Rugby: Umaga playing down speed

By WYNNE GRAY

The first victim was Caleb Ralph, the next Joe Roff.

Both players have a fair bit of speed but were chased and scythed down in brilliant trysaving tackles by Tana Umaga, the man who reckons he does not have enough pace to cut it on the wing.

In the Super 12, Ralph burst away and in last weekend's Tri-Nations test against the Wallabies, Roff made the break, but both were rounded up by Umaga, first in his Hurricanes uniform and then the black of New Zealand.

Not bad for a bloke who has spoken about switching to centre because of his interest in the role and to compensate for his lack of pace.

Most sportsmen tend to underplay their ability to guard against giving their opposition any extra motivation. Umaga's spiel on his speed would fall into that category, as only players with serious pace can stay on the wing.

The 27-year-old conceded he might have downgraded his velocity rating.

"But I did have the angle to catch Roff last week and I had to get back because it was my fault he got through in the first place," Umaga said.

"When you are desperate something happens and he also stumbled a bit when Christian [Cullen] knocked him.

"I think my speed has probably stayed the same. Maybe I am not as slow as I feel."

Apart from showing he is still pretty swift, Umaga has played with all the verve and impetus which marked most of his play last season and for the first part relegated Jonah Lomu to the bench.

He did not feel any public resentment then that he was keeping Lomu out of the action.

"The only pressure comes from within and not wanting to let anyone down. I set high standards and Jonah drove me to get there."

Umaga is almost like an extra loose forward. While one of his favourite rugby players was Michael Jones, he said he could never compete with the work levels put in by flankers. "But I think the way the game has changed in the last few years, everyone at times has to play like a loosie at the breakdown or with tackling.

"So much of the game now is about retaining possession. But I could never do what Josh [Kronfeld] and Scott [Robertson] do with their amount of work at tackles, rucks, turning the ball over. They do a massive amount.

"I do live close to rucks and mauls though, because you get the ball and you can work your way into the game with that physical contact."

After Umaga scored the first try against the Wallabies after only 90 seconds last week, the All Blacks had a frenetic battle before they won 39-35.

It was a test which stood out for Umaga, though he felt defensive mistakes lowered its quality.

"However, it was the most tired I have ever been after a test. I could hardly drink anything in the changing room. I got back to the hotel and I was so exhausted. A couple of times in the game I was just thinking 'kick it Mehrts' rather than us running it again."

A few days at Hanmer Springs, north of Christchurch, repaired the exhaustion.

"It was good to get away out of the city and now we have to raise our levels again for the Springboks. Our targets have to be to hang on to the ball, be patient and wise when we create things," Umaga said.

"Last year was a disappointment but there is nothing much you can do about that now. We just had to start again this season and it is building steadily. The ideas of the coaching staff have been positive."

Defence is just as prominent on the checklist for his duel today with the poacher, Breyton Paulse.

"I have to shut him down but not to the detriment of the team plan. I have to concentrate on staying with our system and not running up out of alignment."