‘How do we win the championship?’: Hurricanes coach Jason Holland outlines priorities amid selection criticism

Hurricanes head coach Jason Holland. Photo / Photosport

Hurricanes coach Jason Holland has stood by his decision to rest his All Blacks against the Chiefs, despite believing his side were only minor improvements away from victory.

Ending the season with three Kiwi derbies is a tough draw for a team hoping for a long run through the playoffs and, in preparation, Holland identified Saturday night’s match against the Chiefs as the ideal time for Ardie Savea, Jordie Barrett and Tyrel Lomax to take their mandated rest week.

While it wasn’t a popular decision given the interest in the local rivalries, in the week leading up to the clash, Holland stressed the reasoning behind it; hoping it would lead to getting the best out of his best players at the right time of the year.

After losing 23-12 to the Chiefs in Hamilton, Holland stood by that decision.

“We don’t only need to think around our All Blacks; we think around the whole squad and how the whole squad is going, and getting a good plan for everybody throughout our squad is massive,” he said.

“It’s a good run in now, isn’t it? We’ve got two derbies to go, possibly another three to win the whole thing. That’s all we’re thinking - ‘How do we win the championship?’ I think we’re in pretty good shape to have a good crack at it.”

On a rainy night that did not lend itself to great attacking rugby, the Hurricanes did well to ward off the Chiefs’ attacks for the most part, with a strong defensive stand making up for plenty of errors.

Of those filling the roles of the missing All Blacks, No. 8 Brayden Iose was immense on both sides of the ball, Owen Franks was strong at the scrum and defensively, while Peter Umaga-Jensen had some nice touches before having to leave the pitch under an injury cloud after 55 minutes.

There were some frustrations for Holland around the accuracy of his side’s play, but overall, he was encouraged by what he saw.

“It’s a little bit frustrating because I think we could have got more out of that game, but there’s lots of good signs from us, and when we get a little bit more accurate, we’ll put teams away.

“The way we attacked that game, the way we competed, the way we met everything was pretty encouraging and exciting for the run in.

“I’m pretty proud of the way they stuck to their guns and competed. It wasn’t our effort that let us down, it was just a little bit of accuracy.”

The Hurricanes, sitting fifth on the ladder, head into a crucial two weeks for their top-four aspirations. They’ll meet the Blues in Auckland next weekend before hosting the Crusaders to end the regular season.

While the Chiefs are clear at the top of the table, the Hurricanes can still displace either the Blues, Brumbies or Crusaders, who occupy those spots for home-field advantage in week one of the playoffs. They sit just one point behind the Blues, four off the Brumbies and five back from the Crusaders.

But although Holland will welcome back some fresh stars for the next stretch of games, the Hurricanes continue to have concerns at hooker. Against the Chiefs, both Asafo Aumua and Dane Coles were unavailable, and Jacob Devery lasted just 17 minutes before having to be taken from the field with an upper-body injury.

“There’s a bit of a hookers curse with us,” Holland said.

“We’ll have to assess that and see where other hookers are. It’ll be priority number one to sort out in the next few days.”