There's method in the Hurricanes' madness

BY TOBY ROBSON

Hurricanes coach Colin Cooper is standing firmly behind his team's tactics after two rounds of largely uninspiring kick-first rugby in this year's Super 14.
Bad weekend for NZ sides
Hurricanes too good

The Hurricanes are sixth on the points table after their 22-17 win over the Highlanders on Friday, but have only briefly moved out of first gear in the opening two weeks.

For the second week running, they kicked away a mountain of possession and failed to turn a big territorial advantage into points.

The un-Hurricane-like approach drew a slow handclap from the home crowd before the team came to life in the final desperate 15 minutes of an otherwise mistake- ridden display.

Cooper said he understood the frustration, but was unapologetic about a low-risk approach that he believed was correct in the conditions, and which would reap rewards if executed correctly.

"If you look at every team they are kicking. The Blues-Bulls, if you think we kicked a lot, you should have a look at that game. The ELVs [Experimental Law Variations] have caused coaches to be more aware [of kicking]," he said.

"If you run from your own area you have the risk of losing the ball, so what teams are trying to do is get into each other's attacking zone, have a good chase and put pressure on in that area rather than trying to attack from your own 10m line or inside your 22."

Cooper said he was mindful the Hurricanes' strength was in their ball-carrying, but said it still needed to be done in the right place at the right time.

"If you look at both of their [the Highlanders'] tries, one came from a kick and one from a mistake by us trying to move the ball wide. It's getting the balance of the conditions and the position where you are on the field," he said.

"We didn't kick accurately. We kicked too long, or we didn't kick at the right time, so we have to keep working hard, but I think the second half we played better and you didn't see those [poor] kicks."

Halfback Piri Weepu admitted a more conservative approach did not come naturally to some of the players, but said their risk-taking nature had often been their undoing in the past.

"We've always been trying to run everything out of our own half and putting ourselves under a lot of pressure. We are trying to make sure we play the right style of rugby at the right end of the field and try and make them play the rugby in their half," he said.

Weepu believed their tactics would have resulted in more points against the Highlanders had the conditions not been so difficult.

"You are trying to put the pressure on the other team. I know our kicking game doesn't look right, but we are trying to benefit from it and I guess we need to keep working on that area of it."

Finding a comfortable rhythm isn't Cooper's only concern this week, with several niggling injuries also to manage.

Fullback Cory Jane is in doubt after limping off against the Highlanders with an ankle injury, hooker Dane Coles has an Achilles strain and wing Zac Guildford (knee) is still day by day.

Coles' injury is a concern, with first-choice rake Andrew Hore (ankle) still likely to be a week away from a return.

Skipper Rodney So'oialo returns from suspension. No 8 Victor Vito is off to the sevens World Cup and Manawatu's Nick Crosswell is called into the squad.

Centre Conrad Smith said there was a positive feel after the senior players had stepped up against the Highlanders.

"You talk about the depth of our side, but every team relies on leaders and I think that's one area when I looked at our chances this year, something that needs to happen is for the leaders to step up.

"Without being critical of guys in the past, because we've had some wonderful leaders in this team, but it's something that's always let the Hurricanes down.

"We've always had depth, but it's having three or four or more guys who can run a game and lead the rest of the team."

- © Fairfax NZ News