Osborne bolsters backline
Coach Scott Robertson has welcomed back Highlanders wing Patrick Osborne to bolster the Canterbury backline against champions Taranaki.
Osborne missed the last three matches with a calf strain, but he has recovered to take his place on the left wing with Robertson opting to field his top lineup against Colin Cooper’s team.
Tulolo Tulolo and Milford Keresoma have deputised in Osborne’s absence but Robertson is rapt to have his Fijian flyer back to complement Johnny McNicholl’s skills on the right flank.
Robertson fielded his fringe players at the start of last Wednesday’s scratchy 18-17 win over Waikato, before bringing on big guns like All Blacks Matt Todd and Joe Moody to turn the game around.
Canterbury are top of the table and the NPC’s only unbeaten team, but Robertson will be looking for a rise in performance after belowpar displays against North Harbour and Waikato.
‘‘We snuck home on Wednesday night with a squad that did the job, and now the guys who’ve performed all year get a chance to have a crack at the champions,’’ he said.
‘‘We’ve got Pat Osborne there, being his cheeky self, which is exciting.’’
Osborne could have played against Waikato ‘‘at a big pinch’’, but Robertson felt it best to err on the side of caution rather than risk aggravating the injury. ‘‘Fast twitch fibres, outside wings, a history of calf injuries, you just make sure you give them time.’’
Captain Luke Whitelock also returns ‘‘100 per cent’’ after a calf niggle sidelined him against Waikato.
Only three players, fullback Tom Taylor, centre Ryan Crotty and blindside flanker Reed Prinsep started against Waikato.
Robertson said it is a balancing act when a team has to play three games in seven days. The Taranaki encounter is the last in that period that Robertson has dubbed ‘‘the storm’’.
‘‘Coaching this team for a few years in the actual storm, experience shows if you’ve got a midweek game at home, and one of the games either side at home, it makes a big difference, with no travel. But there are so many anomalies [in the draw].
‘‘It’s not a perfect draw, but it’s what it is. We know beforehand and we try and plan, that’s what we did on Wednesday night.’’
Robertson said the Canterbury team ‘‘haven’t had a day off for 12 days’’ because of the draw’s vagaries, but he still had a ‘‘salesman’s job on his hands’’ to convince some it was best they did not start against Waikato. ‘‘They definitely didn’t want to miss that game on Wednesday night.’’
But he said it was prudent to carefully manage players, especially with another ‘‘six-day turnaround coming up’’ before the Tasman Makos game in Nelson on October 3. ‘‘Otherwise, at the end
We’ve got Pat Osborne there, being his cheeky self, which is exciting. Scott Robertson