Coles’ comeback put on hold again
Another week has brought another declaration that captain Dane Coles could’ve played ‘‘if it had been a final.’’
Instead, the ‘‘niggly’’ knee injury the Hurricanes hooker suffered in the March 18 win over the Highlanders, will now keep him out until April 15 at the earliest. Ricky Riccitelli will again be the starting No 2, when the team host the Waratahs at Westpac Stadium tomorrow.
Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd said Coles has a posterior or medial cruciate ligament issue - he isn’t sure which - and ‘‘if he’s fit to play next week, he’ll play’’.
‘‘Again, if it had been a final he probably would’ve been able to play. But we’ve taken a long-game approach to that,’’ Boyd said.
And so the Hurricanes should. It’s just that they keep saying Coles is in contention to play, only for him not to.
Just on the fitness front, Boyd made positive noises that loose forward Ardie Savea might be back to meet the Blues at Eden Park on Saturday week. Savea left Suncorp Stadium in some discomfort last week and was subsequently diagnosed with a calf problem.
Boyd said yesterday the calf is now in decent shape and it’s a hamstring that’s restricting Savea most.
Wings Julian Savea and Vince Aso will almost definitely play the Blues. The pair’s starting spots have gone to Wes Goosen and Cory Jane this week, as Boyd looks to keep the squad ‘‘ticking over.’’
As good as the Hurricanes’ backs have been this season, it’s the forwards who’ll need to perform best against the Waratahs.
If we go back to the run Boyd’s boys made to the 2016 title, there’s an argument their 28-17 win over the Waratahs in Sydney was the best of the season. The Hurricanes were as combative and confrontational as they’ve ever been, which included Coles giving referee Chris Pollock a gobful.
A bit of that mentality wouldn’t
go astray tomorrow. ’’[In] 2015 they came here and gave us a bit of a pasting in the round-robin. It was the only round-robin game we lost at home - from memory - and they were particularly tough on us physically,’’ said Boyd.
‘‘So last year when we went there we thought we needed to stand up in that space, to be competitive. It’s not the same Waratahs team and it’s not the same Hurricanes team [but] they’re a very big side and they’re very physical and I’m sure they’ll try and dominate us again and that’s something we’ll need to circumvent.’’
The absence of Coles and Ardie Savea will hardly aid that process, leaving blokes such as Brad Shields, Jeff To’omaga-allen and Michael Fatialofa with big roles to play.