NOT SO GOOD DECISIONS
BLUES PLAYING RIEKO IOANE AT SECOND-FIVE
It sounded like a formula for a real bad concoction...probably because that’s essentially what it was.
Take the world’s best wing, the most deadly finisher on the planet when he’s given a fraction of space in which to operate and then ask him to play at second-five and crash the ball up the middle of the park.
Tana Umaga was convinced that Ioane’s future is destined to be at No 12, but he cut a lonely figure with that view. Which may explain why Umaga was removed from his job at the end of the season.
BRISBANE 10S
There was nothing wrong with the Brisbane 10s per se – in fact they weren’t a bad way for teams to get some valid pre-season football under their belts while entertaining the masses in the process.
The problem was that to play in Brisbane the start of Super Rugby had to be delayed by a week. And by delaying the start of the season by a week it meant the two week gap between the end of Super Rugby and the first test was cut to one week. Therefore the All Blacks then had to introduce training camps into the middle of the season which meant top players missing games.
Now, the thing about that was the way the Super Rugby coaches moaned about the intrusion and the heavy-handed nature of the All Blacks.
Yet all of this came about because the coaches wanted to play in Brisbane. And why did they want to be at the 10s..? Because they got paid to be there.
JORDIE’S QUICK THROW
Jordie Barrett is probably going to be a fine test footballer in time. But he endured a massive set-back in September with one illadvised decision.
The All Blacks were leading 12-0 against the Boks in Wellington after just 10 minutes and had convinced themselves the hard work had been done and it was a case of running the tries in for fun. Or at least that’s what it looked like when Jordie Barrett opted to take a quick lineout when the Boks had kicked the ball out.
It was a poor call as the Boks were rushing up fast and Rieko Ioane, the intended target, was in the middle of the field.
When Ioane stopped running to meet the ball, it landed at his feet and bounced straight into the arms of the advancing Willie le Roux who couldn’t believe his luck.
That try was the score that ignited the Boks.
JORDIE’S RADAR GOES ON THE BLINK
Actually Jordie had another poor decision to account for this year when he and a mate headed out for a few beers after the Hurricanes had played the Highlanders in Dunedin. They were hungry on the way home so they stopped for a burger and decided to call in to see a mate while they ate.
But the problem was they got the wrong house and the occupants decided to ring the Police as they were terrified that there were strangers in their lounge.
The Police weren’t impressed but they did at least believe that Barrett and his mate had got the wrong house as the bloke they were hoping to call in on lived a few doors down.
The bigger worry was that the All Blacks were assembling the day after and for Barrett to be out at 5am eating burgers... didn’t feel like the best way to prepare.
BLUES EXTENDING TANA UMAGA’S CONTRACT
This wasn’t necessarily a bad idea. The Blues decided midway through their terrible campaign that they didn’t want to fire Tana Umaga because the cycle of hiring and firing coaches had not worked and they needed to break it.
They had to make a decision about their coach because players needed to know as it would have a bearing on whether they would stay and certainly whether any new ones would come.
So the decision was made to extend Umaga’s contract by a year so there was some kind of certainty. But after that decision was made, NZR bought a 40 per cent stake in the club and put three board members in place.
When Umaga’s review was conducted it wasn’t great so the new board decided to make Leon MacDonald head coach with Tana Umaga opting to be demoted to look after the defence. It was an extraordinary state of aairs in regard to process but at least the outcome was one that felt right.
“Tana has always been about the team first – it’s no dierent to when he was the captain of the All Blacks when I played underneath him,” MacDonald said after his promotion.
“He’s never been about himself. It just shows how passionate he is about this team. He’s extremely committed to getting this team to the top. It shows the mark of the man.
“When I spoke to him before I applied for the job I could see his excitement about the role he wanted to do… to hear that and the support he oered made it a no-brainer for me.”
DANNY CIPRIANI TAKING HIS DRINK OUTSIDE
Having struggled to find the creative edge they were looking for, England appeared to find it in South Africa when they introduced Danny Cipriaini at first-five for the third test.
He delivered the flair they wanted and with the presence of Owen Farrell next to him at second-five, England had the set-up they were after.
But it all went wrong when Cipriani came back to England and got himself into a bit of trouble.
He was in Jersey with his Gloucester club for pre-season training and having a few drinks in a pub.
When he was told by the door sta that he couldn’t take his drink outside, he decided it would be best to assault one of them.
When the Police turned up to sort him out, he resisted arrest, leading to him being fined in court to the tune of NZ$5,000.
Gloucester chief executive Stephen Vaughan had this to say: “As a high-profile sportsperson there is often a large degree of public and media scrutiny involved, which Danny is well aware of.
“The incident in question was over in a matter of seconds and was a reaction to the conduct of other parties involved.
“He knows his responsibilities and is aware of the impact of this type of incident on the club. However, Danny is a Gloucester Rugby player and will receive our full support.”
Gloucester did indeed stick by him but unfortunately England didn’t and Cipriani was dumped from the squad.