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'If you want to win games, it does help to have an experienced 10'
By Sam Smith
The Hurricanes have unsurprisingly faced criticism following their loss on Sunday to the Brumbies in Canberra, with much of that blame levelled on pivot Jackson Garden-Bachop.
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As is common when a team lacks direction and control, it’s the first five who inevitably draws the most fire and the Hurricanes certainly looked less than poised in the 42-25 defeat.
Despite taking the lead early in the second half thanks to a try by Salesi Rayasi, the Hurricanes couldn’t hold firm and conceded two of their own in the next 10 minutes. One more try at the end of the third quarter effectively ended the Hurricanes’ chances of scoring a second straight comeback victory in Australia, with the home side and visitors also trading scores in the last quarter of the match.
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Overall, it was a less than impressive performance from the Wellingtonians, with most players throughout the side making their fair share of mistakes – including No 10 Garden-Bachop. The 27-year-old eventually left the match following the Brumbies’ fourth try and was replaced by youngster Aidan Morgan while last year’s big mover Ruben Love was nursing an injury in NZ.
There’s a very good chance all three players will be available for the Hurricanes’ upcoming match with the Fijian Drua on Sunday and coach Jason Holland will now have to make the call whether to persist with Garden-Bachop or look elsewhere for a guiding light at first receiver.
According to Super Rugby centurion Bryn Hall, however, it would be wrong to lump the blame of last weekend’s result on the shoulders of Garden-Bachop.
“As an inside back, in these kinds of games, if you want to win games, it does help to have an experienced 10,” halfback Hall said on the latest episode of the Aotearoa Rugby Pod. “Jackson’s played a lot of games whether it be at Bunning NPC, he’s a former New Zealand Maori All Black, and he’s played in that position for that team for a long time with Beaudy [Barrett] leaving [at the end of the 2019 season].
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“I guess cohesion and being able to have someone that you can trust, being able to build those combinations [is the most important thing]… They’ve got a great midfield pairing, whatever way they do … And you’ve got some great outside backs as well. I think it’s more so the importance of the people around [the No 10] and putting them in spots where they can flourish.
“If you decided to go with Aidan Morgan or Ruben Love at 10, it’s important the midfielders or your wingers, are [communicating with] your inside backs so that they can be able to execute and manage your game.
“As a 10, [the responsibility] doesn’t all fall on you. It depends on your forward pack being able to get you front-foot ball, winning collisions, being able to give you quick ball. And then you’ve also got to have the conversations and the actual words that are coming into you to be able to run the team and put our players in the right spot where you need them in game scenarios.”
Hall’s fellow panellist on the Aotearoa Rugby Pod, former All Black James Parsons, also suggested that Garden-Bachop was influential in the final 15 minutes of the Hurricanes’ success against the Reds, where they recovered from an early 17-0 deficit to eventually secure a 30-17 victory.
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“I think he was a big part of getting that result against the Reds,” said Parsons. “It’s too easy to look at him as the issue for the weekend and I’d say that [performance against the Reds was] probably a big reason he got promoted, the way he controlled things to get them back and get that result against the Reds in Melbourne. Some of his deft touches that set up tries for the likes of Bailyn Sullivan and co were due to him executing his skillset under pressure.
“I think it’s too soon to have that conversation [about dropping Garden-Bachop] and I think the experience thing is a big thing because the pressure is coming on and if you’ve got someone in that seat that isn’t experienced and maybe not so accustomed to the spotlight in a negative way, it’s almost a sacrificial act as a little bit to protect those younger guys until they’re ready to experience and see and how to react off that.”
Garden-Bachop boasts 27 Super Rugby caps to his name as well as 78 appearances for Wellington in the NPC. 21-year-old Ruben Love and 20-year-old Aidan Morgan are both considerably less experienced, with the former making his Hurricanes debut last season and the latter earlier this year.
I have never rated Bachop from the first year he started till now, it puzzles me why the coaches/selectors keep changing our 10s yes i understand injuries but i would rather have Morgan or Love at first receiver..have to blood in our young guns before some other franchise picks them up.keep PUJ and Sullivan at midfield and work around Morgan and Love.
Garden-Bachop has is unlikely to get any better; his performance will probably be reduced next year, as he is getting older as was never a great athlete to start with. While Love and Morgan have unrealized potential. It's easy to say go with experience. But you only get experience by playing.
The Hurricanes need to look to the future. The Hurricanes are almost certain to get in the quarter finals this year, no matter who is the 10. But in the same breath it is almost certain that they will not even be contenders to win Super Rugby Pacific, no matter who is at 10.
The Hurricanes are blooding a lot of new players this season. Next year Garden-Bachop will be older and slower. It would seem logical to consider this year as a resulting year for the Hurricanes; and for them to make the hard decisions this year rather than stretch the hard decisions across multiple seasons. Is Holland trying to protect his job/reputation, rather than doing what is best for the Hurricanes long term?