Canterbury surprised at reaction to team-naming tactic

Canterbury's squad-naming policy may be kicked into touch by the New Zealand Rugby Football Union but coach Steve Hansen doesn't know what the fuss is about.

Hansen and co-coach Aussie McLean plan to name a squad of 22 but delay the announcement of their starting XV until just before kickoff for their matches in this year's national provincial championship.

They see the move as a way of gaining a competitive edge by giving the opposition less time to prepare tactical strategies targeting individual players.

NZRFU chief executive David Rutherford is reported to be considering introducing regulations forcing unions to name their teams at least two days before a match.

Canterbury Rugby Football Union chief executive Steve Tew said yesterday that he had not had any direct communication from the NZRFU but he expected the matter to be resolved this week.

He said the new policy was the two coaches' call. "We've got to make sure that people like the [betting agency] TAB and Sky and the programme people are informed but we [the Canterbury union] don't see it as a major issue."

Coach Hansen - speaking after Canterbury's successful Ranfurly Shield defence against Nelson Bays at Jade Stadium on Saturday night where the policy was used for the first time - said no one from the national rugby union had spoken to him.

"But if the NZRFU wants to change the rules who are we to argue? They govern the game."

However, Hansen was bemused at the reaction to Canterbury's plan.

"It's not something that was intended to annoy everyone, as it seems to have done.

"It was put in place so that we could keep our knowledge to ourselves. To me it's a tactical thing."

Hansen said Canterbury officials were "telling the people that need to know" - including Sky Television and match programme publishers.

"The only people we didn't think of was the TAB. They're obviously pretty important so we'll have discussions with them."

TAB sports betting manager Neil Sorensen said the Canterbury move was "a real mess" which had "serious implications for us".

The TAB might have to wait until match day before offering any odds on Canterbury.

"We're going to have to guess what the team is, which is not ideal for us or our punters," Sorensen said.

Hansen was aware of the reaction.

But he said he still had not "found anyone who can tell me a good reason why I should tell the opposition who we've got playing".

Besides, Hansen said, Canterbury had in recent seasons established a reputation for "using our bench almost in its entirety".

- NZPA