Banks set for action against Canes
Highlanders playmaker Marty Banks is set to return to the scene of one his greatest triumphs on Friday, where he will catch up with ‘‘good mate’’ Beauden Barrett.
Highlanders coach Aaron Mauger was happy with Banks’ second-half contribution against the Rebels in Melbourne and he is poised to play an important role against the Hurricanes in Wellington – either off the bench or in the No 10 jersey.
For the affable Banks, who had a year at the Hurricanes in 2014, it’s a reunion of sorts.
‘‘I got to know Beaudy quite well and he’s a good mate,’’ Banks said yesterday.
‘‘Obviously last week he came back from his wedding break/holiday/whatever you want to call it, and he changed the way the Hurricanes played.
‘‘He’s an unreal player and obviously with TJ [Perenara] inside him those two control the game really well.’’
Although Banks and Barrett are at opposite ends of rugby’s pay scale they do have something in common.
Banks is already playing in Japan [for NTT] and Barrett could well join him in the country following the World Cup.
However, Banks said there was still uncertainty about whether there would be back to back domestic seasons in Japan next year, a structure that would allow players such as Barrett to earn a significant amount of money – and potentially limit the time he spends away from New Zealand.
‘‘I’ve been told there is back to back seasons and I’ve been told there isn’t back to back seasons,’’ Banks said.
‘‘I don’t think anyone over there knows what the go is at the moment.
‘‘With the World Cup it’s all over the place.’’
One man Banks is less keen to get reacquainted with is Hurricanes wrecking ball Ngani Laumape.
The Highlanders were well aware of Laumape’s demolition job against the Brumbies at the weekend but were also wary of paying the midfielder too much attention in case it created room for others.
‘‘I’ve had to get in front of him a few times,’’ Banks said ruefully.
‘‘He’s a beast but we’ll go out there and we have plans in place to negate their game plan.
‘‘Obviously they’ve got some ball carriers all across the field, they’ve got some awesome wings and some awesome flankers who are doing an unreal job too.
‘‘It’s not just Ngani, there are a lot of big boys out there so we’ll have to go out there and nail our role and nail our plan, which we probably didn’t do last week.’’
Banks will forever be remembered by Highlanders fans for an influential cameo in the 2015 Super Rugby final against the Hurricanes in Wellington and he remains highly valued by the Highlanders coaches for his game intelligence.
He again showed what he could do in a losing effort against the Rebels last Friday by carving off 40 metres with a kick to the corner to set up a game-winning opportunity.
‘‘Against the Reds [in round one] I shanked one off the foot and copped it from the forwards and I did a bit of work on it during the week,’’ Banks said.
‘‘Just before I kicked it [against the Rebels] Tei Walden was in my ear telling me not be a wuss and have a crack at the corner flag.
‘‘I was just lucky it came off. ‘‘It gave us an opportunity to have a crack at the line and every since I’ve been at the Landers I’ve had the coaches’ confidence to peel off as many metres as we can.’’
The Highlanders name their team tomorrow morning.