Baker sidelines sevens, signs Highlanders!

Kurt Baker has put aside his sevens career to concentrate on the 15-man game, signing with the Highlanders for two years. "I had to make a call but I'm playing Super Rugby next year at the Highlanders. I've got two more years down there," the Taranaki fullback said. "From my point of view, I've spoken to Titch [sevens coach Gordon Tietjens] and told him it's time to give someone else a go." Having spent the past two years away from the Highlanders following a back injury at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, Baker's professional career has been divided between the national sevens squad and Taranaki. His decision has avoided a potential scheduling conundrum, with New Zealand's first world sevens series tournament clashing with Taranaki's last NPC round robin match. The International Rugby Board has moved the Australian leg of the sevens circuit forward, meaning Baker would have had to choose between the amber-and-blacks or the national side. Baker reckons his time in sevens has helped him immensely ahead of his return to Super Rugby. While he is proud of what he has achieved in sevens, he feels some loyalty has to be shown to Taranaki, especially as he is the most capped back in the squad with 32 appearances and is now a senior member of the squad, despite being only 24. "It's better to stay here because we have lost a lot of senior guys," he said. "Losing another one would probably not be good for our team." He is well aware the side still has to make significant strides to get close to fulfilling their potential. "We're still trying to find out what works. It will come, we just have to be patient." He said he had copped a fair bit of flak from the public after Taranaki's two heavy losses against Canterbury and Wellington but he is convinced the squad has what is needed to see off Southland in Invercargill tomorrow. "From an outsider looking in, you probably think it's all doom and gloom, but it's not, it's just small things letting us down," Baker said. "If we can fix those then we can be a good team. "We have got the players, even the young ones, who I think are some of the best young ones around New Zealand; it's just finding out what works for us." Thankfully for Taranaki, the southerners are unlikely to provide any surprises tomorrow night, with the Stags expected to be full of grunt up front, and full of straight running in the backline. Taranaki has just one try from 160 minutes of NPC rugby this season, but Baker thinks that can change tomorrow. "Sometimes we are getting the ball at the wrong time and when we are wanting it, we're not getting it, so it's guys knowing what's around them," he said. "It probably doesn't look that good if you are outside looking in - people think we're not up to the standard they expect of us - but it's close."