Former All Blacks Sir John Kirwan and Jeff Wilson have questioned coach Jason Holland’s decision to rest three of his best players for the Hurricanes’ defeat to the Chiefs in Hamilton last night.
All Blacks prop Tyrel Lomax, loose forward and skipper Ardie Savea and second-five Jordie Barrett, the Hurricanes’ leading points scorer this season, were given the week off rather than preparing for and playing against the table-toppers at Waikato Stadium.
Holland rested the trio in accordance with All Blacks’ rest protocols but elected to play them a week earlier against Moana Pasifika, a match they won 71-22.
Speaking on Sky’s Breakdown show tonight, Sir John and Wilson wondered whether the situation could have been handled differently, adding that the fans of both teams had missed out.
“It’s relevant if you’re a Hurricanes fan because you’ve been denied an opportunity to possibly host not just a quarter-final but also a semifinal, particularly after the Brumbies lose [to the Force],” Wilson said.
The Brumbies losing to the Force means the Crusaders have remained in second place on the Super Rugby Pacific table. Had the Hurricanes beaten the Chiefs, they would have gone to third. The two highest ranked semifinalists win home advantage for their sudden death matches.
“The context of the season changes and they could quite conceivably if over the next two weeks they beat the Blues and Crusaders, they could not just have finished second but finished first.
“Their fans have been denied that opportunity by not playing their best side.”
Sir John said: “I get why a coach would do it… I get why the players need breaks, but I’m pretty sure the All Blacks don’t want them to break during a derby, the best games of the year - that’s when you want to see your best players under pressure.”
He added that if the All Blacks were to win the World Cup later this year, they had to win three extremely difficult knockout matches on consecutive weeks, so for Holland to ensure his best players potentially avoided six tough games in a row was difficult to understand.
“I’ll never forget Richie McCaw saying you’ve got to go to Everest four times to win the World Cup,” Sir John said.
Wilson added: “They chose to play them against Moana Pasifika. They could have managed this situation differently so they could have played [the Chiefs].
“I think they could have won this game. The conditions narrowed the gap between these two teams and with those assets they could have won and they’d be thinking differently about where they sit in three weeks’ time.”
After the defeat, Holland said he wasn’t interested in thinking about what-ifs.
“Who knows, I can’t see through that,” he said when asked if his three best players could have helped the Hurricanes to a win.
“But I thought the boys were gunning for an opportunity, and they took their opportunity, and they showed intent with what they did in the spots that filled in for the All Blacks, and everyone else.
“It’s a little bit frustrating because I think we could have got more out of that game.”
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