Rugby: Latimer and Cane get ready for guerilla war

You could liken Sam Cane and Tanerau Latimer to the guerilla tactics perfected by Maori during the land wars of the 1840s.

When one is on the field he causes havoc and terrorise their opposition but as soon as he leaves the field the other raises his head and continues with the campaign.

Chiefs coach Dave Rennie has used the two world class openside flankers to great effect this season.

The master, Latimer, with more than 70 Super Rugby caps, and the apprentice, Cane (19 caps), bring different qualities to the pitch.

Latimer a hard uncompromising flanker who uses every ounce of his 101kg muscular frame to cut down his

opponents, while Cane is like a young Richie McCaw, pure class who is a great link between the forwards and the backs.

Latimer, who has been a vital part of the Chiefs since 2007, says it been one of the best seasons for the franchise.

"We're just drawing our inspiration from the new facilities, you know everything has been new, so it's a fresh start for us and when you get into something new it's quite exciting and long may that continue.''

One of those new and exciting things has been the growth  Cane, 20, who shares the openside flank with Latimer.

"Sammy's link game has been outstanding. That is one of the key things we strive for in our loose forward group in the Chiefs, obviously with our core skills of tackling and passing and what- not. We are all trying to push each other along and just trying to get the most out of each other.''

While most professional players would prefer to play  80 minutes of rugby, Latimer said the loose forwards put aside that rivalry and concentrated on what was best for the team.

"You know you can just go out there and bust your guts and then go off and nothing changes that much and that's happen throughout the season. If one of us is carrying a few niggles, then the other helps out.''

Cane said he also enjoyed the dual role.

``It's a bit more trouble for the opposition but it's always good to see a fresh face come on to the paddock, when the boys are a bit buggered. Hopefully the boys see that when I come on and I definitely know when Lats comes on. You know what he's going to bring and it always lifts the boys.''

The Reporoa youngster said watching senior players such as Latimer and co-captain Liam Messam had help develop his game.

"My goal at the start of the season was to be the starting [openside flanker] for the Chiefs and that's still been a continuous battle to get that No7 jersey. I guess the highlight obviously was those tests against Ireland.

"I guess it's just the environment the Chiefs have built this year.  Everyone is willing to help each other and that comes from the leadership group. They've been awesome.''

Cane said the biggest improvement in his game so far this season had been his confidence. ``When you've got that, then you can start building on the skills and attributes you've already got and become better at them.''

Those skills will again be tested tonight when he comes up against the best openside flanker in the world.

"It looks like [McCaw] will be at No8 with Kieran Reid not right and Matt Todd at seven but he's always there and you notice his presence around the ruck.''

Cane said he was keen to try and emulate some of the skills McCaw brought to a game.

"He likes to try and play in front of the ball and try and slow it up and get in your way and make your job more difficult. So it was something I learnt from the last game and [I'm]looking to nullify that a little bit and do a bit of it myself.''

Tonight will see the Chiefs take on the Crusaders in Hamilton at 7.30pm, only three weeks after their narrow loss on the same ground.

Latimer was expecting the encounter to be even tougher.

"We only played them a couple of weeks ago and I would love to get a bit of revenge ... If you look at [the last game], we played most of the game without the ball until the last 10 minutes. So we've got to get our set piece right.''

Some tickets are still available.