Good start bodes well for Canes

BLADE THOMSON’S mohawk wasn’t the only reason he, and the Hurricanes, stood out at Eketahuna on Saturday.

There were very few All Blacks, a bunch of nervous young newcomers, and the festival atmosphere of a small-town Wairarapa club ground.

The Hurricanes beat the Crusaders 41-31, but the preseason is meaningless, right? Yes and no. Warmup results have never been a great gauge of how Super Rugby sides fare in the season proper, but in World Cup year they may take on a slightly greater relevance.

The All Blacks’ carefully managed workloads mean a cast of so-called backups will play a greater role in 2015.

Hurricanes stars like Conrad Smith, Ma’a Nonu, Julian Savea, Beauden Barrett and Dane Coles, won’t play every minute of every match, far from it.

And when the Hurricanes’ season kicks off in Johannesburg in just two weeks time, most of those blokes won’t have made a tackle in anger since late last year.

Hence, coach Chris Boyd would have taken some satisfaction from seeing Thomson, Ardie Savea and Brad Shields lead a dominant pack without Coles, Victor Vito, Jeremy Thrush and James Broadhurst.

Likewise the sight of a backline humming along on the back of Rey Lee-Lo’s offloads, Matt Proctor’s footwork, and Nehe MilnerSkudder’s creativity bodes well.

More than that, the attacking structures looked organised, the ball retention was sound and the chase line energetic.

The returning All Blacks will only slip in seamlessly if the core of players who take part in the pre-season matches confidently drive the game plan against the Lions in week one.

‘‘I was really happy with the first 40 minutes,’’ Boyd said. ‘‘A combination of fatigue and combinations we hadn’t used before let them back in which was a little disappointing but the first bit overshadowed the second really.’’

That first bit saw the Hurricanes shoot out to a 24-0 lead in as many minutes with Thomson, Savea and Shields central figures along with Ben Franks up front, and Lee-Lo, Milner-Skudder and newcomer Vince Aso in the backs.

‘‘We have three or four shapes up our sleeves. That was certainly one we wanted to test some of the structures. It’s early days but when our individuals were able to perform their roles within that shape I think it worked pretty well,’’ Boyd said.

‘‘We are focusing on the key things we want to be as good as possible, set piece, our defensive line and chase, and our exit strategies. We thought if those parts of the game were tidy our attack would probably look after itself.

‘‘I thought all the backs would potentially play well [and they] did. There is a bit of a headache there. Taking only 27 to Africa if it’s a 15 forward, 12 back split, and with six All Black backs to come in, there are going to be a couple of tough calls.’’

Openside Ardie Savea (bicep) and props Jeff Toomaga-Allen (knee) and Reggie Goodes (concussion), all got through their return matches without any issues.

The Hurricanes final warmup match is against the Blues in Auckland on Friday.