Time to unleash forgotten man
OPINION: Ngani Laumape shifting into top gear at Estadio Malvinas Argentinas could be a reason to siphon an extra shot of coffee into our systems on Sunday morning. Remember Laumape?
Stocky bloke, used to play rugby league for the Warriors, charges at defensive lines like a Harley Davidson with its throttle twisted wide open and seems to enjoy the sensation of flesh and bone colliding.
Thrusting Laumape into the All Blacks’ midfield against the Pumas in Buenos Aires is a concept that would have merit.
All Blacks coach Hansen hasn’t rarely been reluctant to bang on about how taxing the test programme is on his players.
It all adds up: hours spent in the air, witless twiddling of thumbs in airport transfer lounges, jetlag, shuttling to and from hotels, meetings, trainings and injuries to be rehabilitated.
There are also test matches to be won.
This is where Laumape, the midfielder we haven’t seen a great deal of since he made an impression for the Hurricanes in Super Rugby, enters the conversation.
The 24-year-old has played three tests in his debut season at this level, starting just one. He is fresh, and no doubt impatient, for work.
Laumape played his first test when Hansen was forced to shuffle his deck because Sonny Bill Williams had been sent off in the 24-21 loss to the British and Irish Lions in the second test in Wellington on July 1.
The following weekend Laumape started at second five-eighth in the 15-all draw with the Lions in Auckland. He also got the grand sum of four minutes when used as a substitute for Williams in the 39-22 victory over the Pumas in New Plymouth on September 9.
You could say he’s due for another run.
While first-choice centre Ryan Crotty has stayed behind in Christchurch, before preparing to meet the squad in South Africa for the final Rugby Championship test, Anton Lienert-Brown, Williams and Laumape have travelled to Buenos Aires.
In all likelihood Williams and Crotty will start against the Springboks in Cape Town on October 8, an assignment that shapes as the more difficult on this short tour.
Hansen has the option of starting Laumape at second five-eighth and Lienert-Brown at centre against the Pumas, listing Williams on the reserves bench as insurance.
The last - and only - time Laumape and Lienert-Brown started together was in the third test against a Lions. It wasn’t the happiest of nights for them or their mates in the All Blacks’ backline.
Line breaks were created, but valuable chances lost because of poor handling.
Laumape and Lienert-Brown have much more to offer as individuals and as a combination. We saw enough of the the man they call ALB last year, when he played nine tests, to know that.
At this stage Laumape is still something of a project. When players join the All Blacks it can be a very intense experience; a heap of information has to be absorbed, the expectations are high and no-one wants to make a mistake in front of their new peers.
Hurricanes supporters who watched him score 15 tries in Super Rugby, would vouch for the carnage he can cause and even the most casual of observers who watched the Canes’ 31-31 draw in their match against the touring Lions couldn’t have helped but notice the way Laumape kept trying to demolish tacklers in his path.
The Lions’ Welsh first five-eighth Dan Biggar knew all about that.
So we know Laumape has the pedigree to go well. He just needs to be given another chance to prove it.