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The reason why Hurricanes fans shouldn't panic after Cape Town capitulation

(Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)

Those many pundits who wrote off the Hurricanes prior to the season due to the exit of Beauden Barrett and the prolonged injury absence of Ardie Savea will see little reason to change their minds.

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This follows the Hurricanes’ 27-0 shellacking by the Stormers in Cape Town to kick off their campaign on the worst possible note. It’s true that the Canes were the lamest of the four New Zealand franchises on show by a long shot.

They dropped a ridiculous amount of ball and didn’t achieve any of their tactical goals, as new head coach Jason Holland admitted afterwards. The Stormers did not even have to be that good. They just tackled with gusto and pounced on the visitors’ many errors.

Continue reading below…

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Yes, the Canes missed Barrett’s ball skills and pace, but the Blues miss him more and he hasn’t even laced a boot yet for them. No, the Canes most missed the go-forward that Savea provides because it was in the forwards where they really came a cropper, beaten up physically at the breakdown by a hungry Stormers pack that included Steven Kitshoff, Bongi Mbonambi, Frans Malherbe, World Rugby player of the year Pieter-Steph du Toit and Springboks skipper Siya Kolisi.

The harsh glare of the spotlight will inevitably fall on pivot Fletcher Smith, who started his fourth game, in his second season, for the Canes, out of a total of seven. He was never really able to assert himself in Barrett’s absences last season, scoring 14 points.

It is fair to say that Smith, like most of his teammates, did not have the most auspicious of outings at Newlands. He dropped an early high ball, threw an intercept pass to du Toit and generally could get little going in his 64 minutes before being subbed for Jackson Garden-Bachop. Neither he nor Jordie Barrett even got the chance to take a shot at goal.

But not so fast. There are extenuating circumstances. The Hurricanes had little decent possession with which to operate. Smith perhaps needed to adjust his alignment off both set and phase play. He still, on the evidence of two compelling Mitre 10 Cups campaigns with Waikato, has more breadth to his game than Garden-Bachop, who is a reliable goalkicker but a more limited footballer. James Marshall is a useful utility, not a front-line general.

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Smith, in fact, should have been an All Black to Japan in 2018 instead of the lucky Brett Cameron. Sir Graham Henry is a fan.

So take a breath, Canes fans. Have some patience. They need to persevere with Smith, because he will come right, as will the team.

In 2018, they were shoddy in their campaign opener, losing to the Bulls in Pretoria (why do they always seem to travel early to the Republic?), while in 2019 they scraped home against the Waratahs in Sydney in round one and were pegged back by the Crusaders in round two.

This Super Rugby championship will not be won or lost in February, under these exacting conditions. The Hurricanes would love a far slicker display against the Jaguares this weekend, but they are still good enough for second or third in the NZ conference. And Smith is good enough to lead them to those playoffs.

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Any No 10 these days who punts proficiently with his weaker (left) foot demands respect… and patience.

Besides which, the Hurricanes cannot possibly play as poorly again.

 In other news:

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S
Soliloquin 1 hour ago
Why New Zealand learned more from their July series than France

For Fischer, many people in France are still doubting him - it’s the first time he has a full season (31 games). Before, he was always injured at some point. He’s 27, so not the youngest, and you have a younger Boudehent or Jégou behind.

His physicality is incredible, but he didn’t prove he’s got hands. He just proved he was able to defend like a beast.

But you know, even Cros has improved his handling skills lately, so it’s never too late!

And he will play the Champions Cup with a solid Bayonne side, so let’s see!


I don’t agree with ‘only Fischer’: Brennan proved he’s a great 4/7 utility player, and Galthié likes those very much (Woki or Flament). He’s 23, playing for Toulouse with high concurrence, so the prospect is good. I rate him higher than Auradou, who had a few games in the 6 Nations.

For Depoortère, he had a more silent season than the previous one - injured at the worst moment during the Autumn Tests series - but came back strong with a Champions Cup and a solid partnership with Moefana. What could save him would be to start playing as a 12 when Moefana isn’t there, bulking up and become the new Jauzion.

But he’s 22 and an incredible talent at 13. His height makes me think he had more potential than your fan favorite Costes or the utility player that is Gailleton.


As for Montagne or Mallez, with the lack of quality in props, they could find a spot!

Especially Mallez who’s got a good spot to get behind Baille at Toulouse. Neti isn’t the youngest and hasn’t an international level.


And again, as Ugo Mola said, you never play with your best team.

So 30-32 player is more of a 38-40, so you need back-ups.

France knows very well how useful they can be during RWCs.

236 Go to comments
S
Soliloquin 1 hour ago
Why New Zealand learned more from their July series than France

Hastoy was a good prospect before the 2023 RWC, he was the fly-half who led La Rochelle to the victory in the Champions Cup final in Dublin against Leinster.

But he made it to the squad only because Ntamack got his ACL.

He played against Uruguay, which a terribly poor game by the French side, and since then he declined a bit, alongside his club.

Under the pressure of Reus and West at 10, he regained some credit at the end of the season (among all a drop at the 81st minute of a game).

He’s quite good everywhere, but not outstanding.

He doesn’t have the nerves, the defense and the tactical brain of Ntamack, the leadership and the creativity of Ramos or the exceptional attacking skills of Jalibert.


I really hope that:

-Ntamack will get his knee back. The surgery went well. He wasn’t the most elusive player in the world, but he was capable of amazing rushes like the one against NZ in 2021 or the Brennus-winning try in 2023.

-Jalibert will continue to improve his defense. He started working hard since March (after his defensive disaster against England) with a XIII specialist, and I’ve seen great moments, especially against Ntamack in the SF of the Champions Cup. It’s never too late. And it would be a great signal for Galthié.

-Hastoy will build up his partnership with Le Garrec, that La Rochelle will start a new phase with them and Niniashvili, Alldritt, Atonio, Boudehent, Jegou, Bosmorin, Bourgarit, Nowell, Wardi, Daunivucu, Kaddouri, Pacôme…

236 Go to comments
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