Ackermann’s Whiteley headache
Does he risk it? Does he take the gamble and pick Warren Whiteley? That’s the big decision facing Lions head coach Johan Ackermann.
|||Does he risk it? Does he take the gamble and pick Warren Whiteley? That’s the big decision facing Lions head coach Johan Ackermann this week ahead of his team’s Super Rugby final against the Hurricanes in Wellington on Saturday (9.35am SA time kick-off).
But it’s not only Ackermann who has to make a crucial decision regarding the team skipper; Hurricanes boss Chris Boyd also has a call to make on his regular team leader, hooker Dane Coles.
Both Coles and Whiteley have been key figures in their teams’ drive to the final, but both were struck down by injury late in the season, ruling them out of their respective semi-finals wins against the Chiefs and Highlanders last weekend.
Whiteley, the live-wire No8, recovered sooner than expected from a shoulder injury to lead the Lions against the Crusaders in the quarter-finals, but picked up a calf strain in that match and sat out last weekend.
He was desperate to play and told The Star in the build-up: “I don’t think I’m going to make it. It’s either the semis or the final. I know we’re going to beat the Highlanders so I’ll take my chances for the final. I don’t want to miss that one.”
On Sunday, just before the team’s departure to Wellington, he said: “I’m going to do my best to be back as soon as possible.”
Calf injuries can take up to three weeks to heal and Whiteley wants to play after just two weeks. His desperation and desire to lead his team in the final is understandable. An while he’ll know whether he’s ready or not, ultimately the decision will be Ackermann’s.
The good news is that the Lions have a more than capable replacement, if not a player who’s as dynamic. The coach’s son Ruan has filled in at No8 on more than one occasion this year and also played in the second row with aplomb, and should be brimming with confidence after his powerful display against the Highlanders last week. He carried strongly, and regularly took his team over the gain-line.
The Canes are sweating on the fitness of their regular leader Coles, the hooker missing the semi-final because of a rib injury.
They’ll only know later in the week, like the Lions, whether one of their key men will run out in the last game of the competition.
If Coles doesn’t play, his place will again be taken by Ricky Riccitelli, who performed admirably in their win over the Chiefs.
But while Ackermann has a fairly good idea of what his Lions team will look like for the final, Hurricanes boss Boyd may not be in such a comfortable position because, besides Coles, he also has to consider starting giant wing Julian Savea or not.
The man they call ‘the bus’ has been out of form in recent times and has sat on the bench for the Canes in the last few weeks, but Boyd will certainly consider starting the 1.92m, 109kg powerhouse.
Even All Blacks boss Steve Hansen said yesterday that tossing the 25-year-old on the scrap heap won’t help the wing regain form or confidence.
However, the Lions and Hurricanes teams are likely to have familiar looks about them when Ackermann and Boyd name their line-ups. But will they include the men who’ve done so much good in getting their teams to this point - Whiteley and Coles? - The Star