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Sam Cane makes big step in broken neck recovery as return date to rugby draws closer

Sam Cane last June. Photo / Getty Images.

All Blacks and Chiefs flanker Sam Cane has made a big step in the right direction as he continues to recover from the broken neck he suffered against South Africa last year.

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The 27-year-old has been cleared to partake in contact training with the Chiefs, six months after sustaining what could have been a career-ending injury during New Zealand’s dramatic 32-30 win over the Springboks in Pretoria.

Cane has been engaging in non-contact training with the Hamilton-based Super Rugby franchise since pre-season, but being allowed to take part in training sessions that involves tackling, rucks, mauls and scrums is a positive sign as the 60-test veteran eyes a spot at this year’s World Cup in Japan.

A return date for the Chiefs’ co-captain’s return has remained indefinite as the Super Rugby season has progressed, but there has been hope for a return by late April-early May.

Head coach Colin Cooper told Stuff he is excited for Cane’s return, which should provide pressure for in-form Hurricanes loose forward Ardie Savea, who has stood out as Super Rugby’s premier flanker in Cane’s absence.

“He had a little bit of contact yesterday and we’ll manage him through some contact in the next two weeks and take it from there,” Cooper said.

“It’s exciting for him and he’s excited to be back. It’s been a tough journey for him but, as the co-captain, he’s been playing a key part and making sure there’s accountability and some honesty among us coaches and the players.”

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Cooper said he was unsure of what the exact plan is regarding the pathway to Cane’s return over the next month or so, but suggested it may involve playing club rugby at grassroots level.

“[We have to consider] if we put him into some club rugby to get more confidence, or do we bring him off the bench? It’s all about managing him through that.”

Cane was today named in the All Blacks’ 41-man ‘foundation day’ squad which is set to assemble in Wellington next Monday, and that, combined with his clearance to be involved in contact training, is a major breakthrough for the Chiefs, who have underperformed thus far this season.

They went through their opening five fixtures without a win, including a first-ever loss to the Sunwolves at home, as well as 50-point thrashings at the hands of the Brumbies and Crusaders, but have since salvaged their season with away wins over the Bulls and Jaguares.

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Still, they languish in 13th-place with just 12 points to their name, and an important New Zealand derby against an in-form Blues side in Hamilton this week looms as a big test for the former two-time Super Rugby champions.

While Cane remains unavailable for that clash, his return can’t come sooner enough for the Chiefs, as they look to secure a play-offs berth for the eighth season running.

In other news:

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Flankly 0 minute ago
'Absolute madness': Clive Woodward rips into Borthwick in wake of NZ loss

Borthwick is supposed to be the archetypical conservative coach, the guy that might not deliver a sparkling, high-risk attacking style, but whose teams execute the basics flawlessly. And that's OK, because it can be really hard to beat teams that are rock solid and consistent in the rugby equivalent of "blocking and tackling".


But this is why the performance against NZ is hard to defend. You can forgive a conservative, back-to-basics team for failing to score tons of tries, because teams like that make up for it with reliability in the simple things. They can defend well, apply territorial pressure, win the set piece battles, and take their scoring chances with metronomic goal kicking, maul tries and pick-and-go goal line attacks.


The reason why the English rugby administrators should be on high alert is not that the English team looked unable to score tries, but that they were repeatedly unable to close out a game by executing basic, coachable skills. Regardless of how they got to the point of being in control of their destiny, they did get to that point. All that was needed was to be world class at things that require more training than talent. But that training was apparently missing, and the finger has to point at the coach.


Borthwick has been in the job for nearly two years, a period that includes two 6N programs and an RWC campaign. So where are the solid foundations that he has been building?

4 Go to comments
N
Nickers 9 minutes ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

Very poor understanding of what's going on and 0 ability to read. When I say playing behind the gain line you take this to mean all off-loads and site times we are playing in front of the gain line???


Every time we play a lot of rugby behind the gain line (for clarity, meaning trying to build an attack and use width without front foot ball 5m+ behind the most recent breakdown) we go backwards and turn the ball over in some way. Every time a player is tackled behind the most recent breakdown you need more and more people to clear out because your forwards have to go back around the corner, whereas opposition players can keep moving forward. Eventually you run out of either players to clear out or players to pass to and the result in a big net loss of territory and often a turnover. You may have witnessed that 20+ times in the game against England. This is a particularly dumb idea inside your own 40m which is where, for some reason, we are most likely to employ it.


The very best ABs teams never built an identity around attacking from poor positions. The DC era team was known for being the team that kicked the most. To engineer field position and apply pressure, and create broken play to counter attack. This current team is not differentiating between when a defence has lost it's structure and there are opportunities, and when they are completely set and there is nothing on. The reason they are going for 30 minute + periods in every game without scoring a single point, even against Japan and a poor Australian team, is because they are playing most of their rugby on the back foot in the wrong half.

43 Go to comments
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Nickers 38 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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