Highlanders end Ioane experiment
The Josh Ioane at No 12 experiment is over.
Highlanders coach Aaron Mauger has revealed that the onetest All Black is being viewed as a No 10 again, pitching him into a three-way battle with Mitch Hunt and Bryn Gatland for the jersey when the Highlanders kick off Super Rugby Aotearoa against the Chiefs on June 13.
‘‘We see Josh as a No 10,’’ Mauger said yesterday.
‘‘It’s highly likely that Josh won’t be wearing the No 12 jersey.
‘‘We’ve always thought that he was No 10 but we had a bit of an experiment early on.
‘‘I wouldn’t say it was an absolute failure but there are certainly some good lessons there for everybody.’’
The Highlanders raised some eyebrows at the start of the campaign by selecting Hunt at No 10 and Ioane at No 12 as they tried to play a wide game that used both of their key ball players.
However, while Hunt’s performances were better than people gave him credit for, Ioane’s game suffered and he couldn’t replicate the form that saw him win an All Blacks cap against Tonga last year.
Mauger said Hunt had been unfairly maligned but put some serious heat on the Highlanders pack to ‘‘front up’’ and deliver better ball for their playmakers.
‘‘I think Mitch Hunt probably copped a lot of flak through that period that was unjust,’’ Mauger said. ‘‘When your forward pack is on the front foot the game is a whole lot easier.
‘‘We didn’t provide that as a pack, so we made our No 9s and No 10s job really hard.
‘‘All the things we know Mitch is capable of as a class flyhalf he wasn’t able to deliver.
‘‘The challenge for us is to make sure our pack is firing, and we’ve put a bit of accountability on those boys. They’ve got to front up and be better.’’
The Highlanders’ improved midfield options also made it easier to switch Ioane back into the No 10 jersey.
In the first part of year, the Highlanders’ were hindered by injuries and suspensions among their midfielders, but the quartet was now ready to go, Mauger said.
‘‘We’ve got lots of selection headaches,’’ Mauger said. ‘‘There’s lots of good competition in our squad at the moment.
‘‘We’ve got quality midfielders and we’ve got quality No 10s
‘‘At times we’ve tried to get our No 10s on the park and use them as ball players.
‘‘. . . but all our midfielders, Teihorangi [Walden], Sio [Tomkinson], Ngane Punivai, Rob Thompson is back fit and firing as well.
‘‘There is plenty of competition for those spots and nothing is a given for anybody.’’
However, Mauger made it clear that the Highlanders were expecting much more aggression and consistency from their pack.
‘‘If we are going to play the game of footy we want to play our pack has got to be better,’’ Mauger said. ‘‘They’ve got to work harder and be more consistent for 80 minutes. It’s the age-old principle. It starts up front and our big boys have to get us rolling.’’