Hurricanes hooker Dane Coles summed it up bluntly, under the stands at Sky Stadium. “Sometimes you’ve just got to be a bit of an arsehole.”
The retiring All Black took upon himself to wind up the opposition during the Hurricanes’ stunning 27-26 win over the Crusaders in his likely final home game in Wellington on Saturday.
Crusaders coach Scott Robertson said it certainly worked. Coles nearly came to blows with Crusaders opposite Codie Taylor until referee Brendon Pickerill intervened, but he insisted it was “nothing personal”.
Coles just wanted to give his team a competitive edge.
Coles had forced a penalty for his team in the 48th minute and Taylor appeared to take umbrage at verbals unleashed by his opposite number.
Both went nose to nose and Coles raised his fist but no punches were thrown as they both pushed and shoved.
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Codie Taylor of the Crusaders and Dane Coles of the Hurricanes go at it.
Pickerill called the pair together as both continued to trade expletive-laden barbs. “Are we finished, or do you want me to deal with it?,” Pickerill could be heard saying.
The pair – who both emerged from Horowhenua-Kapiti – shook hands and carried on but Taylor was given another send-off by Coles as he trotted off after being yellow carded.
“There was a bit of niggle but I made sure I chatted with Codie after the game,” Coles said.
“It was just the heat of the battle. The Hurricanes versus the Crusaders. There was nothing personal.
“They’re 11-time champions and we haven’t done anything, we’ve just got another week, but the way I try to play was because I wanted to try and win.
“Sometimes you’ve got to be a bit of an arsehole, because they’re such a quality team.
“I just tried to do the best for the team. That’s who I am and it’s just in my nature. Sometimes you lose, sometimes you win, and tonight we won and it will be cool to sit back and know in my last home game we beat the Crusaders because it doesn’t happen often.”
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Cameron Roigard and Hurricanes team-mates celebrate.
Down 16 points after 30 minutes, the Hurricanes stormed back to claim their first win over the Crusaders in Wellington for five years.
Robertson admitted his team took the bait and allowed Coles to get in their heads.
“He did eh. We talked about it and it was a bit frustrating. I think we bit and let him get under our skin,” Robertson said.
“It was a good finale, wasn’t it? He’s done that for years. We knew it was coming and we took it.”
Coles, who was missing his shorts when he arrived for post-match media duties, said he did not plan on being a “little menace” when he walked out onto Sky Stadium for one last time.
But he decided to go “off task” when the Hurricanes found themselves in a 19-3 hole.
“I tried to keep the boys positive and bring a bit more energy, and I had to go to that place sometimes but I’ve got to do my job as well, I’ve got scrum too and throw the ball in, not just be the niggly guy.”
Replaced by Jacob Devery, Coles left the field in the 55th minute to a standing ovation from sections of the crowd. He applauded back to the fans before being greeted with hugs by the bench.
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Dane Coles of the Hurricanes leads the team out.
The 139-game stalwart, who announced he would be hanging up his boots at the end of 2023, returned from injury in the nick of time to make his home farewell.
Coles was due to return in last weekend’s loss to the Blues after struggling with ongoing concussion symptoms but suffered another setback when he pulled his calf at training.
Coles made an emotional entrance with his children but said he did not want to make a big deal of his Wellington farewell as he was worried he would not make it to kickoff.
“I was surprised to get through the week to be fair. I had a few niggles, a bit of an emotional rollercoaster,” he said.
After leaving to a standing ovation, Coles appeared briefly on the field after Brayden Iose’s match-sealing try in the 74th minute before sprinting off again – much to his coach’s dismay.
Coles explained what went on. He said he was ordered onto the field by the referee to tell the team how long was left in the game, as the stadium clock had stopped working.
“The clock had stopped and kept saying 64 minutes and the ref said ‘can you tell your team there’s six minutes to go?’
“He gave me the licence to go on and tell them. I got off and my manager was going off at me like ‘you can’t have 16 on the field!’ but the ref told me. It was a shambles.”
Despite beating the Crusaders, the Hurricanes were unable to improve on their fifth placing and will now travel to face the Brumbies in the quarterfinals, likely next Saturday night.
The Hurricanes were knocked out by the Brumbies at the same stage of the finals last season.
“It’s always nice to go further but we’ve got to bring ourselves back to one more week.
“Last year we went over there full of confidence and got pipped.
“It’s important we enjoy tonight and not get too carried away but then come into Monday with a bit of motivation to go over to Canberra and have a crack.”
