Jane set to return for Lions

MD

Monkey D Luffy

Pro6,277 posts

MD

Monkey D LuffyPro6,277 posts

01 Oct 2013, 04:05

#1

01 Oct 2013, 04:05#1

Wellington utility back Cory Jane is set to make a return to the rugby field for his province when they host Auckland on Saturday evening.

According to coach Chris Boyd, Jane, who missed the Hurricanes' Super Rugby season with an anterior cruciate injury, was due to return to ITM Cup action on Saturday and nothing has changed throughout the recovery process.

"The expectation is unless something has happened in Australia, where he has been attending a wedding, then he'll be available for selection in some form at the weekend," Boyd told the Dominion Post.

"I haven't discussed with him whether he'll come off the bench or start."

Jane's return is a massive boost for a Wellington side determined to finish the season unbeaten and secure an ITM Cup home final in the process.

Jane is one of three players set to return from injury, with fellow utility back Alapati Leiua (knee) and centre Tim Bateman (hip) formally discharged from Wellington's medical ward.

Such is the side's depth that the absence of one of Wellington's finds of the season, wing Ambrose Curtis, will go largely unnoticed. The tall, athletic right wing has been called into an All Blacks Sevens training camp due to take place at Mt Maunganui.

Regardless, the match shapes as the perfect Premiership semi-final warm-up for both sides, with play set to get underway at 7.35pm.

MD

Monkey D Luffy

Pro6,277 posts

MD

Monkey D LuffyPro6,277 posts

01 Oct 2013, 04:10

#2

01 Oct 2013, 04:10#2

welcome back jane, u got a real dog fight on ur hand in the All Blacks with ben smith doing a fine job in the No14.
but u should see a lot of game time, cos snake aint going which means ben smith should be the the No13 as the All Blacks prepare for the 13 life after snake.

MD

Monkey D Luffy

Pro6,277 posts

MD

Monkey D LuffyPro6,277 posts

01 Oct 2013, 04:10

#3

01 Oct 2013, 04:10#3

welcome back jane, u got a real dog fight on ur hand in the All Blacks with ben smith doing a fine job in the No14.
but u should see a lot of game time, cos snake aint going which means ben smith should be the the No13 as the All Blacks prepare for the 13 life after snake.

sharkbok

Captain23,297 posts

sharkbokCaptain23,297 posts

01 Oct 2013, 04:39

#4

01 Oct 2013, 04:39#4

ben smith has been good this year, I am sure he has the most tries in the 4 nations this year.
Although I would say many of his tries have been soft, apart from his excellant positional play. Habana would have got most or all of these tries blindfolded.
The best thing I have seen him do was run over the argie defender last weekend.
His other tries have been mostly bog standard wing play, and I suspect he could be a one season wonder.
Not that he will be poor in the future, but I have not seen things that make him worldclass yet

DU

dubo01

Rookie17 posts

DU

dubo01Rookie17 posts

01 Oct 2013, 08:15

#5

01 Oct 2013, 08:15#5

@sharkbok, its the ability of the ABs to create space for him that lets him score those soft tries. If the boks were able to create space more often especially against tougher opposition than no doubt the wingers will also score easy tries. There are number of things a winger needs to be good at, mainly finishing and I think Smith ticks all the boxes. As for running over opposition well, youre not required to do so unless you are Jonah Lomu.

CL

clevermike

Coach57,555 posts

CL

clevermikeCoach57,555 posts

01 Oct 2013, 08:17

#6

01 Oct 2013, 08:17#6

Sasue

This is good news for the All Blacks - since they could move Ben Smith to full back and get rid of the dead wood Israel Dagg. Mind you - a better proposition could be to accept that Conrad Smith is on the verge of retirement and that as you suggested try Ben Smith at 13.

JW

Just_win

Captain18,570 posts

JW

Just_winCaptain18,570 posts

01 Oct 2013, 10:24

#7

01 Oct 2013, 10:24#7

& the depth keeps getting deeper Another world class AB fortifying the best team in the world. Come on HM, speed up the Bok development , we have been waiting so long but at last you are number two. Starting to look good - Boks of old!

CL

clevermike

Coach57,555 posts

CL

clevermikeCoach57,555 posts

01 Oct 2013, 10:30

#8

01 Oct 2013, 10:30#8

cloudy

I am a great admirer of Ben Smith - because he is always looking for work. The soft try issue is not the case here. In Super 15 he did massive work on the same basis and he always is in my fantasy team as a banker.

The only time he did not really shine was in the Boks test at Eden Park and for his sake I hope he does well this weekend. I think he is at this stage much better than Dagg and would prefer to see him at full back when Jane is back.

What the other SA posters don't like is objectivity - you must always be loyal to Meyer and his team and they dislike it intensely if you criticize him or some of his selections. I actually am very successful in needling them - so do not worry - I can take it.

When I do the same with AB supporters they do not take the bait and that is very disappointing. Thanks anyway for your comments. LOL

MD

Monkey D Luffy

Pro6,277 posts

MD

Monkey D LuffyPro6,277 posts

01 Oct 2013, 18:38

#9

01 Oct 2013, 18:38#9

nah sharkbok dosnet know too much about NZ rugby, like siones uncles BFF. thats why he thinks ben smith is a one hit wonder, everyone in NZ has been speaking about ben smith for the last three years, the only thing thats stopped folks outside of NZ knowing him is that the All Blacks have depth burn and as good as ben smith is now and then, there were others who were better.

@mikey,
conrad is planning on sticking around till the RWC by the looks of things and given his performances to date, its looking like he will be the incumbent.

but conrad is on sabbatical and wont be going on the EOYT, thats why i think its a opportunity to start ben smith there as ben is a very good center too.

i agree ben smith is a better option over dagg for fullback, but charles piutau is too, but daggs season hasnt been that bad, and hes still better both as a player and in form then anyone else in the RC/4nats.
i would still have no hesitations picking him for the big tests like the Boks this weekend, but he has plenty of room for improvement.

CL

clevermike

Coach57,555 posts

CL

clevermikeCoach57,555 posts

01 Oct 2013, 19:04

#10

01 Oct 2013, 19:04#10

Sasue

There is one thing I will never do is to select Dagg, Smith and Nonu for my fantasy teams. I stick with Ben Smith and now with Willie le Roux. That shows the confidence I have in Ben producing the goods.

By the way I am in a mess this weekend with those selections and am waiting for the team announcements. I am pretty happy with my Foxsport backline - namely Folau (a bit disappointing in the last two games - but he is a must to keep in the 6 players limit), Ben Smith, Le Roux, De Villiers and Leali'ifano (also not to hot) and Cruden.

That is where my happiness ends. I am thinking of selecting Du Preez ahead of Aaron Smith.

The loosies is a real mess. I think Read is a must - and is likely to pick Lobbe as the second loosie - I hate the idea of not having Cane around as the third loosie and am considering McCaw or Hooper. I don't like McCaw at all as an option - something is warning me against that one. Wish Hansen gets it into his thick skull to select Cane ahead of McCaw.

Locks are OK (Etzebeth amd Whitelock) but would be in a quandary if Du Toit is selected.

Hooker - am thinking to change to Bismarck from Moore

Props is OK - will probably stick with those (Beast and Slipper)

MD

Monkey D Luffy

Pro6,277 posts

MD

Monkey D LuffyPro6,277 posts

02 Oct 2013, 04:56

#11

02 Oct 2013, 04:56#11

@mikey,

ive been hoping the wallabies would come out firing, but they have been a major disappointment.

time to throw some haymakers in my foxsport team with the last week of the round, but i will be more conservative in testrugby cos oimatey is looking to scary.

my foxsport back row is going to be all All Blacks, McCaw cos hes the best of the best, read, cos his form is insane and messam cos hes going to show the saffa why u dont fuck with family.
i might even make messam my captain, o_O

ive got 8 transfers to play with in testrugby and a wildcard this week, so transfer issues shouldnt be a worry.
will be interesting to see how others roll though,

MD

Monkey D Luffy

Pro6,277 posts

MD

Monkey D LuffyPro6,277 posts

02 Oct 2013, 04:56

#12

02 Oct 2013, 04:56#12

@mikey,

ive been hoping the wallabies would come out firing, but they have been a major disappointment.

time to throw some haymakers in my foxsport team with the last week of the round, but i will be more conservative in testrugby cos oimatey is looking to scary.

my foxsport back row is going to be all All Blacks, McCaw cos hes the best of the best, read, cos his form is insane and messam cos hes going to show the saffa why u dont fuck with family.
i might even make messam my captain, o_O

ive got 8 transfers to play with in testrugby and a wildcard this week, so transfer issues shouldnt be a worry.
will be interesting to see how others roll though,

HA

hakwa

Pro4,146 posts

HA

hakwaPro4,146 posts

02 Oct 2013, 13:08

#13

02 Oct 2013, 13:08#13

Jane set to return for Lions

Jane set to return for Lions

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