Hobbs gets his Lions' mane
Thu, 04 Sep 2008 10:01
Michael Hobbs will start his first Air New Zealand Cup game for the Wellington Lions when they travel to the FMG Stadium, in Palmerston North, to face the Manawatu Turbos in a Round Six match.
Hobbs, son of the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) chairman and former All Black Jock Hobbs, is the fourth player to be named to start at first five-eighth this season.
Lions coach Jamie Joseph has made three changes to the team that thumped Bay of Plenty last Saturday - with so much talent at his disposal that he can afford to leave the likes of Ross Filipo and Victor Vito on the replacement bench.
The changes see Hobbs replace Piri Weepu, who is on All Blacks duty, with lock Jeremy Thrush reclaiming the captaincy and blindside flank Chris Masoe also coming into the side.
After five appearances at second five-eighth, Hobbs gets to start for the first time at flyhalf since he returned home from Australia earlier this year.
"It's an awesome opportunity for me. I signed to Wellington as a first five-eighth and it will be my first run there so it's a good chance ... " Hobbs told the The Dominion Post.
"I'm not really changing my approach. It's more of the same and I will try to fit into the game plan ... 10 and 12 are pretty similar positions these days so for me it's just organising the forwards around the field."
Hobbs is unproven at No.10 at this level and will need a big effort to retain his place, with injured first-choice Dan Kirkpatrick nearing full fitness and in-form Fa'atonu Fili in the reserves.
Joseph said Hobbs had performed well in the midfield and now had a chance to convince the selectors he could control a match.
"He needs to steer the team in the right direction and provide the stability that we've had in the first 40 to 60 minutes, like we had from Piri Weepu.
"He's not Piri Weepu. He's a lot younger and less experienced, but he has attributes we see as being vital to us performing on Friday."
There are two changes to the replacements, with prop Arden David and utility Tomasi Palu coming in for prop Neemia Tialata, who is with the All Blacks, and Buxton Popoali'i respectively.
David, who has been recalled from Bay of Plenty where he was on loan, is set to achieve a rare feat, representing his province a week after playing against them.
Meanwhile, the Manawatu Turbos are now firmly caught in a bottom eight fight for every competition point that is on offer.
Turbos Coach Dave Rennie is aware that his team has had more than its fair share of opportunities to gather points and that for contrasting reasons the game against Wellington may hold the key in the local team's fight towards a top eight position.
Rennie has made only one change to his Turbos combination - although inspirational Turbos captain Josh Bradnock has an Achilles injury cloud hovering over his head and is again bracketed with Doug Tietjens in the No.7 jersey.
Kurt Baker gets his first start at fullback ahead of Francisco Bosch and Isaac Thompson covers both scrumhalf and flyhalf options from the bench.
Teams:
Manawatu Turbos: 15 Kurt Bake, 14 Lote Raikabula, 13 Johnny Leota, 12 Francis Bryant, 11 Andre Taylor, 10 Matty James, 9 Aaron Good, 8 Hamish Gosling, 7 Josh Bradnock/Doug Tietjens (captain), 6 Nick Crosswell, 5 James Goode, 4 Hayden Triggs, 3 David Te Moana, 2 Rob Foreman, 1 Grant Polson.
Replacements: 16 Sean O'Connor, 17 Talau Hala, 18 Paul Rodgers, 19 Doug Tietjens/Mitchell Crosswell, 20 Issac Thompson, 21 Aaron James, 22 Francisco Bosch.
Wellington Lions: 15 Cory Jane, 14 Tu Umaga-Marshall, 13 Tamati Ellison, 12 Tane Tu'ipulotu, 11 Hosea Gear, 10 Michael Hobbs, 9 Alby Mathewson, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Serge Lilo, 6 Chris Masoe, 5 Api Naikatini, 4 Jeremy Thrush (captain), 3 Tim Fairbrother, 2
Ged Robinson, 1 John Schwalger.
Replacements: 16 Eugene Smith, 17 Arden David, 18 Ross Filipo, 19 Victor Vito, 20 Scott Fuglistaller, 21 Tomasi Palu, 22 Fa'atonu Fili.
Date: Friday, September 5
Venue: FMG Stadium, Palmerston North
Kick-off: 19.35 (07.35 GMT)
Referee: Steve Walsh
TMO: Chris Pollock
