Sopoaga a good chance to play against Brumbies
Don’t bank on Lima Sopoaga playing a part as the Highlanders attempt to snap a two-game losing skid on Saturday night, but he’s at least a chance to play the Brumbies.
Considering it’s less than a fortnight since the pivot went down as if some thug lined up his leg with a sniper rifle early in the Highlanders’ 27-22 loss to the Chiefs in Hamilton, it’s more than anyone could ask for.
‘‘At this stage, we’re suspecting he should be OK,’’ Highlanders assistant coach Mark Hammett said.
‘‘It was a bit of a freaky type injury as it looked pretty severe when he did it. He’s been running without contact in the early part of the week and we’ll probably amp that up as we go. We’ll get a pretty good idea by Thursday as to how he’s tracking.’’
Having clutched his lower-leg in anguish moments after unleashing a 22m restart, Sopoaga hobbled off and was replaced by Fletcher Smith six minutes into the team’s last match.
Including the Dunedin-based franchise’s coaching staff, many initially thought the 27-year-old’s final season in New Zealand before he heads to England had ended with a serious Achilles injury.
However, the medical team quickly ruled out a serious injury to the player who missed eight weeks with a bung hamstring last season.
Hammett was unable to provide a medical term for Sopoaga’s injury, but did his best when asked what caused the All Black to go down in a heap.
‘‘It seemed to be a bone on bone lock at the front of the foot, between the ankle and the foot. It locked and just created a suspect Achilles.’’
The Highlanders exhausted the last of their two bye weeks last weekend, no doubt a blessing for Sopoaga and the rest of the team’s wounded ahead of an eight-week block leading into the June test window.
Unlike during the team’s first bye (round three), most players were given the week off ahead of a stretch which includes five away games, including matches against the Bulls in Pretoria and the Sharks in Durban.
Loose forwards Dan Pryor and James Lentjes didn’t have the same luxury. They were asked to play club rugby in Dunedin as they continue their road back from hamstring and shoulder injuries respectively.
Meanwhile, injured flanker Liam Squire, out since he broke his thumb against the Crusaders in round five, won’t play the Brumbies at Forsyth Barr Stadium, or the Blues at Eden Park next Friday.
‘‘He’s on track for South Africa,’’ Hammett said. ‘‘Best case scenario, he can play the first game [against the Bulls on April 28]. If not, he’ll be available the sec- ond game.’’
As for utility back Richard Buckman, who is yet to take the field this season due to a nerve injury in his neck, Hammett could offer nothing more than what we’ve heard since the start of the season.
‘‘He’s still a few weeks away yet.’’
But Hammett could dish up more when discussing targeted areas of improvement after losses to the Hurricanes and Chiefs halted their three-match winning streak to start the year.
‘‘We didn’t always win the territory battles as much as we’d like,’’ he said. ‘‘There’s different ways to remedy it, depending on who we’re playing, but it’s certainly been a focus for us early in this training week, and it will be the next few weeks.
‘‘We’re the Highlanders, and our attitude is that we play, we really back ourselves to be really confident to throw the pass, or throw to the back of the lineout. Just under the circumstances in the last two games, we’ve probably gone into our shells a wee bit.
‘‘For us, it’s just pull the trigger and have a go.’’