Crusaders look to McLeod
Second-year player Dallas McLeod has been given first crack in a newlook Crusaders midfield due to the unavailability of Braydon Ennor (knee) and David Havili (concussion).
McLeod, who hails from Methven, Mid Canterbury, and has just two Super caps to his name, will start at second five-eighth alongside centre Jack Goodhue against the Highlanders in the opening match of Super Rugby Aotearoa in Dunedin tomorrow night.
Head coach Scott Robertson opted for the McLeod-Goodhue combination over other options, which included a Goodhue-Rene Ranger pairing, or thrusting Leicester Fainga’anuku or rookie Isaiah Punivai into the mix.
Left-wing Fainga’anuku will cover 21-year-old McLeod and Goodhue, who moves back to centre, where the injured Ennor shone last year.
‘‘Dallas is a great young kid, we know that. Performed really well in the pre-season, so it’s a chance for us to get a wee combination going,’’ Robertson said.
‘‘Great opportunity to build some depth at 12. That’s where Dallas has played the majority of his career, he’s ready to go.’’
Ennor and Havili are two of four Crusaders backs unavailable, with George Bridge and Manasa Mataele both expected to miss the first four weeks of the competition with chest injuries.
Havili, who started at 12 in last weekend’s game of three halves pre-season match, was concussed attempting to make a tackle in the opening minutes against the Chiefs.
Havili is likely to return from concussion protocol in time to play the Hurricanes in Christchurch Saturday week, although tighthead prop Oli Jager (ankle) is unlikely to feature until the following week – against the Chiefs in Christchurch
Jager’s latest injury has resulted in rookie Fletcher Newell, a Rangiora High School product, being named on the bench.
The 2019 NZ Rugby age grade player of the year is one of two rookies in the reigning champions’ 23 for their season-opener, with utility Chay Fihaki named on the bench ahead of former Highlander Josh McKay.
‘‘We went with youth. He had a great pre-season, had a couple of great games, he’s a real talent and we trust him. It’s an opportunity to go and get a debut’’ Robertson said. ‘‘Chay has a good boot on him, he’s good in the air. It’s just the right time for him’’.
In positive injury news, Will Jordan, one of nine All Blacks in the starting lineup, has brushed off the blow to the ribs which ended his only pre-season appearance last week.
Asked if 40 minutes of preseason rugby, the maximum allowed by New Zealand Rugby, was enough for his host of All Blacks ahead of what’s sure to be a high-octane, energy sapping contest under the roof, Robertson said it would have to be.
‘‘They’ve done it before in other years. Players are conditioned to the highest level, and they will back themselves – we will back them to go through, they’re going to have to.’’
The Crusaders have won nine of the last 10 completed games against the Highlanders, and have won a staggering 28 of the 40 matches between the teams, including the last five.
However, Robertson pointed out just how close many of those games had been.
Meanwhile, Liam Squire is officially back in New Zealand rugby. Tony Brown has placed his faith in the bruising loose forward by naming him on the bench in a powerful-looking Highlanders side.
Squire did not play a single minute of the Highlanders’ preseason games as he comes back from ankle and knee surgery, but Brown has always insisted he would be in contention for the opening round of the competition.
Squire will be short on match fitness but his mere presence will make sure there is an extra buzz of excitement about the southern derby.
The Super Rugby propaganda, for a change, might not be destined for the junk file. From the moment Super Rugby was expanded to 14 teams in 2006, it became increasingly difficult to read, or listen, to promotions about the competition without wanting to take a long nap.
While the administrators’ decision to keep adding teams to Super Rugby provided broadcasters with extra content, and lumped tranches of money into bank accounts, it also alienated fans.
It got quite farcical, didn’t it? By 2016 there were 18 teams. And despite being reduced to 15 in
2018, the tournament remained a clumsy, ill-conceived mess.
Covid-19 changed everything last year, and from the ashes emerged Super Rugby Aotearoa.
Good news: the 2021 SRA model offers more. There will be a final after 2 rounds, potentially 3 if the mooted trans-Tasman tournament is dumped.
NZ Rugby has also taken a calculated gamble with the law variations. It has pinched the goal-line dropout concept from the NRL in the hope of triggering more attacking play, as well as a captain’s referral.
A word of caution, though. The latter could be an issue for viewers whose patience has already been stretched by stoppages; there’s potential to further slow down a game already marred by repeated scrum re-sets and TMOs dithering when reviewing tries or allegations of foul play.
It would be surprising if the Crusaders, the defending SRA champions and 10-time Super Rugby title holders, don’t swiftly adjust to these changes; Scott Robertson has proved to be one of the most insightful and innovative coaches in New Zealand, as well as ensuring his players compete in every game as if it’s a test match.
As for the Hurricanes, coach Jason Holland has marked the start of a new era by promoting Ardie Savea to captain ahead of fellow All Black Dane Coles.
It’s all ahead of Savea, especially if the Hurricanes make a rotten start and fans and media peer through their magnifying glasses to search for solutions.
How Savea copes with the heat, on and off the park, could define his inaugural season in the position; it would be unwise to underestimate how difficult, and lonely, this job can be for the skipper when the fur starts hitting the ceiling.
Social media allows highprofile players like Savea to engage with his fans, and that’s great. The downside is there’s potential for disgruntled trolls to
engage these athletes in unseemly squabbles. Savea may need to learn to turn a blind eye.
The juiciest story, however, may come from the Chiefs. Can interim coach Clayton McMillan repair the damage from last year’s ugly collapse?
Under Warren Gatland, who is on duty with the British and Irish Lions ahead of the proposed series against South Africa, the Chiefs couldn’t win a single game in SRA.
What a nightmare. McMillan, in conjunction with co-captains Sam Cane and Brad Weber, has to flush the memories of that woeful 0-8 record out of his players’ minds and convince them sunnier times lie ahead.
New Highlanders head coach Tony Brown, promoted from assistant because predecessor Aaron Mauger’s contract wasn’t renewed after 3 years, created a minor stir last year when he stated the team needed to reestablish what they meant to the Otago and Southland region.
There was, said Brown, a need to create an ‘‘identity’’ that’s Highlanders: ‘‘I think, potentially, we might have lost a little bit of that over the last few years.’’
That project starts in the SRA opener against the Crusaders in Dunedin tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Patrick Tuipulotu is in his second year of captaining the Blues. He should be better for the experience.
So, too, will his team-mates after winning 5 games in SRA last year. Maybe the Blues will finally deliver? But we have heard that one before. Let’s wait and see.