An impressive 55-minute cameo for Waikato has Tawera Kerr-Barlow primed for an All Blacks return next weekend.
Under the watchful eye of All Blacks assistant coach Ian Foster, Kerr-Barlow looked good in the Mooloos' 40-33 NPC pre-season win over North Harbour at Hamilton's Beetham Park on Friday, and was quick to state that he had plenty left in the tank.
Returning from a serious knee injury suffered last October, the 24-year-old halfback had two outings for his Hautapu club and two runs with the Maori All Blacks before another gallop in the red, yellow and black, where he loved mixing it with some old mates ahead of a return to the international stage.
Despite a patchy start, botching a quick-tap and having a box kick charged down, Kerr-Barlow showed plenty of fine touches, looked a step ahead of other players and was able to anticipate well. Along with cleaning up some scrappy ball, he showed great hands, pulled off a couple of no-look passes and set up two of Waikato's six tries.
"It was really good to get out there and have another run. I had plenty left in the tank," he said. "But the best thing was getting back out there with my high school mates. We haven't run around since 2008 or something."
Kerr-Barlow said apart from having to warm his knee up for "an age" he has no worries in getting round the park.
"As soon as they told me I could go back to play, I never had any second thoughts and I don't think about my knee when I'm out there playing or training."
Having met up with Foster straight after fulltime for a debrief, Kerr-Barlow will link up with the All Blacks in Auckland on Monday as they prepare for back-to-back Bledisloe Cup tests against the Wallabies, in Sydney and Auckland. The first test will also decide the Rugby Championship title.
Kerr-Barlow will likely see time in both matches as coach Steve Hansen gives him the chance to crack the 31-strong World Cup squad, with the global showpiece having been the motivating factor for him to make a swift recovery.
"Yeah, that's always been the big goal," Kerr-Barlow said.
Meanwhile, new Waikato coach Sean Botherway came away a happy man after a fine first hit-out, with no new injuries sustained. His side found themselves down 21-7, before dominating the middle stages and surging ahead 35-21.
With a solid set-piece foundation, the Mooloos were able to unleash some of their attacking flair, and put on a couple of stunning tries in the second half, with Damian McKenzie taking over the reigns at first five-eighth from Bryn Gatland.
Winger Joe Webber had some scorching surges down the flank before fellow winger Luke Masirewa was injected off the bench and bagged a double in a fine display.
While Waikato struggled to recycle possession at times, they were a real threat with their big men close to the line. They were made to defend for long periods, and did pretty well in doing so, putting on some good driving tackles and winning several turnovers.
Botherway liked the tempo his side played with and attributed their good conditioning to that: "Obviously these boys are very good in terms of counter-attack, so good to see the link there and their ability to break the line," he said, adding that the work was started up front by their solid platforms.
"There's a lot of young men rolled out in that forward pack in that second half, getting their taste of this level for the first time. So I think we'll have a competitive squad."
Botherway now wants to see his players step up individually, work harder to get off the ground quicker to be in good positions, and get their discipline under control.
Waikato have one more pre-season game, against Northland on the North Shore next Friday, and Botherway said it would likely be a "60-40" balance in terms of bedding combinations versus giving guys opportunities.
AT A GLANCE
Waikato 40 (Luke Masirewa 2, Jacob Skeen, Anton Lienert-Brown, Loni Uhila, Shaun Stevenson tries; Bryn Gatland 3 con, Damian McKenzie 2 con) North Harbour 33 (James Parsons, Josh Rowland, Matt Vaega, Adrian Smith, Matt McGahan tries; Daniel Halangahu 3 con, McGahan con)
- Stuff
