Ty says let’s be havin’ Ja
AN immediate return to training with the Hostplus Cup squad will ensure Northern Pride fullback Jahoiyakim Afoa regains confidence after being on the wrong end of a 70-point thrashing.
Afoa was initially named in the Pride’s HPC side for the clash with Capras but dropped back to the Hastings Deering Colts side to make way for the returning Julian Christian.
Wearing the No. 7 jersey, Afoa and his Under-21s teammates could only watch as the Capras ran roughshod.
They ran in 14 tries, including a 14-minute spell in which they scored 30 points, to leave the Pride battered, bruised and on the wrong end of an 80-10 scoreline.
Pride head coach Ty Williams said the team would make sure Afoa bounces back after a solid outing.
“I know the result wasn’t great but I thought Ja was solid in his efforts,” Williams said.
“The luxury that Ja has in regards to his position is that he jumps back to the HPC straight away.
“He was into his recovery (on Monday) with Timmy (Holdsworth, strength and conditioning coach) and the rest of the lads so he limited that trough he was in Saturday and reassessed on Sunday.
“We’ll get him back up and going as a group. He gets his chance again this week.
“Even though the results weren’t great, I just said to Ja he needs to focus solely on his role and what he does with the team, and making sure he puts his best foot forward to make him available for HPC.”
The Pride are on the road this weekend when they meet Tweed Seagulls at Tugan on Saturday afternoon (3pm kickoff).