Cane to pack down at No 8 for the Steamers
Sam Cane will make his return to provincial footy at No 8, but the All Blacks captain doesn’t see himself as much other than an openside flanker at test match level.
In his first Mitre 10 Cup game in four years, Cane will start at the back of the scrum for Bay of Plenty in their round-one Premiership clash against Taranaki in Inglewood tomorrow.
Coach Clayton McMillan – who will also lead Cane in Super Rugby next year – has opted to play fellow Chiefs flanker Mitchell Karpik in the No 7 jersey, with Cane a more than capable option at No 8, having also played there several times at Super level.
But any thoughts of the national skipper eyeing up the black No 8 jersey in the post-Kieran Read era can be banished.
‘‘Geez, I don’t know if I’m testlevel capabilities of playing eight,’’ Cane told Stuff.
‘‘Some of the athletes that we’ve got available to play at international level at No 8 are far superior to me,’’ he said in reference to the likes of Ardie Savea, and the uncapped test trio of Akira Ioane, Hoskins Sotutu and Cullen Grace.
‘‘It’s good to be able to fill in if need be, but it’s not really something I’m trying to push or focus on too much.’’
Speaking to Stuff yesterday morning, Cane was still unsure of any playing minutes restrictions to be imposed on him via All Blacks coach Ian Foster and trainer Nic Gill, in what will be his first match back from the concussion he suffered on August 8 in the Chiefs’ final game of Super Rugby Aotearoa against the Hurricanes in Wellington.
But with the head well healed, Cane is now excited to pull on the blue-and-gold jersey once more, having last trotted out for the Steamers in 2016 on the way back from a hamstring tear suffered in the Rugby Championship against the Pumas in Hamilton.
‘‘Those games I’ve had in the past in between All Blacks games, they’re a little bit tough on the player, because you sort of come in only two days before kickoff and you’ve got to get up to speed,’’ Cane said.
‘‘So it’s been quite nice to be with the team all week.’’
So rare are All Blacks’ appearances with the provinces these days, Cane even had to introduce himself to about a third of the BOP squad. But rather than come in as the big dog and pass on plenty of pointers, he’s tried to ‘‘just learn and just be myself’’ and pick the brains of others.
‘‘I’m asking questions of those younger guys who actually know what we’re supposed to be doing,’’ he said.
In a match which will have the Steamers defending the Chiefs Country Cup, there will be plenty of familiar faces in the opposition for Cane – none more so than good mate Lachlan Boshier, who he felt was desperately unlucky not to get an All Blacks callup, after witnessing first-hand his superb Super form alongside him in the Chiefs’ six-seven combo.
‘‘It was disappointing not to see him get a crack, even for the North team,’’ Cane said.
‘‘It’s hard to see what more he could have done, I thought he had a fantastic season.’’