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All Blacks hooker Dane Coles nearing return

Dane Coles hitting the gym. (Photo by Dave Rowland / Getty Images)

NZ Herald

All Blacks hooker Dane Coles’ long wait on the sidelines with his latest injury appears to be over; he has been named to start for his Wellington club Poneke tomorrow.

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Dogged by several issues over the last few years, including concussion and Achilles and knee problems, Coles has been unavailable for the Hurricanes since mid-March due to a calf injury.

His comeback in the red and black hoops of his club team against Petone at the Petone Rec is another step in the right direction for a player eager to make another World Cup. In a twist, his main All Black rival Codie Taylor is set to miss the next four weeks for the Crusaders due to a broken finger.

The Hurricanes are guaranteed to stay in fourth place on the table and New Zealand’s second best team this weekend despite their bye. A graduated return to the top level via a club game probably suits the 32-year-old Coles, who has played 60 tests.

Earlier this month, Hurricanes coach John Plumtree refused to put a date on Coles’ possible return for his side.

“I’m putting absolutely no pressure on Colesy, and I don’t want him putting pressure on himself,” Plumtree said.

“Holding him back’s not easy, trust me. He’s the type of character that just wants to get going. He’s pretty frustrated and annoyed, but we’ve been through that now. It’s just a case of ‘if we see you in a couple of weeks great, if we see you in three weeks great, if we see you in a month, great’. We definitely want to see him again and we will, but we want to make sure there’s no time limit on it.

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“He’s just got to make sure that when he comes back he’s feeling really good and that he can play a part for the rest of the year hopefully without re-injuring that calf muscle.”

Asafo Aumua and Ricky Riccitelli have been swapping the hooker duties in Coles’ absence.

Should the Hurricanes retain fourth position on the table, they are in line to play the Crusaders in a Super Rugby semifinal in Christchurch should both teams win their quarter-finals.

This article first appeared on nzherald.co.nz and is republished with permission.

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Nickers 30 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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