Highlanders coach plays down impact of ABS camp
Aaron Mauger has got better things to do than moan about the fact he’ll be without his seven All Blacks as he begins plotting to heap more misery on the Blues.
As the Highlanders’ head coach did before the first ‘‘foundation day’’ in Christchurch last month, Mauger downplayed the impact of the latest All Blacks camp, which also means Crusaders coach Scott Robertson will be without his All Blacks today.
Ben Smith, Aaron Smith, Waisake Naholo, Liam Squire, Dillon Hunt, Luke Whitelock and Liam Coltman will spend the day in Christchurch, Mauger confirmed after histeam’s 43-17 bonus point win against the Brumbies in Dunedin on Saturday night.
‘‘We’ve had that experience with dealing with the camp, so I’m sure it won’t be too much of an issue for us heading into that game next week,’’ Mauger said with an eye on Friday night’s derby against the Blues at Eden Park.
The camps are designed to review the players on their performances last year, and to identify what is required to improve in the coming season.
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen will hold the second one-day North Island camp - for Hurricanes, Chiefs and Blues All Blacks - in Wellington on April 23, while three-day camps are slated for May 20-22 in Auckland and May 27-29 in Christchurch.
It means the Highlanders will be without their All Blacks for three days heading into what is sure to be a crucial derby against the Hurricanes in Dunedin on June 1, the final game before Super Rugby breaks and the All Blacks play France in a three-test series.
Mauger will cross that bridge when the time comes. In the meantime, he’s got another derby to plan for and a shaky scrum to sort out.
‘‘We know the Blues are a dangerous beast back at Eden Park. They probably haven’t had the best month, but we’re well aware of the threats they posess so we’re looking forward to that challenge next week,’’ Mauger said.
‘‘I know the forwards will be hurting from that set piece performance in the first half [against the Brumbies], but it looks like they might have fixed it up in the second half. But that will be part of our review for sure.’’
The Highlanders were practically penalised off the park in the first half, as referee Ben O’keeffe rewarded the Brumbies for their scrum dominance.
Seven of the 12 penalties O’keeffe dished out against the Highlanders were in the first half, and the majority of them ended with the Brumbies’ pack back-slapping each other after getting a shove on the home side.
But they held firm in the second spell, as the Highlanders overcame a yellow card to pivot Lima Sopoaga and turned a 12-10 halftime lead into a blowout win, the 34th straight scalp by Kiwi teams over their Aussie foes.
‘‘We struggled with a couple of technical issues there, but I thought we adapted really well at halftime,’’ Mauger said. ‘‘[Scrum coach Clarke Dermody] did a great job with the forwards there, he gave them the detail they needed and they went out and rectified that in the second half.
‘‘It’s a great time when you’re adapting on the run like that. And I’m proud of the way they came back and held their own. Even at the end it felt like we got on top.’’
While the other Kiwi franchises still have lengthy injury lists, the news is much better for the Highlanders. They didn’t pick up any fresh casualties on Saturday night, and only three members of their squad - Squire (thumb), Richard Buckman (neck) and Thomas Umaga-jensen (shoulder) - didn’t play for either the Highlanders or their development team (against Japan A) at the weekend, Mauger said.