Friends today; foes this weekend
Seta Tamanivalu will be a notable absentee when the South Islandbased All Blacks gather for a ‘‘foundation’’ day in Christchurch on Monday.
A deal brokered between NZ Rugby and the five Super Rugby teams means a series of camps are scheduled prior to the All Blacks’ three-test series against France in June, with the first step of this plan set to unfold when internationals from the Crusaders and Highlanders, who will play each other in Dunedin on Saturday night, gather at the Christchurch rugby club with All Blacks management staff.
Of the 17 Crusaders listed in the All Blacks tour party that travelled to the northern hemisphere last year, wing/centre Tamanivalu and loosehead prop Crockett are the only men not to receive an invite. Their omissions are not a great surprise.
While Tamanivalu, who will join French club Bordeaux later this season, could still have been called upon – as was the case for Tawera Kerr-Barlow prior to his departure last summer – Crockett recently announced his retirement from the international scene.
Although All Blacks Kieran Read, Owen Franks, Joe Moody, Israel Dagg and Richie Mo’unga will attend the ‘‘foundation day’’, they cannot play the Highlanders because of injury; however, Crusaders coach Scott Robertson must still tailor the start of his working week to accommodate 10 absentees.
Of the latter group only reserve halfback Mitchell Drummond and loosehead Tim Perry, who has been recovering from an Achilles tendon injury, have not been in the Crusaders’ starting teams this season. Perry is expected to be fit to play the Highlanders.
Given they were stung 29-19 by Hurricanes in Wellington on Saturday night, the Crusaders would no doubt have preferred all players to be available for the full working week but Robertson said they had ways to counter the disruption.
‘‘We have planned for this,’’ Robertson said. ‘‘We want to make the Tuesday as smooth as possible for the All Blacks players to come back in, and get straight back into the week’s work.’’
Another one-day camp will be held for South Island players in Christchurch on April 16, on the Monday ahead of the game against the Sunwolves in Christchurch.
The North Island representatives are scheduled to gather on March 20 and April 23.
The All Blacks will also attend two three-day preparations in camps, to be held in Auckland and Christchurch, on May 20-22 and May 27-29.
These coincide with the Crusaders fixtures against the Hurricanes and Chiefs.
When NZ Rugby initially unveiled their plans, the reaction from the Super Rugby clubs, not surprisingly, was not one loaded with celebratory cheers.
It is understood NZ Rugby wanted the camps to be longer, but agreed to reduce them to three days. Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd has been the most vocal on the issue, expressing his disappointment about how the consultation was carried out.
Robertson said he just wants to get on with the business of beating the Highlanders next Saturday.
‘‘We have to roll with them (NZ Rugby), we have to work together with this,’’ Robertson said.
‘‘The mindset is to help Steve (Hansen) and the All Blacks to prepare as well as they can, and we need to manage it as well as we can to beat a good Highlanders side.’’
Meanwhile, Robertson will give skipper Sam Whitelock and his vice-captain Ryan Crotty ample time to recover from the head knocks suffered in the first half of the game against the Hurricanes.
If Whitelock is scratched, Luke Romano and Scott Barrett are expected to start in Dunedin and Quinten Strange could be on the bench.
If Crotty is unavailable, the experienced Tim Bateman can start in the midfield.
‘‘They (Whitelock and Crotty) will go through the usual protocols,’’ Robertson said.
‘‘They woke up feeling good on Sunday, which is the first step to being cleared on Thursday.’’