Cowan: Higlanders ready to front

By MARC HINTON - Rugbyheaven Last updated 13:00 04/02/2010

It's typical Jimmy Cowan. No fear, no excuses. And hopefully not another year making up the numbers for the Highlanders in this year's Super 14.

Cowan, who is back as captain for the perennial strugglers, is bristling with confidence ahead of a campaign that could see New Zealand's southernmost franchise finally shake of its tag as tail-end charlies.

The All Black halfback, frankly, has had enough of losing at this level. It doesn't sit well with this most competitive of personalities, and he finally sees signs that the days of mediocrity could be at an end down in Otago and Southland.

In fact, Cowan didn't mind admitting that the time for rolling out the excuses for the Highlanders was over. Sure, they don't have the population or abundant talent of their fellow Kiwi franchises, and they do have to rather cobble together a team from all points.

But the restoration project has been going long enough now. It is time, reckons the combative Cowan, for the talking to end and the fronting to begin.

"Without a doubt," nods the feisty halfback. "You look at our team on paper, and there's no reason why we shouldn't win games this year. We've got a good coaching structure, good training facilities, and we've had a good training base. Everything's in place.

"If we don't perform this year we've only got ourselves to look at. The players understand that too, which is why everyone is working so hard to put best our foot forward."

The Highlanders certainly have some ground to make up. They've won just seven of their last 26 games as they've finished 11th the last two seasons. In fact, since their semifinal effort of 2002, their final placings have been ignominious at best: 7th in '03, then 9th, 8th, 9th, 9th and finally those two double-figure efforts.

It's little wonder the Carisbrook faithful have been dwindling in their number to such an alarming extent that the franchise has even taken "home" matches to the North Island to boost gate revenue.

But if Cowan's confidence has any substance to it, the Highlanders could follow in the hoofsteps of the halfback's own Stags who were the feelgood story of the 2009 provincial season, nabbing the Ranfurly Shield off Canterbury and making it to the semifinals.

"I'm real confident," adds Cowan, who is now unchallenged as New Zealand's premier No 9. "It's the whole setup really. The guys have had a great pre-season (with wins over the Chiefs and a Suva Invitation XV) and it's probably the fittest we've been. You'll see a lot of the bigger guys have trimmed right down, and are doing PBs in skinfold and fitness levels.

"And this year we've tweaked a few things, and brought a game-plan in to suit the players we've got. It's a mixture of Southland play, Otago's play and bit of what the Hawke's Bay boys bring. Everyone's bought into the concept."

The Highlanders now have a solid core of All Blacks. Cowan, Adam Thomson, Tom Donnelly and Ben Smith were all end-of-year tourists. A large group of others, headed by the likes of Jamie Mackintosh, Jason Shoemark, Matt Berquist and Jason Rutledge, have been around long enough to know what it takes at this level.

Plus there's a crop of rising talent that promises a little more of the X-factor than there's been in recent years. Israel Dagg and Robbie Robinson are two of the country's more exciting backline talents, as is midfielder Jayden Hayward, while the Highlanders reckon they might have picked up a couple of draft day steals from up the road in wing James Paterson and No 8 Nasi Manu. Lock Josh Bekhuis is also a player on the move, as is hard-nosed Southland flanker John Hardie.

Cowan also liked the signs of a couple of warmup wins, even though they count for nothing come next Saturday's opener against the Crusaders in Christchurch.

"What it does is give the boys a bit of confidence," he said. "This time last year we didn't win one pre-season game, and went into the competition slightly doubting ourselves. We didn't know how to win, and that showed in all the games we were up with 20 to go and ended up losing.

"This year hopefully we can improve in that area."

The Highlanders do face a brutal start. They're away to the competition favourites to kick off, then host the Blues before embarking on a three-game South African trek that has make-or-break written all over it.

Again Cowan, who says he's refreshed and reinvigorated after his summer break, bristles. It starts with the Crusaders he reckons. The Highlanders have had the wood over their southern rivals of late and there's no reason they can't continue that next Saturday.

"That's what the message will be leading in, not to be intimidated by these boys," adds Cowan. "We've had two good wins over them the last two years, there's good confidence around the boys at the moment, and we hope to hit the ground running. The key for us this year is getting off to a good start."

Besides, notes the crafty halfback, it's not a bad time to strike the Crusaders with Richie McCaw still wrapped in cotton wool. If this mob are the improvers they claim to be, there will be no better stage on which to announce it than the refurbished AMI Stadium next Saturday night.