MATAELE EYES UNCLE SETA’S WING
Christchurch: Cast your eyes across the Crusaders’ outside back stocks for 2019 and only one regular starter from the past season is missing.
No Seta Tamanivalu means a serious contest for the right wing spot will take place during pre-season, one his nephew is certain to feature in.
Manasa Mataele, now in his third year with the Crusaders, is no fool. He knows Tamanivalu’s departure to French club Bordeaux has opened the door, but he’s not the only one lining up to fill the void.
Israel Dagg, Leicester Faingaanuku, Braydon Ennor, Will Jordan and Ngane Punivai are also candidates to play in the position Mataele has had success in the past two seasons.
“Hopefully. There are a couple of younger boys coming up, the likes of Will Jordan, Braydon Ennor. It would be good to stamp that right wing spot,” Mataele said after the team’s final pre-season training session of the year.
Mataele, having started just four of the 13 games he played in this year, had a knack for coming off the bench and sparking the reigning champions into gear on their way to their ninth title.
Only left-wing George Bridge (15 tries) bagged more five-pointers than his eight, although Mataele played just 670 minutes to Bridge’s 1360.
Mataele, while smaller in stature than his uncle, is gifted with speed and power, something Crusaders coach Scott Robertson wasn’t keen to lose when the versatile Tamanivalu announced he was leaving.
In a bid to off-set the blow, he ensured the Crusaders signed Tasman Mako wing Faingaanuku to a three-year deal, while Punivai was brought in for his ability to play both centre and wing.
“It’s just about me doing the work first, Mataele said. One of the goals is starting on the right-wing with a few other boys. But I guess that will come along if I do a job now. The time will come.” Mataele knows a challenge when he sees it. After all, he’s not long removed from a miserable Mitre 10 Cup campaign with Taranaki, one which ended with them being demoted to the Championship section after they conjured just two wins from 10 matches.
It was character building stuff for the 22-year-old, and a vast change from his first two years at the Crusaders, who have dropped just three Super games since Robertson took over as coach before the 2017 season.
“Here, I’ve talked with some of the older guys, just asking them how to deal with things,” Mataele said.
“But I’ve really learnt a lot as the years have gone on about how professional rugby goes and how to deal with loses and how to keep up your routine.” Tamanivalu was also involved in the campaign, but has since departed for France, something Fijian-born Mataele is still adjusting to.
“I’ve been thinking about that the last couple of weeks before he left, it’s going to be different not having family around, or that family support. It will be a new challenge to me. We still keep in touch.
“He surely does miss it. He keeps asking about the boys and how pre-season is going. He misses the boys and New Zealand weather.”
The Crusaders wrapped up the first month of pre-season on Wednesday and, minus their All Blacks, won’t be back on deck until January 7.
Their first pre-season game is against the Hurricanes in Levin on February 2, before they host the Highlanders in Southbridge on February 8.
“We’ve really happy where we’re at,” assistant coach Jason Ryan said.
“You’ve just got to try and find your rhythm really [before Christmas]. We’ve focused on a lot of skill sets, not a lot of structure in our game, a few tweaks.”