Naholo returns for Shield defence
Killing time felt like the theme of Taranaki’s captain’s run on the eve of their Ranfurly Shield defence against Manawatu in New Plymouth.
Taranaki assistant coach Willie Rickards admitted as much as the players went through some repetitive work at about the 70 per cent pace ordered from those in charge.
It was understandable, given only four days had past since they lifted the Shield after their 55-43 win over Canterbury.
The one exception was on the right wing where All Black Waisake Naholo stretched out faster than his peers as he prepared for his first match since playing the Rugby Championship test away in Argentina.
His inclusion was the only change to Taranaki’s starting XV from Christchurch with Rickards saying the fact the Shield was on the line had not changed his or coach Colin Cooper’s thinking about who should front Manawatu from the opening whistle.
That means another week coming off the bench for Charlie Ngatai who was so influential in the final 35 minutes against Canterbury.
‘‘We always knew this was going to be a tough game,’’ Rickards said. ‘‘Traditionally, the games between us and Manawatu have always been close and our discussions were a few weeks ago that we thought they were trucking really well.’’
Those impressions have not changed and the inclusion of All Blacks midfielder Ngani Laumape and the return from injury of former Taranaki fullback Kurt Baker had only strengthened their belief.
‘‘I think it’s imperative at this time of the year to be backing our guys and picking our strongest team,’’ Rickards added.
The mantra for Taranaki in the last 48 hours had been the old adage of going out to win the Shield again and the coaching staff thought that was even more important given it was the first defence and it was also an opportunity to share it with the province over summer if they came out on top.
There was also the small matter of picking up maximum points that would see them lock up top spot on the Premiership table and guarantee them at least a home semifinal with Sunday’s match at North Harbour still to follow.
Given the spoils involved, it would not be misplaced to think there was a fair amount of pressure on a young Taranaki squad but Rickards felt they would take it in their stride, just as it did when they fell 24 points behind Canterbury.
He pointed to the maturity shown by young halves combination Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi and Stephen Perofeta to set up and land a crucial drop goal against Canterbury as an example of how they dealt with pressure situations and was confident they would deal with it again.
‘‘For them to call that and understand scoreboard pressure, the tempo of the game and controlling the game, that was such a massive shift for us.’’
Expect Taranaki, who have scored a minimum of four tries in every match this season, to follow a similar style against Manawatu.
‘‘If you go into a defensive mindset, it reflects the way you play and you will be conservative. The learning with this group is we have to play with the ball, that’s when we play our best rugby.’’