On Friday Joe Schmidt kept faith with his three young playmakers for the looming Bledisloe series. One day later Tane Edmed did his best to remind the Wallabies coach that there are other options.
The Waratahs playmaker finished with 33 points in North Harbour’s 57-19 momentum-building win over lowly Manawatu, scoring twice and landing a staggering ten straight goals from the kicking tee.
His 33 points saw him set a new North Harbour record in a National Provincial Championship fixture. It was also just four points shy of the competition’s record set by Ben Blair in 1999.
Former All Blacks winger Jeff Wilson described his starring role as a “remarkable performance” while former captain Justin Marshall was equally impressed.
“What a performance from Tane Edmed,” the former All Blacks captain said.
Unsurprisingly, Edmed was awarded player of the match for his dream afternoon at the office.
“It wasn’t a hard decision (to name him player of the match) because he set this game alight,” Marshall said.
“It wasn’t just his try assists but his ability to find the line, his cross-kicks, his goal-kicking – it was a complete performance.”
Edmed took control of the match early, scoring in the 11th minute after stepping back off his right-foot and racing almost 30 metres to score untouched.
The playmaker’s dazzling footwork was on display in the second half too, beating a shooting defender and showing strength near the line to spin out of two tacklers to score.
After a frustrating campaign with the Waratahs, Edmed said he was thrilled he had decided to jump across the ditch to grow his game.
“The whole reason to come here was purely a development decision – and I’m definitely seeing that,” Edmed told Sky’s Wilson following the win.
“Just the way they play rugby here, as you said, free-flowing and more space, and I’m learning so much from the playing group and coaches, and on top of that it’s been unreal fun.”
Edmed, who also missed a poor tackle on loose-head prop Joe Gavigan, who scored a runaway try, said he was benefitting from playing alongside All Blacks and Chiefs outside back Shaun Stevenson, describing his teammate as the “most talented person I’ve seen on a football field”.
Although Schmidt hasn’t turned to Edmed to date this year, The Roar understands the 24-year-old has caught his eye and it’s more than possible he will find a place on the plain to the Northern Hemisphere for the Wallabies’ end of year Spring Tour.
Edmed’s form will continue to heap more pressure on Schmidt’s three incumbents – Noah Lolesio, Ben Donaldson and Tom Lynagh – who have struggled to show that they’re the New Zealander’s long-term commander.
