Loading up with a war of words

Some early argy-bargy. Excellent.

It all started when Stormers coach John Dobson alleged the Hurricanes dipped into a pot of nasty tricks during the 27-0 win in the round-one match over the visitors in Cape Town last weekend.

In addition to saying the Hurricanes targeted Pieter-Steph du Toit, Dobson reckons the New Zealanders also resorted to pulling their opponents’ hair.

Grabbing a bloke’s hair is simply a no-no, regardless of the setting.

But Hurricanes assistant coach Chris Gibbes wasn’t having it. In fact he told Dobson to wake up and look in the mirror. According to Gibbes, it’s the Stormers who resorted to the niggle.

The fun and games in Super Rugby have begun.

1. The real work for the Hurricanes begins on the training paddock.

Darting between Cape Town and Buenos Aires might seem like a dream travel itinerary for a tourist, but it’s much more complicated if you’re a pro rugby player.

The Hurricanes’ willingness to cough up the ball and flip silly passes ensured they got touched up by the Stormers.

Three things stand out. In addition to boasting a goose egg on their side of the scoreboard, the Canes only advanced over the gainline on 34 per cent of their carries, and managed only three line breaks.

Vast improvements are needed for the next one against the Jaguares.

A big call has been made at No 10, with coach Jason Holland picking Jackson Garden-Bachop to start ahead of Fletcher Smith.

2. Beauden Barrett was hollerin’ at the Super Bowl on Monday.

He was entitled to guzzle Bud, chow on fried chook and wobble his head to the beats while watching the NFL showpiece earlier this week.

The bottom line is this: All Blacks star Barrett was clever enough to get a prolonged break written into his contract, and the Blues knew damned well he was entitled to it.

If they didn’t, God help them. Anyway, no-one should squeal about Barrett’s absence.

The Blues have to help themselves, even if NZ Rugby’s controversial dictum that essentially states All Blacks can’t play the full 80 minutes in the first two rounds forced coach Leon MacDonald to sideline captain Patrick Tuipulotu and wing-withwheels Rieko Ioane (who scored two tries) in the second half of the 37-29 loss to the Chiefs last weekend.

3. Here’s another point to make about NZ Rugby’s’ ‘‘load management’’ policy.

It compromises the Super Rugby coaches. We saw that with the Blues.

This policy has never been popular with Super Rugby coaches, for obvious reasons. The problem for them is it’s difficult for them to complain about it – not on the record, anyway – to the media and fans.

Something has to change. A blanket rule for the All Blacks, when some had a much smaller workload than others in 2019, is unfair on Super Rugby clubs.

NZ Rugby can do better than this. Surely it can tailor programmes to accommodate each individual?

And let’s not forget that the World Cup ended in early November. So the All Blacks have had plenty of time to rest. This issue will continue to fester.

4. Last year the Chiefs had the Crusaders’ measure in Fiji.

Remember their 40-27 win over the red-and-black machine in Suva? Trailing by 20 points, the Chiefs sprinkled some fairy dust over their attack and sent the Super Rugby giants spinning into a heap.

The Chiefs will start former All Blacks No 10 Aaron Cruden against the titleholders in Hamilton tomorrow night. That’s a positive. So, too, is having

Damian McKenzie at fullback and Anton LienertBrown in the midfield.

Losing props Nepo Laulala and Angus Ta’avao with injuries isn’t so flash, although having Atu Moli at tighthead provides decent compensation.

5. Forget talk of the Highlanders being in a rebuilding phase.

To make excuses is a cop-out. Even with a number of old heads overseas (not seeing the terrific Ben Smith in blue and gold will be weird), the Highlanders have to want to dominate the Sharks in Dunedin this evening.

That’s what southerners like about their team; that willingness to compete at all costs.

Tony Brown’s influence on the attack will come under close scrutiny from the other 14 coaches.

As we saw during the World Cup last year, Brown wants to give his backlines licence to score tries off set pieces rather than attempt to build phases and then strike.

6. Keep an eye on the Brumbies.

They’re chasing their 10th consecutive win in Canberra, and should claim it against a Rebels side that was embarrassed by the Sunwolves in Fukuoka last weekend.

Each victory edges them closer to the record of 13 straight victories between 1996 and 1998.

The Aussies could do with some good news. It’s too early to start lamenting another bum season from our mates across the creek.