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New All Black not fit enough for Super Rugby debut
By Online Editors
New All Blacks sensation Asafo Aumua has been left out of the Hurricanes squad to tour South Africa and Argentina - pushing back a potential Super Rugby debut until at least week 3.
Hurricanes assistant coach Jason Holland spoke to Radio Sport about concerns over his level of conditioning returning from the Christmas break.
"There's little things he would've tweaked in the way he spent the first few weeks around Christmas but nothing around lack of effort," Holland said.
"It's around the way he trains. We're just looking to him to get some running metres under the belt over the next few weeks in Wellington and he'll be absolutely flying to go then.
"We just want to make sure we give him every opportunity to be at his best for the whole season. We don't want to throw him into something when he's not 100 percent ready to play footy. He's one we've been careful with. Maybe it was best for him to go home for two weeks and continue his conditioning. He's got a niggly rib injury which probably wasn't too bad but just to make sure we don't throw him in and break him for another couple of weeks."
There will be an element of care in the decision to ease Aumua into Super Rugby, but Holland's comments suggest his omission was in part due to his fitness level.
The dynamo exploded in the Mitre 10 Cup last season for Wellington, demonstrating his special talent and athletic ability on the edge where he scored a number of outrageous tries.
His form led to an All Blacks call-up and a place on the Northern tour where he played against the Barbarians and French XV, playing for the All Blacks before playing Super Rugby.
With Dane Coles recovering from off-season surgery following his ACL injury, the chance to get some playing time was available for Aumua. Instead, the Hurricanes have selected experienced hooker Ricky Riccitelli and James O'Reilly in the 28-man squad for the tour.
Aumua's next chance at playing Super Rugby will be in round three at home against the Crusaders.
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Latest Comments
Ireland have every right to back themselves for a win. But the key variable has little to do with recent record etc.
The reality is that Ireland are a settled team with tons of continuity, an established style, and a good depth chart, whereas NZ are fundamentally rebuilding. The questions are all about what Razor is doing and how far along he is in that program.
NZ are very close to really clicking. Against England all of the chatter is about how England could have closed out a win, but failed to do so. This has obscured the observation that NZ were by far the more creative and effective in attack, beyond the 3-1 try differential and disallowed tries. They gave away a lot of unnecessary penalties, and made many simple errors (including knock-ons and loose kicks). Those things are very fixable, and when they do so we are once again going to be staring at a formidable NZ team.
Last week we heard the England fans talking confidently about their chances against NZ, but England did not end up looking like the better team on the field or the scoreboard. The England defense was impressive enough, but still could not stop the tries.
Ireland certainly has a better chance, of course, but NZ is improving fast, and I would not be surprised at a convincing All Black win this week. It may turn on whether NZ can cut out the simple mistakes.
Go to commentsFair to say that NZ have come to respect Ireland, as have all teams. But it's a bit click-baitey to say that the game is the premier show-down for NZ.
SA has beaten NZ four times in a row, including in the RWC final.
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