Cane up for semi face-off
|Published
FIRED UP: Kiwi flanker Sam Cane. Picture: Supplied. FIRED UP: Kiwi flanker Sam Cane. Picture: Supplied.
All Blacks flanker Sam Cane is relishing the face off against England’s “pretty impressive” Tom Curry and Sam Underhill in their World Cup semifinal on Saturday, with the battle at the breakdown key to advancing to the final.
Curry and Underhill, who England coach Eddie Jones has dubbed “The Kamikaze Kids”, have been standouts in England’s strong forward pack at the World Cup in Japan.
They got the better of Australia’s Michael Hooper and David Pocock in their quarterfinal.
And Cane says: “Underhill and Curry have been pretty impressive. They’ve both got a huge appetite for hard work and have very good skill sets. They have been really impressive.”
STANDOUT: Tom Curry should make it difficult for the All Blacks' victory. Picture: Mark Cristino/EPA.
The English duo were only paired together by Jones in their final World Cup warm-up matches, something that All Blacks coach Steve Hansen also did with Cane, the first-choice openside flanker since Richie McCaw retired in 2015, and Ardie Savea.
Savea’s form this year made it hard for Hansen not to find a way to fit him into the starting team, and after he failed to settle at blindside, he selected Savea in the No.6 jersey.
Cane, Savea and captain and No.8 Kieran Read have been the preferred back row since the All Blacks first Bledisloe Cup fixture against Australia in Perth.
Of the combination, Cane adds: “It has been working well.
“Ardie has been working really hard on some of his set piece work, which a six is supposed to do more.”