Taufua plays on with a busted arm
A gloomy Leon MacDonald surveyed his Tasman players in the wake of their 35-13 loss to Canterbury and saw more than disappointment etched on their faces.
For Tasman forwards, Jordan Taufua, Tyrel Lomax and Tom
Hill, the defeat in the Mitre 10 Cup premiership final at AMI Stadium in Christchurch on Saturday night also proved to be a painful experience.
No 8 Taufua had to be replaced in the 41st minute after suffering what could be a broken arm, and tighthead prop Tyrel Lomax left the field with a suspected dislocated shoulder.
Replacement prop Hill was also knocked out, and there was no requirement to complete a head injury assessment because it was clear that he was unfit to return for duty.
Tasman coach MacDonald said it was too early to offer a detailed assessment of the injuries.
The early mail on Taufua, though, was not encouraging.
‘‘There are a few concussions and Jordie’s arm doesn’t look too flash. It might be a broken arm,’’ MacDonald said.
‘‘There are a few in the casualty ward. It was a torrid encounter. The breakdowns were well contested and there was a lot of vigour in the tackles as well, so it was probably not surprising.’’
If Taufua has broken his arm, it isn’t great news for the Crusaders and their coach Scott Robertson because, depending on the extent of the damage, that is likely to impact on his pre-season preparations for next year’s Super Rugby title defence.
Despite injuring his arm in the first half, Taufua refused to buckle and kept playing for as long as possible before being ordered to exit the action.
‘‘He would live and die out there for the team, the province,’’ Tasman captain Alex Ainley said in reference to Taufua.
‘‘And he had to be dragged off the field. That was what happened in the end, when the doctor pulled him off the park. I don’t think it was his say.’’
As assistant backs coach for the Crusaders this year, MacDonald knew plenty about the two No 10s in action for both teams.
Tasman first five-eighth Mitch Hunt and his Canterbury counterpart Richie Mo’unga are both on the Crusaders books.
Tasman examined
Canterbury’s performances prior to the final and agreed they needed to shut down Mo’unga.
As MacDonald explained, it is all good to say that in theory.
Chopping down a man of Mo’unga’s ability is not so easy in practice.
Mo’unga scored two tries in the first half and created another for replacement halfback Jack Stratton when he used his light feet to beat several defenders. In addition, he also kicked three penalties and three conversions to set a new record for the most points scored by an individual in a final.
‘‘He must have broken 20 tackles tonight, he was fantastic wasn’t he? He is a class player,’’ MacDonald said.
‘‘We knew he was going to be a guy we had to contain and we talked about it throughout the week. But talking about it, and doing it is two different things. We would have liked to have seen him on the All Blacks tour to be fair. It might have made our night a bit easier.’’
Given Tasman led 10-0 after 14 minutes, it was not surprising that MacDonald lamented that they were unable to retain their grip on the game - especially with a stiff south-easterly breeze at their backs.
Instead Canterbury led 19-13 at the break and kept their opponent scoreless in the second spell as they piled on 16 unanswered points.
Dominating collisions and the breakdowns gave Canterbury a big edge in the physical contests and Tasman didn’t help themselves by losing three lineouts.