time back in his tenure as All Black skipper, Tana Umaga was asked whether the All Blacks minded carrying so many public expectations every time they played. “No,” he shot back. “It helps us win.”
It seemed a good panel discussion topic to take up with three All Blacks, especially as they and filmmaker Taika Waititi will be engaged in a Rexona-inspired campaign entitled “Do More” – a call to arms to All Black fans to get behind their team during this championship and, especially, next year’s World Cup.
Jacques Potgieter
He became an honorary Australian by starring for the Waratahs in their Super Rugby triumph but Jacques Potgieter is set to go from teammate to fierce Test rival with a recall to the Springboks later this month.
The wildman flanker, who became a cult hero for NSW, is a favourite of Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer and News Corporation understands Potgieter will be drafted into the South African squad for home games against Australia and New Zealand.
Potgieter is currently playing in Japan for the Fukuoka Sanix Blues but recently returned to South Africa on holidays and spoke with Meyer at the Boks’ first Test win over Argentina at Loftus Versfeld.
LOVING THE MOMENT: Israel Dagg celebrates with Ihaia West and Brendon O’Connor of the Hawke’s Bay Magpies after winning the Ranfurly Shield against Counties Manukau Steelers last Saturday.
Home is where the heart is for Israel Dagg.
The 26-year-old has had plenty to smile about this past fortnight after helping Hawke’s Bay bring the Ranfurly Shield back to Napier.
It provided a welcome boost for a player who has been through a year of ups and downs, but it’s been off the field where Dagg’s home-coming has clearly restored his confidence.
“It’s been a good couple of weeks being home,” he said yesterday.
“I haven’t been back [to the Bay] for a while, so I’ve really enjoyed catching up with family and friends. I’ve been eating out [of the team hotel] every night with them all cooking me dinners, things like that, it’s been really good.”
COOL HEAD: Beauden Barrett is a picture of calmness as he poses on the Napier beachfront yesterday, ahead of the test against Argentina.
Replacing injured Aaron Cruden, Beauden Barrett is a promising starter in the No 10 jersey against Argentina.
It takes plenty to rattle Beauden Barrett.
The 23-year-old first five-eighth has forged a reputation for his calmness under pressure during his brief, but already impressive professional career.
POSSIBLE NPC RETURN: All Blacks maestro Dan Carter could come back from injury at provincial level for Canterbury.
Dan Carter could yet wander into the eye of Canterbury’s national provincial championship “storm”.
Since suffering a fractured fibula during the Super Rugby final on August 2 Carter hasn’t added to his 100 test caps and may be asked to make a rare appearance for Canterbury before returning to the All Blacks.
Coach Steve Hansen confirmed that Carter, who has been with the All Blacks in Napier this week, has begun jogging and his immediate playing future will soon be mapped out.
“It is just a matter of whether we bring him straight back in for test rugby or whether we bring him back for (NPC) and with a few games under his belt,” Hansen said.
The Wallabies
How does a Wallaby supporter feel about the upcoming test?
If you had asked Wallabies fans at the start of the year if they’d be happy with three wins, a draw and a loss to start the season nearly everyone would have replied in the affirmative.
Last week you might have thought the sky was falling given the angst of many Wallaby supporters.
This week we have a different challenge. The South African Barbecuing Behemoths have sashayed into Perth for what many of them think is a home game.
Time for the Fox HQ video of the week, and this week the commentary is the best.
The Bulls do feature at No 4 though…
Long road taken: Josh Mann-Rea to answer Wallabies S.O.S.
ACT Brumbies third-string hooker Josh Mann-Rea is on the verge of a shock Wallabies call-up as coach Ewen McKenzie battles an “unbelievable” injury toll that is set give former coalminer Mann-Rea his national debut.
Injured Wallabies captain Stephen Moore says Mann-Rea has the resolve to perform on the international stage, as the rake known as “Bongo” contemplates the biggest moment of his career.
Jamba Ulengo
Springbok Sevens player Jamba Ulengo will make his Currie Cup debut for the Blue Bulls when they tackle the Golden Lions at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
Ulengo’s inclusion on the left wing is one of five changes to the backline that did duty in the home loss to Western Province last week.
The Bulls will also field a new halfback combination, as Rudy Paige is promoted from the bench, while Jacques-Louis Potgieter has recovered from a rib injury to take his place at flyhalf.
Game face: Francois Hougaard
Talk about the one per centers.
The Springboks are trialling top-secret technology to give themselves an edge in the Rugby Championship.
Every player has been kitted out with two sets of hi-tech glasses designed to beat jet lag and help their bodies adjust to the time zone in Perth this week.
The Springboks were reluctant to talk about the gadgets when they were raised – in Afrikaans – at a press conference this week, even asking South African journalists to hold off writing about the innovation until after the side’s two-week tour of Australia and New Zealand.
Danger man: Morné Steyn at Springbok training in Perth on Tuesday.
In the 60th minute of the Springboks’ 33-31 win against Argentina two weeks ago, replacement No 10 Morné Steyn ripped a beautiful flat pass, left to right, to take out two Pumas defenders and put Jean de Villiers in enough space to release Cornal Hendricks for a crucial try.
South Africa has gone back to what it knows against the Wallabies on Saturday – Steyn replaces youngster Handré Pollard and Victor Matfield returns to run the lineout – and it makes it more dangerous for the Wallabies. More predictable?
Possibly, but the Springboks have never done unpredictability well. Territory, set piece, hard kick chases, pressure. It is still a base game that is hard to defeat, especially if the Perth forecasters are right and there are showers and strong winds on Saturday.
Bryan Habana
Bryan Gary Habana is an institution in the Springbok team and in Perth on Saturday he will become the fourth player to feature in 100 Tests for South Africa.
Speaking ahead of the Boks’ Rugby Championship encounter with Australia, he made it clear that he is not taking the No.11 jersey for granted.
In fact Habana said there are young players – both in the team and back home – pushing him hard.
The Sharks have made a massive six changes to their starting XV for their clash against Griquas this Saturday as coach Brad MacLeod-Henderson reacted strongly to the 32-22 loss to the Pumas last weekend.
Fullback SP Marais, wing Tonderai Chavhanga and props Matt Stevens and Dale Chadwick all make way, along with flank Francois Kleinhans and lock JC Astle, who are injured.
A schools rugby coach who breached South African Rugby Union (SARU) rules governing underage rugby has been suspended and the points his school took for the match were overturned, following a SARU disciplinary hearing.
The charge was the first brought to SARU under new regulations that were introduced to protect players under the age of 18 at the start of last season.
Brendan Venter
Nick Mallett once famously stated that you don’t necessarily have to be the best coach in the world but rather the smartest selector to attain a consistent level of success at the highest level.
I wholly concur with such a sentiment and would suggest that the core of professional coaching achievement essentially stems from discovering the right blend in terms of playing personnel.
However, it’s important to stress that although said recipe is relatively well-known within top-level coaching circles, the ingredients often prove challenging to source and assemble.
John Dobson
Western Province Under-21 coach John Dobson is upset at the punishments dished out to two Blue Bulls players after WP lock JD Schickerling broke his neck in an Under-21 game in Pretoria last weekend.
Schickerling was injured just after catching a ball from a kick-off when Bulls lock Irne Herbst’s shoulder collided with Schickerling’s head in their clash at Loftus Versfeld. Afterwards, the other Bulls lock, Marvin Orie, grabbed the WP player in a headclamp before hurling him to the ground.
Schickerling suffered a fractured cervical spine at the C5/C6 level during the match and narrowly escaped paralysis.
Jake White
The loss of some stalwarts to overseas clubs since the end of the Super Rugby season is making life tough for the young coaches who are going it alone for the first time at the helm of the Cell C Sharks in this Absa Currie Cup season.
Director of rugby Jake White has opted to take a back seat and not have any involvement with the Sharks senior team in the domestic season so that he can focus on the development of the players in the age-group teams as well as give head coach Brad MacLeod-Henderson and his assistants Sean Everitt and Paul Anthony the chance to experience the pressure that comes with being in charge
Comeback trail: Will Genia
Sidelined halfback Will Genia and Brumbies flyers Henry Speight and Joe Tomane have been cleared to use the National Rugby Championship as a launching pad for Wallabies selection.
The backline trio will make injury comebacks on Saturday in bids to make Australia’s squad for the upcoming tour of South Africa and Argentina for Rugby Championship Tests at the end of the month.
TRY TIME: Richie McCaw rises after scoring a try off the back of a maul in the All Blacks’ Eden Park test against the Wallabies.
The All Blacks have got the masters of the maul thinking hard, with Springboks bosses intrigued at New Zealand’s innovative and successful tactics with this crucial attacking weapon during the early phases of the Rugby Championship.
The big Boks packs have long set the standards in mauling, but assistant coach Johann van Graan has admitted intrigue over the way the All Blacks have developed the art as they displayed in demolishing the Wallabies at Eden Park.
MONSTER PACK: Argentina’s forward pack proved more than up to the task against the Springboks.
Twenty-two thousand fans might twist their necks towards the sky, but All Blacks No 8 Kieran Read is more likely to glare at Argentina’s forward pack before Saturday night’s test in Napier.
While southerlies and rain are forecast, Hawke’s Bay rugby supporters will hope the weather is clear to allow the All Blacks to unleash their backline at McLean Park.
Read knows the New Zealanders cannot do anything about the weather but can still rip the rug out from under the Pumas, and that starts with challenging the visitors’ celebrated scrum.
When All Blacks scrum coach Mike Cron watched the Pumas repeatedly demolish the South Africans’ scrum in their two recent encounters, he would have wasted little time in mapping out some training drills.
Argentina on Thursday announced two changes for Saturday’s Rugby Championship Test against the All Blacks as they chase their first win in the southern hemisphere competition.
Leonardo Senatore replaces the injured Paul Matera to slot in at the back of the scrum, joining veterans Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe and Juan Manuel Leguizamon in a rejigged loose trio.
“Big Ben” Tameifuna
It’s time out for Big Ben Tameifuna after New Zealand Rugby’s judiciary banned him five weeks for his shove on referee Glen Jackson last weekend.
Tameifuna shoved referee Glen Jackson in the 72nd minute of Waikato’s national provincial championship victory at North Harbour on Saturday.
Citing commissioner John Wootton reporter the incident after the match.
Match officials will make more decisions independently.
The Rugby Football Union have urged referees to take greater responsibility for decisions and avoid overusing television match officials.
Last season, officials were entitled to review footage of incidents of foul play and up to two phases before a try – but the knock-on effect of an increased number of stops in play quickly drew criticism.
RUNNING THE CUTTER: Beauden Barrett will make his first start in the All Blacks’ No 10 jersey against Argentina in Napier on Saturday.
Beauden Barrett’s All Blacks apprenticeship is finally over.
The Hurricanes first five-eighth will start in the No 10 jersey against Argentina in Napier on Saturday after a chest injury ruled out incumbent Aaron Cruden.
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has made three changes to the side that thrashed the Wallabies 51-20 at Eden Park on August 23, with Israel Dagg recalled at fullback and Ma’a Nonu restored to second five-eighth.
Barrett’s elevation marks a significant milestone for the talented Taranaki pivot after a long wait to finally take the controls of the test side.
The 23-year-old has started twice previously in his 21-test career, but both times at fullback, against Italy in 2012 and then against Japan last year.
Bryan Habana to become Springbok Centurion No 4.
Bryan Habana will on Saturday become the fourth Springbok and 33rd player overall to play in 100 Tests when South Africa take on Australia in the third round of the Castle Lager Rugby Championship at Patersons Stadium in Perth (kickoff 12h05 SA time).
The 31-year-old Habana, who made his debut for South Africa against England at Twickenham on 20 November 2004, holds the record for the most Test tries in a Springbok jersey. His 56 Test tries places him fourth on the list of all-time international try scorers.
The three-time South African Rugby Player of the Year (2004, 2007 and 2012), who was also named the IRB Rugby Player of the Year in 2007, will lead the Springboks out on Saturday as he follows Percy Montgomery, John Smit and Victor Matfield in amassing 100 Tests in the green and gold.
Marvin Orie
Blue Bulls Under 21 lock Marvin Orie has received a one-week suspension on Wednesday for a dangerous tackle in the team’s Absa Under 21 Competition match against Western Province.
Orie was cited on Sunday for tackling Western Province lock JD Schickerling around the neck in the third minute of the clash and pulling him backwards until both players fell to the ground.
Schickerling suffered a fractured cervical spine at the C5/C6 level during the match.
Jimmy Stonehouse
Pumas coach Jimmy Stonehouse has received a lot of praise for the way his team have impressed this season, but he does not put it down to anything revolutionary.
The Pumas, as a smaller union, were never expected to set the Currie Cup on fire, especially amongst teams with Super Rugby experience and national players waiting in the wings.
However, Stonehouse and his men now sit third on the log, a single point behind the Golden Lions (through four rounds) and many have touted the coach as the ‘next big thing.’