Kereru-Symes gets the nod to start against the Waratahs
As recently as a fortnight ago, it’s a safe bet Kianu Kereru-Symes didn’t envisage starting a Super Rugby Pacific match by the first week in May.
Now, the 25-year-old former Hawke’s Bay hooker will don jersey No 2 and trot on to Sky Stadium against the Waratahs tomorrow night (7.05pm kickoff) as the Hurricanes seek a serious bounceback from their first loss of the season, to the Brumbies in Canberra.
With his three contracted hookers – Asafo Aumua, James O’Reilly and Jacob Devery –now sidelined, coach Clark Laidlaw had some serious thinking to do after Saturday’s 27-19 defeat when O’Reilly suffered concussion which meant a minimum 12-day stand-down.
“It’s just tricky,’’ Laidlaw said yesterday. “Your three contracted players are not there in a specialist position so it changes the dynamic of the group. But that’s the curveballs you expect in a season. You won’t hear us moaning about it – we’ve got to find a solution and help the guys who are coming in.”
Kereru-Symes played four matches for the Hurricanes in 2022 amid a similar hooking injury crisis, but the closest he’d got this year was a trip to Fiji with the Crusaders’ wider training group.
He rejoined the Hurricanes when Aumua suffered a knee injury against the Drua which will sideline him until the playoffs at the earliest. Then, the US-born former Canterbury hooker and Blues wider squad member Shilo Klein was whistled up this week and will be next cab off the rank should Kereru-Symes or reserve Raymond Tuputupu suffer any misfortune.
Laidlaw said his new No 2 was obviously “short of a gallop” but he was confident Kereru-Symes would slot in as the coaches work overtime this week to ensure the lineout functions smoothly.
“He’s had a couple of games for the development team, he’s had a couple of club games … that’s the beauty of these contracts – they’re contracted to NZ Rugby and we have the ability to bring them in, as the Crusaders did with him.
“I’m excited to see him go. He’s a good man and tough rugby player, and I’m sure he’s pretty excited. A couple of weeks ago he thought he’d be sitting up in Hawke’s Bay – now he’s starting a Super Rugby game.”
The Hurricanes also could not call on the services of Vernon Bason, from Manawatū, who is captaining New Zealand Under-20 in the Rugby Championship which starts against South Africa today. Tuputupu will remain on the bench for his third Super Rugby appearance, after playing 50-plus minutes in Canberra.
Laidlaw has reshuffled his side for the 11th-placed Waratahs, with regular skipper Brad Shields given a rest, and TJ Perenara and Jordie Barrett on the bench, which opens the door for Richard Judd and Riley Higgins to start.
A notable inclusion in an ever-changing backline is Bailyn Sullivan, a midfielder in the unfamiliar left-wing spot, after what Laidlaw described as some serious hard work to return from a shoulder reconstruction.
Josh Moorby also returns from a rest week on the right wing, with Salesi Rayasi on the bench and Kini Naholo out of the 23 altogether. All Blacks prospect Billy Proctor returns at centre from a week off, and is also handed the captaincy in Shields’ absence.
Laidlaw’s side still leads the competition by one point from the Blues, but won’t stay there long if it produces similar performances to the one in Canberra, where 43 tackles were missed.
“We need to be better defensively and take our opportunities. In the review there were heaps of opportunities we didn’t take … We didn’t feel like the Brumbies threw something at us that we should be missing 43 tackles. That was a big part of the honesty on Monday when we looked at the game.”