Two-horse race for Canes 10
To hear TJ Perenara tell it, the Hurricanes are yet to settle on their replacement for Beauden Barrett at first five-eighth.
Barrett left for the Blues in the off-season, with the Hurricanes opting to find his successor from within after an unsuccessful exploration of the open market.
Jordie Barrett and James Marshall have both been mentioned as experienced players who could fill the No 10 jersey, but neither are specialists and from co-captain Perenara’s comments yesterday, it was down to a two-horse race between Jackson Garden-Bachop and Fletcher Smith.
‘‘I’ve known Jackson a long time. He’s a Porirua boy, played for Norths, then my relationship with Fletcher has only built over the last couple of years and continued to get stronger,’’ he said in response to a question about how he had been working with his first-fives.
‘‘I’ve got a lot of faith in the boys [Garden-Bachop and Smith] and the job they can do.
‘‘The way they’ve been running our team and the way they express themselves, study film and make sure they’re all over our gameplan is something we definitely need and we’re looking forward to seeing them out on the field.’’
Handing over the reins from one of the world’s leading firstfives to either Garden-Bachop or Smith is a downgrade in everyone’s book.
Both have performed well for their provinces of Wellington (Garden-Bachop) and Waikato (Smith) in recent seasons, but neither really took the opportunity afforded to them during the five matches Barrett took off during the 2019 regular season.
Smith got first crack, but struggled in tough away matches against the Waratahs and
Crusaders, and eventually found himself as a replacement fullback by the end of the season.
Marshall ended up starting at 10 against the Jaguares in week 14, and again in week 17 when Barrett was a late scratching against the Lions, before GardenBachop got a crack against the Blues in a dead-rubber in the last regular-season match.
Garden-Bachop started the first pre-season game against the Crusaders last weekend, while Smith starts tomorrow against the Blues.
Perenara backed either to lead the team well and said it wouldn’t be a case of the other leaders in the backline needing to step up their game.
‘‘There are leaders in an environment, there are captains, but in a game of rugby, a 10 runs the ship. A 10 is the decision maker.
‘‘Our job is to give our 10s, regardless of who’s out on the field, the best platform for them to make decisions.
‘‘It’s not about myself or Jordie or Ngani [Laumape] having to do more out on the field, it’s doing our jobs really really well so that our 10 has a platform that they’re comfortable with to make decisions for the team.’’
At a glance
Hurricanes starting XV v Blues tomorrow at Onewa Domain: Chase Tiatia, Wes Goosen, Billy Proctor, Ngani Laumape, Ben Lam, Fletcher Smith, Jonathan Taumateine, Gareth Evans, Du’Plessis Kirfi, Reed Prinsep (c), James Blackwell, Scott Scrafton, Tyrel Lomax, Ricky Riccitelli and Fraser Armstrong.
The start of the season will represent a baptism of fire for whoever steps into the breach at 10, with a two-legged away trip to Cape Town to play the Stormers on February 2 (NZ time) and Buenos Aires to take on the Jaguares on February 9.
That might shape as one of the tougher starts to a Super Rugby season, but Perenara is looking at it as a positive for the squad.
‘‘I’ve been to Africa a lot early on in the season. Probably five or six of my nine years we’ve been away early in the year.
‘‘I like going away early. It’s a good opportunity to build some camaraderie on the road. You’re forced into an environment where it’s just you guys.
‘‘You’re staying in the hotel and eating at the same places. There is a lot more time for genuine connection on and off the field, so I think it’s a good way to bring the team together early in the season.’’