Highlanders can dominate
Highlanders lock Josh Dickson has lit the fuse for an explosive South Island derby by announcing they can ‘‘dominate’’ the vaunted Crusaders pack.
‘‘That’s always our goal, we’ve got to go out there and dominate,’’ Dickson said of Saturday’s blockbuster under the roof in Dunedin.
‘‘We’re not going to say we’re not going to dominate. That’s our plan. We’ve just got execute everyone’s role and if we do that we will dominate.’’
Normally when the Crusaders roll into town with Sam Whitelock set to be added to an All Blacks-stacked pack the opposition goes into flattery mode, but Dickson, 24, didn’t get that memo.
Instead, coming off the back of the Highlanders pack’s strong performance against the Hurricanes last
Friday,
Dickson was bullish about their capabilities.
‘‘We train hard as a forward pack, we do our part and we have a good plan, so if we go out there and execute there is nothing that should be stopping us,’’ he said.
‘‘We’ve just got to do our job and do it well.’’
Dickson has been a standout for the Highlanders so far this year. At the request of the Highlanders’ coaches he added plenty of weight during the preseason and now tips the scales at 117-118 kilograms, a full 15kg heavier than his Dunedin club rugby days.
‘‘They are always wanting me to put more weight on,’’ said Dickson, who has been set a target of 120kg. ‘‘I’ve just got to keep eating those carbs and all that extra stuff.
‘‘It’s all part of the plan. I’ve got to keep chipping away at that and chucking that food down your gob.’’
Counterintuitively, the extra weight has also helped Dickson get around the paddock and he has been prominent with ball in hand in each of his three Highlanders outings.