Thanks but no thanks, dad
Lomax selective on heeding father’s advice
Tyrel Lomax’s dad Johnny knows a fair bit about playing sport at the top level. He watches his son’s every match for the Hurricanes from Australia and they speak regularly on the phone.
But that’s not to say the giant Hurricanes tighthead prop – at 1.93m and 127kg – heeds all his former Kiwis and Canberra Raiders league-playing father’s advice.
‘‘I talk to him probably every day.
‘‘He thinks he knows what he’s talking about but not quite, especially for a front rower,’’ Lomax junior, 24, said with a laugh. ‘‘He’s pretty old school as well, so some things he tells me to do, you wouldn’t get away with.’’ Care to elaborate?
‘‘No.’’
Between Lomax and his side’s defence coach, Cory Jane, there were plenty of laughs at Hurricanes HQ yesterday, and why not, after their bruising defensive effort to repel the Chiefs 25-18 on Sunday for their first win of Super Rugby Aotearoa.
Lomax’s former side, the Highlanders, loom at Sky Stadium in Wellington on Sunday in another high-stakes clash where the losing team will again slip off the pace.
It required a big effort in Hamilton after lock Scott Scrafton’s two yellow cards saw the Hurricanes play at least 25 minutes with 14 men.
With Reed Prinsep moving to lock in his 50th game, and Ben May coming in for Fraser Armstrong (knee) on the unfamiliar loosehead side, the Hurricanes’ pack lifted.
Both of wing Kobus van Wyk’s tries were from set plays from ruck solid scrums, a trademark of Lomax’s time at the Hurricanes, and across the park they muscled up on defence and forced errors.
‘‘We’ve had a bit of practice being men down,’’ Jane said, referring to the Blues defeat in March when they were reduced to 12 after Lomax was red carded for a high tackle.
‘‘The character the boys showed was huge. There was intensity, and guys were working hard which wasn’t necessarily the case the previous two games.’’ Lomax said he’d learned a simple lesson from that dark night in March: ‘‘Drop my body height in tackles.’’
And Jane, after complimenting Lomax on his polished media performance, insisted he was a shoo-in for additional All Blacks tests after his one-off against Japan in 2018.
‘‘He can definitely be in the All Blacks and cement a spot. He’s a big human. He’s still working at his game . . . scrum wise I can’t tell you too much but defensively he’s a big man and doesn’t wait for the contact. He’s working at getting up off the line,’’ Jane said.
Jane reported centre Vince Aso (shoulder) and loose forward Gareth Evans (ankle) would likely be available; Armstrong’s injury wasn’t as bad as first feared and Jordie Barrett came through an impressive comeback with no ill effects.
Barrett’s return from a shoulder injury was huge for the Canes with his mammoth boot, presence at the back and leadership.
Said Jane: ‘‘He’s a big part for us. Not only his ability – his skill set is high – but he’s found a new voice.
‘‘He just calms everyone out on the field. You hear him and he’s always in the right spots.’’ RETURN OF THE RIVALRY