Tomkinson: The new Brian Lima
The Highlanders are fed up.
There is a growing sense of frustration in Dunedin that they have yet to produce a performance of the requisite physical edge in this year’s Super Rugby.
The solution: pick the midfielder they have labelled the new Brian Lima.
Sio Tomkinson is on a search and destroy mission against the Hurricanes in Wellington tonight.
‘‘He’s actually a pretty softly spoken guy, pretty gentle, but as soon as he crosses the chalk he has that ruthless mindset about him, not too dissimilar to Brian Lima who was a Highlanders legend,’’ head coach Aaron Mauger said.
‘‘There’s a bit of Brian Lima in Sio’s mindset around the tackle.’’
The Highlanders coaches stress that the 95kg Tomkinson is more than just a brutal defender, with defence coach Glenn Delaney insisting he had some unheralded subtleties to his attacking game.
Nonetheless his defence is still his strong point and Mauger’s comparison to Lima will be heard loud and clear in Wellington.
Of course, being the new ‘Chiropractor’ in the modern age comes with risks.
Some of Lima’s famous hits would be straight red cards these days and Tomkinson has already had his brush with the law.
He was red carded in round one for dazing All Blacks lock Brodie Retallick with a big shot and although that was later rescinded it shows he is operating close to the line.
The Hurricanes will no doubt be keen to make sure he is rigorously policed, and they were up in arms last year when former Chiefs midfielder Johnny Fa’auli injured Wes Goosen with a high shot.
Nonetheless there is still room for hard men in the midfield if they get their technique right.
Tomkinson smashed another All Blacks forward, Sam Cane, in a match between Otago and Bay of Plenty in 2016 and since then his reputation – and frame – has continued to grow.
Against the Rebels in Melbourne last week his defensive heat almost turned the Highlanders’ loss into a win.
Coming off the bench, he belatedly put some pressure on Rebels No 10 Quade Cooper and forced the errors the Highlanders had been looking for all game.
‘‘I thought Sio was outstanding off the bench last week through his physicality, and his intent put us in a position towards the end of the game to give us a crack at winning it, so he gets rewarded for that performance,’’ Mauger said.
Next up, Hurricanes powerhouse Ngani Laumape and the classy Matt Proctor, with the possibility of big wings Ben Lam and Jordie Barrett coming inside looking for work.
‘‘We know the Hurricanes backs are very physical, they are a big backline, so we want to make sure we match them there and both Thomas [UmagaJensen] and Sio deserve that opportunity,’’ Mauger said.
Physicality is also one of the reasons Richard Buckman has been picked on the right wing after his campaign for Kobe in Japan’s Top League.
‘‘We love ‘Bucky’,’’ Mauger said. ‘‘We didn’t have the physical edge we needed last week in the back three and out wide and he’ll bring that.’’