Sam Cane waves to the crowd at Sky Stadium. Photo / Getty
Phil Gifford present four Super Rugby Pacific talking points as players make World Cup statements.
After the coach, the captain is the next lightning rod for critics of the All Blacks. Last year, when the All Blacks were facing the backlash from a series loss to Ireland, and their first home defeat by the Pumas, Sam Cane was copping it online, in print, and on air.
He was stoic in public, and, as one of most grounded, mature players in the game, he’s always seemed well equipped to deal with criticism, no matter how harsh.
But he’s also human, and another thoroughly decent beleaguered captain Reuben Thorne, who led the All Blacks at the 2003 World Cup, told me in 2014 that “You’ve got to be the guy who commands your place in the side. That’s fair enough. But while the selectors thought that, and chose me, it wasn’t universal. So that does make it harder for a captain.”
What’s been impressive this season, and was notable in the Chiefs emphatic 33-17 defeat of the Hurricanes in Wellington, was that Cane continued the dynamic form he’s regained this season. He was ruthless at the breakdown, and, as always, hugely efficient with his tackling.
It would have been astonishing if coach Ian Foster had not stayed loyal to Cane as his skipper this year anyway. As we head towards the World Cup, picking Cane as leader is the right choice.
Another Cup candidate from the Chiefs who is doing everything but wear a “Pick Me” sign on his jersey is Damian McKenzie.
There are moments, when he decides to duck and dive through heavy traffic, that have a hint of a wee blond ball boy who’s decided to cross the touchline and mix it with the huge, strong, mean-minded adults on the pitch.
But McKenzie adds an extra dimension of being startlingly strong for a man who at 78kg is two-thirds the weight of Chiefs teammate and 123kg lock Brodie Retallick.
McKenzie won’t be intimidated by anyone in France at the Cup, and the X-factor he brings to the table is shining as fiercely as it ever has.
The second-half blitz the Chiefs launched in Wellington, running up 25 unanswered points against a good Hurricanes team, cemented them at the top of the Super Rugby Pacific table.
If there was a small consolation for the Canes it would have come in the form of halfback Cam Roigard, whose pathway to the No 9 jersey was cleared by the unfortunate Achilles tendon rupture suffered by TJ Perenara.
Roigard wasn’t always working with the fastest, cleanest ball on Saturday, but what he got he distributed accurately and quickly, and in the 28th minute he bulleted through a tiny gap to score his sixth try of the year. The halfback field for the All Blacks is crowded, but Roigard, who says his aim for this season is “trying to play consistently, week in and week out”, has placed himself firmly in the frame.
At the risk of turning this column into the Levi Aumua fan page, while the Moana Pasifika centre didn’t get on the scoresheet as Moana were beaten 40-28 by the Reds in Apia, he was denied two tries, one which a different official might have allowed.
To maintain the intensity he brings in every game, while his team struggles for their first win after eight straight losses, is surely a sign of a mindset as strong as his impressive physique.