No aspirations to be Crusaders
THE Crusaders are top of the pile and are good at what they do but there is no way the Highlanders are going to turn into them.
Highlanders assistant coach Mark Hammett, who played and then helped coach at the Christchurchbased franchise, said yesterday there was much to admire about the Crusaders but the Highlanders were following their own path.
‘‘We want to stay being the Highlanders. You saw some pretty awesome tries [last week] and the way we play,’’ he said.
‘‘Every team is aiming to be clinical. It is not a case of not wanting to be clinical. Of course we want to be clinical. But that comes with experience and we are getting there. And we need to get there to move through into the competition.’’
‘‘We are 100% of what we want to be, and who we are. We do some things really, really well.’’
The Highlanders lost 4522 to the Crusaders in Christchurch last Friday night but Hammett said there was plenty to like about the display.
‘‘We slowed the ball for them. Showed some good attack, made some good line breaks. Lots of things we wanted to achieve we did. But it came down to not holding our defensive line as long as we needed to.
‘‘Across the board we were pretty happy with how we went. Maybe we should have taken points early on. You talk about being clinical, it is not so much about your skill set but maybe decisionmaking. We always will back our leaders if they think they have the wood on them.’’
The game against the Crusaders is now history and the Rebels from Melbourne await at Forsyth Barr Stadium on Saturday night.
The equation for the Rebels is easy. Win and they are in the playoffs. But lose and the side is left open to missing out altogether. With their fate on the line, Hammett is expecting plenty of vigour from the Melbournebased side.
‘‘We have talked about that, they have the opportunity to make history. They are a big side, some of their unpredictability makes them dangerous. We are under no illusions. I’m sure they will be putting out as strong a side as possible.’’
Hammett confirmed prop Siate Tokolahi is gone for the season with a knee injury and is due to have an operation tomorrow.
Utility back Richard Buckman strained his hamstring against the Crusaders and is unlikely to front against the Rebels.
Hammett also confirmed some players were due for a rest and would also miss the match against the Rebels.
It will be the final home game of the year for the Highlanders so there was an incentive to play well for the home team.
‘‘For some players who maybe moving on or who are moving on, it is a big game. While it is not the focus it is in the back of our mind for those guys.’’
After Saturday it is playoffs and the Highlanders could be off to Sydney, South Africa or South America come Sunday.
Hammett said the side was keeping an eye on the playoffs.
‘‘We have got to. We’d be mad if we are not thinking about winning the competition. That is why we are here — to win the competition. We are not here to make up the numbers. That is critical in our thinking and has been in the last two weeks.’’
OTAGO winger Jona Nareki has been named in the All Blacks Sevens squad to defend the World Cup in San Francisco later this month.
The teams were named yesterday and Nareki has been selected, but Vilimoni Koroi has not been picked, as rest is the preferred option for the promising youngster.
Koroi has had a very busy year with sevens commitments, along with starring for the New Zealand under20 side.
A plan hatched last year by New Zealand Rugby bosses decided Koroi would not be available for the World Cup, as his workload had to be managed. With sevens and playing for Otago, there is a danger Koroi could play the whole year round.
Nareki signed for the sevens squad last year but did not make his first tournament appearance until Hong Kong in April and impressed enough to play in the London and Paris tournaments.
Both teams travel to the United States this weekend as defending World Cup champions. A highstakes new knockout format effectively equalises the playing field for the 24 countries in the men’s tourna
ment, and 16 national unions in the women’s field.
All Blacks Sevens coach Clark
Laidlaw said the unique nature of the knockout competition contributed to it being a difficult squad to select.
‘‘Getting the balance of the squad right was the main thing. It’s a different tournament in that it’s four games instead of six and we can only take 12 players, so we were looking to have flexibility in the 12 in terms of the positions they cover,’’ he said.
‘‘No team has ever won backtoback World Cup titles since it’s started so we have certainly talked about that and about being the first team to change that. We know there are massive challenges to come; all the teams will be really well prepared.’’
Black Ferns Sevens coach Allan Bunting said this was the most challenging squad he had ever had to name.
‘‘It was definitely hard but that’s exactly where we want to be. In our trials there was so much motivation, excitement and skill set — we know we have selected the right team,’’ he said.