Rugby: Struggling side missed key man in the loose

Karne Hesketh, pictured scoring a try against Northland at Carisbrook, was one of the few Otago...
Karne Hesketh, pictured scoring a try against Northland at Carisbrook, was one of the few Otago players to shine in a dismal season.
Though it ended brightly, with a surprise win over Wellington last Saturday night, Otago's season would have to be classed as a disappointment. Otago finished 10th and missed the quarterfinals. Rugby writer Steve Hepburn looks back at the season.

It was a date when everyone was talking about test rugby and Otago's season was the furthest thing from the mind.

But July 10, two days before the Springboks clashed with the All Blacks at Carisbrook, was a date which was to have a telling impact on Otago's season.

On that day, the news broke that openside flanker Alando Soakai was to have shoulder reconstruction and would be out for the season.

That was on the back of fellow loose forward Adam Thomson, who was to prove later in the season how good he is as an openside flanker, making the All Blacks, thereby ruling himself out of much of Otago's season.

With back-up flanker Eben Joubert badly breaking an index finger, the side was left with no obvious openside flanker for the first six weeks of the season.

And in today's modern game - which is all about continuity and contesting the breakdown - not having a pure openside flanker was like entering a three-legged horse in the Melbourne Cup.

In games against Hawkes Bay, Bay of Plenty and Canterbury, the lack of an openside flanker was all too obvious.

Captain Craig Newby was converted into an openside for the first six games, and he tried his heart out - Newby would do nothing less - but he is more suited to the blindside role, as he proved in the match against Wellington.

Otago wanted to play an attacking game based on field position and good set-pieces.

Its set-pieces worked well enough, the line-out especially, apart from a blip against Canterbury, but it could not get enough continuity into its game.

Otago did not help itself by some poor option-taking, wayward passing and silly errors, but defences were always well set and that came back to not recycling the ball quickly enough.

Throw in halfback Toby Morland having an average season and the recipe for success was not there.

The loss to Hawkes Bay at Carisbrook, where the visitors nabbed one try and then slowed the ball down all night, would start a run of five games without a win, and that winless month ultimately cost Otago any hopes of making the play-offs.

Otago had started well enough - winning three out of its first four games - but it did not win those games convincingly, and when other teams worked it out, by slowing the blue and golds down at the breakdown, the side was found wanting.

That winless run did nothing for the confidence of the players, and aggression and desire appeared to leak out of some of them.

The side looked tired and out of puff in many of these matches and players did not have enough petrol in the tank.

It could be argued that if Chris Noakes had kicked the last-minute conversion against Tasman, the side would have made the quarterfinals.

But that is a stretch - it was lucky to draw with Tasman, which missed three kickable penalties in that game.

The performance against Waikato, when the season was on the line, was particularly disappointing.

Admittedly, referee Bryce Lawrence was poor in this match, and it could be argued that none of Liam Messam's three tries should have been awarded, but that would just cloud over Otago's inadequacies in this encounter.

It coughed up too much ball, missed tackles and lacked aggression.

Otago did come back and beat Wellington the next week, in a good effort.

Many would say there was nothing riding on the match, and Wellington fielded an understrength side.

That is true, but with Thomson back and showing the way, the team finally clicked.

So perhaps that was all the side needed - Thomson on the flank, and Otago would be near the top of the table.

But he could not wear the No 7 jersey, because of All Black commitments.

So now we really know who is to blame for Otago's inadequate season.

The NZRU and Graham Henry.

They get the blame for every other ill in New Zealand rugby, so why not add Otago's poor season to the list?

Five things to improve: Must-dos for Otago

1. Get fitter - the side appeared to lack energy at crucial times.

2. Start better - in too many games Otago was slow out of the blocks, and paid for it on the scoreboard.

3. Control kick-offs - the game is all about possession and far too many times Otago gave the ball away easily at restarts.

4. Cut out the silly errors - watch a team like Canterbury, which does the basic things well.

Otago often makes heavy weather of things like clearing the ball from the base of the scrum. Do that better and more energy will go into the attack.

5. Win - win more games, the crowds will come back and everyone will be happy.

Record:

v Southland at Invercargill, won 25-23.

v Canterbury at Dunedin, lost 20-13.

v Northland at Dunedin, won 23-18.

v Counties-Manukau at Auckland, won 22-8.

v Hawkes Bay at Dunedin, lost 19-10.

v Bay of Plenty at Mt Maunganui, lost 31-20.

v Tasman at Nelson, drew 21-21.

v Taranaki at Dunedin, lost 31-27.

v Waikato at Hamilton, lost 39-10.

v Wellington at Dunedin, won 36-21.

Played 10, won 4, drew 1, lost 5.

Points for 207, points against 231.

Leading scorers: Chris Noakes 49 (nine penalty goals, 11 conversions) Daniel Bowden 34 (seven penalties, five conversions, one drop goal)

Leading try scorers: Karne Hesketh 7, Lucky Mulipola 3, Craig Newby 2, Glen Horton 2, Adam Thomson 2. Otago scored 24 tries and conceded 25.

Player of the season: Winger Karne Hesketh did all he could with limited opportunities and picked up seven tries.

Rookie of the season: Winger Ben Smith has skill and speed, which is always a good combination.

Best performance of the season: The match against Wellington, the first half against Taranaki.

Worst performance of the season: The loss to Waikato, the first half against Bay of Plenty.

 

 

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