Camps are coming but when?
Hurricanes’ ABs itching for action
If John Plumtree knows when the All Blacks plan to commence this year’s camps, he wasn’t telling.
Details about when, where and why the national team plan to denude New Zealand’s Super Rugby franchises of their best players are yet to be confirmed. All we know is that people will be summoned for skills and conditioning sessions, of a few days’ duration, during the upcoming Super season.
Hurricanes head coach Chris Boyd voiced some displeasure at the concept, during an interview with Stuff last week.
‘‘It is not tidy for anyone because, at the end of the day, generally those guys that go to the All Blacks are the guys that are key to your environment. So not to have them at the start of the week and then play a game two days later, is really short of high performance in my mind,’’ Boyd said after the Hurricanes’ preseason win over the Crusaders in Greymouth.
Plumtree, the Hurricanes’ assistant coach, is poised to be named Boyd’s successor any day now. It’s a position he covets, but was glad not to have when the topic of the proposed camps came up yesterday.
‘‘Yeah, they’re definitely happening but I don’t know too much of the details. That’s Boydy’s job,’’ Plumtree said.
All Blacks only returned to their Super Rugby teams a few days ago, having been on a 12-week break. Franchises understand the need for rest, but don’t tend to be ecstatic at the prospect of releasing players who’ve only recently returned to them.
In the Hurricanes’ case, the odd player has been floating around but Dane Coles, Beauden Barrett, Nehe Milner-Skudder, TJ Perenara, Jordie Barrett, Ngani Laumape, Ardie Savea, Asafo Aumua, Vaea Fifita and Jeff To’omaga-Allen have only been official members of the squad since last Monday.
‘‘It’s frustrating for them because they’ve been working hard in their break. They’re fit and they’re strong and they’re wanting to get going and we have to hold them back and progress their contact,’’ Plumtree said. ‘‘We’ll introduce some in a fortnight’s time [in a preseason game against the Blues] and a couple will come in a little bit later after that.’’
It’s all in contrast to Plumtree’s days in Durban, where he was the Sharks head coach in Super Rugby and the Currie Cup.
‘‘In South Africa you can do what you like. It’s great. Play them till they drop,’’ he said with a chuckle.
‘‘I think Rassie Erasmus [South Africa’s new director of rugby] is trying to bring that in now. Player welfare’s a massive thing; the game’s got so physical, the length of the season’s increasing and how we manage these players is important.
‘‘They’re playing into late November so it’s important that these guys last.’’
The Hurricanes began the preseason by beating the Crusaders 43-22. They’ll now send a group to this week’s Brisbane Global Tens.
Plumtree is among those players and coaches staying back in Wellington to continue preparing for the 15 a-side season.
His interest in tens was best summed up by an exchange during yesterday’s media session at Rugby League Park. Asked about managing tens, Plumtree began talking about the Hurricanes’ first five-eighths.
Only for the reporter to say, no, I mean the tens starting in Brisbane on Friday.