It’s all about the jackal and tackle, says Papalii
Jackal and tackle is the mantra of in-form Blues openside flanker Dalton Papalii as he makes his big move for a serious promotion at national team level.
Papalii has been arguably the form Kiwi No 7 of Super Rugby Aotearoa through the first six rounds, producing a string of outstanding performances for the Blues as they’ve gone 3-2 to establish themselves as the clear No 2 team in the competition.
That’s been timely, to say the least, with All Blacks coach Ian Foster having some decisions to make on the back of news that skipper Sam Cane will be out for 4-6 months with the pectoral muscle tear suffered while playing for the Chiefs.
Foster has a ready-made solution on hand in the form of the classy Ardie Savea who has been used principally at No 8 in recent times to allow he and Cane to start together. He would relish a move back to his preferred openside position in the test arena.
If Foster decided to leave Savea to continue to work on his craft as a No 8 at the international level, he could promote from the backup brigade of No 7s, headed by Papalii, but also including the Hurricanes’ Du’Plessis Kirifi, the Chiefs’ Lachlan Boshier, the Crusaders’ Sione Havili Talitui and Highlanders’ Billy Harmon.
Either way he is going to have to get another No 7 up to speed for the creampuff July schedule (Italy twice, and Fiji), followed by what should be a much more serious Rugby Championship with South Africa, fresh off a Lions series, back in the mix. Cane is unlikely to be available for any of that programme.
The 23-year-old Papalii, who has featured in just four tests since making his debut on 2018’s tour north, is certainly staking his claim in Super Rugby Aotearoa, having finally shaken off the utility tag to be given a run of starts at No 7 in Leon MacDonald’s lineup.
He has been quality over the ball the entire campaign, sturdy on defence and has carried strongly on occasions. Among a loose trio containing plenty of ball-carrying options it has been the former two categories where he has looked to make his biggest impact.
On Saturday night against the Hurricanes at Eden Park Papalii showcased this when he led the team on defence (15 tackles without a miss) and was a constant menace at the breakdown, with two big jackal turnovers in the opening half-dozen minutes.
‘‘We’re stoked with the way Dalton is playing for us,’’ said MacDonald. ‘‘Every week he puts in big shifts and at 7 it’s a hard thing to do, backing up week after week. He is on top of his game.’’
Papalii said afterwards he felt he was establishing a good rhythm with his run of starts at No 7.
Papalii said he felt dearly for Cane with his latest injury setback but isn’t thinking about All Blacks spots at this stage of the year.
There is no doubt Papalii is fast maturing into a quality performer. After the Hurricanes match he credited some sage advice from coaching legend Sir Graham Henry with helping him cut to the chase around the requirements of his position.
‘‘When Sir Graham coached us when I was still with Auckland, he made a massive emphasis around going and looking for tackles and just being a mongrel out there. I want to always be one of the most physical players on the park.
‘‘It’s the basics. When you do that well, the razzle, all the good stuff will come later on. I feel like when I focus on the basics – tacking, jackaling, slowing down the ball – then the good stuff, the fun stuff, will come later.’’
It’s certainly a formula that’s working for Papalii who’s now an automatic selection at No 7 for the Blues, and must be pressing hard for a similar role at the higher level.