Auckland form no concern for ABs
AUCKLAND: The woes of Auckland no longer have any bearing on the All Blacks’ fortunes, test coach Steve Hansen says.
The Aucklanders — despite a starstudded roster including Patrick Tuipulotu, Malakai Fekitoa, George Moala and now Jerome Kaino — sit just one spot off relegation from the Mitre 10 Cup Premiership, losing five of their seven matches to date.
They were brushed aside by Championship outfit Otago 3426 on Thursday night, having previously suffered losses to North Harbour and Taranaki.
Auckland was a wellspring of testlevel talent in the amateur rugby era and won 11 provincial titles to 1996, but has won only five since.
It last won the Premiership division in 2007.
While Hansen said he was concerned by Auckland’s poor form, given its large talent pool, he believed its effect on his test side was minimal.
The professionalisation of rugby across New Zealand had diluted Auckland’s importance to the All Blacks and created a more level playing field, invalidating the maxim that ‘‘when Auckland rugby is strong, New Zealand rugby is strong’’.
However, Hansen did say New Zealand Rugby needed to work with athletes from the area to improve performance and professionalism.
‘‘It doesn’t matter what sport, there’s a heap of talent in Auckland and what we’ve got to try and engineer is how we get that talent to have the work ethic so it can actually grow and bloom, and everyone’s trying to do that,’’ Hansen said.