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All Black Coles closing in on Hurricanes return

Hurricanes captain Dane Coles

Hurricanes head coach Chris Boyd would be “pretty surprised” if captain Dane Coles does not make his comeback against Stormers on May 5 and also hopes Nehe Milner-Skudder will return next month.

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Coles has not played for a month due to knee and calf injuries, but the inspirational New Zealand hooker is on the mend.

Boyd is taking no chances with his skipper, but thinks he should be back in Super Rugby action in a fortnight, with the British and Irish Lions tour on the horizon.

“Those calves for him are niggly, they have been over a number of years,” Boyd told Stuff.

“If we didn’t have a bye, he’d probably be okay to play next week. So the bye’s come at a nice time for him. I’d be pretty surprised if he’s not ready for selection against the Stormers [on May 5].”

Milner-Skudder fractured his foot against Chiefs last month and Boyd sees the fixture against Cheetahs on May 20 as a realistic target for the All Blacks full-back.

“If we’re really lucky, the week before against the Crusaders [Milner-Skudder could return],” said Boyd.

The Hurricanes boss revealed that lock Michael Fatialofa may have sustained a dislocated knee as he awaits scan results.

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Nickers 15 minutes ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

I thought we made a lot of progress against that type of defence by the WC last year. Lots of direct running and punching holes rather than using width. Against that type of defence I think you have to be looking to kick on first phase when you have front foot ball which we did relatively successfully. We are playing a lot of rugby behind the gain line at the moment. They are looking for those little interchanges for soft shoulders and fast ball or off loads but it regularly turns into them battering away with slow ball and going backwards, then putting in a very rushed kick under huge pressure.


JB brought that dimension when he first moved into 12 a couple of years ago but he's definitely not been at his best this year. I don't know if it is because he is being asked to play a narrow role, or carrying a niggle or two, but he does not look confident to me. He had that clean break on the weekend and stood there like he was a prop who found himself in open space and didn't know what to do with the ball. He is still a good first phase ball carrier though, they use him a lot off the line out to set up fast clean ball, but I don't think anyone is particularly clear on what they are supposed to do at that point. He was used really successfully as a second playmaker last year but I don't think he's been at that role once this year. He is a triple threat player but playing a very 1 dimensional role at the moment. He and Reiko have been absolutely rock solid on defence which is why I don't think there will be too much experimentation or changes there.

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