Coles poised to start for Hurricanes
Dane Coles sounds like a definite starter, while Vince Aso will be given every chance of joining him.
Stakes don’t get much higher than a Super Rugby semifinal against the Lions in Johannesburg, so the indications are the Hurricanes aren’t going to leave anything up their sleeves.
That means Coles coming back in at hooker, following his 30-minute cameo in the quarterfinal win over the Brumbies, while Aso is poised to replace Jordie Barrett at centre.
That’s not a reflection of Barrett’s two-game stint covering for Aso’s groin tear, more a case of wanting his prodigious boot back at fullback.
The Hurricanes don’t announce their team until tomorrow night but assistant coach John Plumtree wasn’t about to pretend he had no idea who might be in it.
‘‘There’s a good chance you’ll see him start,’’ Plumtree said of Coles yesterday.
‘‘Boydy [head coach Chris Boyd] hasn’t named the side yet but, yeah, he’s good to go. He’s got that old spark back and pretty motivated obviously. It’s a big game for the club and a big game for him this weekend, being his 100th.’’
Coles would be the 11th Hurricane to reach that milestone, with wing Julian Savea the most recent. That’s not bad for a bloke who a few weeks ago was wondering if he’d ever play again, as his recovery from concussion symptoms stretched into months.
Aso, meanwhile, only joined the team in Sydney on Saturday, after a minor groin tear saw him miss the wins over the Crusaders and Brumbies. Barrett showed more of his immense promise by deputising successfully for Aso, who the Hurricanes hope to reunite in midfield with Ngani Laumape.
Plumtree said Barrett ‘‘did a great job filling in’’ and presented the coaches with different options to consider, just maybe not for this weekend.
‘‘We certainly haven’t named the team, but it will be our first big training day today and we’ll be looking after Vince this week, to make sure he gets through the week well and he’s good to go. You’ll just have to wait and see what we do in that position,’’ said Plumtree.
That is particularly so given some of the attributes Barrett can bring to the 15 jumper.
‘‘His long-kicking game in Johannesburg’s going to be useful to us and his ability to diffuse that high-kicking game that we’d expect from [Elton] Jantjies and Ross Cronje. So, for this game, we’ll probably be more excited about him playing fullback.
‘‘But, again, we’ll wait and see what we do in the selection.’’
Plumtree oversees defence and forward play and it was the second of those facets that he felt was relevant to this weekend’s referee. Jaco Peyper, who Plumtree knows well from his years as Sharks coach, will be in charge at Ellis Park, where the Hurricanes are after two things.
First, fewer scrum re-sets than Marius van der Westhuizen presided over in the Lions’ quarterfinal win over the Sharks, as well as an even contest at the breakdown.
In flankers Kwagga Smith and Jaco Kriel, Plumtree said the Lions attacked that part of the game very hard and that the Hurricanes’ cleanout would have to be exemplary.
"He's good to go. He's got that old spark back." Hurricanes assistant coach John Plumtree on Dane Coles