@Kiwiwomble RA are pretty much looking for private investment in the game right now. Can't sustain what we have with what we've got

@DrivingMaul said in Maori Super Rugby Team:

@antipodean I don't agree with his 10 team professional competition but I do think kids staying with their clubs is a good idea. Trying to get players to come back to clubs after school is one of the reasons that club rugby is really struggling with numbers (note one reason not all the reasons)

Certainly - there's no reason why strong school development has to mean players don't go back to club rugby. The elephant in the room is if these kids who play at school would give it away regardless on graduation.

@mofitzy_ Sanity prevails. For a while there it looked like Sexton was going to get the cake.

@Machpants yeah fan engagement over announcements, stats etc is a massive blackhole for rugby.

Now that I have sat back and had really good think about what’s ahead for the Taniwha in 2021.
My first wish is to get both of our 2 main props Luatangi Li and Corey Te Whata Colley much fitter, after watching the NZ Maori Mana Pacifica game , I could not help but be impressed with how much tackling both of the starting props for the NZ Maori got through .., not much got past Josh Hohneck or Pouri Rakete Stones..

With Kalolo Tuiloma unlikely to be seen at the Taniwha in 2021, it’s important that we find a prop who has got experience and more importantly can scrum ..Tyler Learns is the fittest of all the props including Ross Wright, but has question marks over his scrummaging, in saying that , still worth persisting with given he’s been part of the squad in 2020..

Hooker is an interesting one ..Jordon Olsen is the number 1 , and I suspect by daylight , not sure what Paddy Joe Atkins is doing in 2021, and his fitness did fall away , but he is a very good scrummager and would be an ideal back up but only If fit ..
I would love to see Campbell Mathews bought back into the frame , he was part of the Northland set up a few seasons back ,was on a PUDC if I recall , saw very little game time , but hopefully is still in Northland , has good size and ball carrying ability..

We will definitely have to replace Sam Caird ,and Temo Mayanavanua this is a tough one ..not entirely sure where we go here ..Setafano Funaki who was in the development squad is handy as cover especially on the bench , but it’s tough one ..I know they are looking at a Super Rugby quality lock , but those come at a price ..
Allan Craig has been selected , and whilst he is young , I think it’s import that we play him regardless of his age ..
In terms of the loose forwards , I am reasonably happy in this area , if we can secure Kara Pryor again , we have able back up in the number 7 jersey with Kane Jacobson & Saimoni Uluinakauvadra..
Number 8 is an interesting one , do we stick with what we have got ..?given we failed to pick up Simon Parker or do we go local and bring in former Fijian under 20 skipper Raikabula Moedonudonu from Waipu who was training with the squad in the back end of the season ..
I am quite happy to go local , and I would not be too critical of the coaches if they were tread that particular path..
It’s great other work horses like McNamara & Matich in the squad along with Rob Rush who looks promising.
Just on our forwards , I really do think we should need to seek out some technical support no disrespect to Graham who played international rugby ..there were times we struggled to give a really good platform at scrum time for our backs , the Harbour & Ta$man games come to mind ..that’s it for this evening , I will have a think about the backs , definitely more to consume in this area..

@Bones said in The 'How is Fozzie going?' thread:

@nostrildamus we're the only team that Australia beat this year.

So we are worse than Argentina. That makes me feel so comfortable.

Puma are the only SANZAAR team that can come out of 2020 with their head held high, tweet storm not withstanding. Boks too scared to play, ABs awful 50% winning record and first loss to Puma, Ozzie won one game. Puma defence is pretty impressive, they just need to add some attacking verve to it. Very much England of the south, without May.

Just in case @Stockcar86 was unaware of his team's result from last night I will save him the time involved in having to look it up 😀

Napier Technical Old Boys CC, SUPERCHILL Premier Men vs. Napier Old Boys Marist CC, The Station Premiers on cricHQ. Napier Technical Old Boys CC, SUPERCHILL Premier Men vs. Napier Old Boys Marist CC, The Station Premiers on cricHQ.

Keep up with Napier Technical Old Boys CC, SUPERCHILL Premier Men vs. Napier Old Boys Marist CC, The Station Premiers ball-by-ball, with live score updates, player stats, and match commentary. 04 Dec 20 at Nelson Park New Zealand - Central Districts, Property Brokers Premier Mens - Round: 3

Napier Technical Old Boys CC, SUPERCHILL Premier Men vs. Napier Old Boys Marist CC, The Station Premiers on cricHQ. Napier Technical Old Boys CC, SUPERCHILL Premier Men vs. Napier Old Boys Marist CC, The Station Premiers on cricHQ.

Keep up with Napier Technical Old Boys CC, SUPERCHILL Premier Men vs. Napier Old Boys Marist CC, The Station Premiers ball-by-ball, with live score updates, player stats, and match commentary. 04 Dec 20 at Nelson Park New Zealand - Central Districts, Property Brokers Premier Mens - Round: 3

A bit closer this time out but it was a 20/20 game so that is not unexpected. I can just imagine the joy when the bails fell from the stumps signifying the third wicket to fall in the chase in pursuit of my guys 180.

Gosper. An old-boy at the head of an old-boys club.

Not saying that's a bad thing necessarily, but thats exactly what he is.

Certainly cocked up at the start when decided to get involved with refereeing decisions. However, been pretty quiet on that front for quite a few years now.

Hisa Sasagi is retiring from rugby.

@Stargazer Phew!

two threads about shameless HB poaching?

For shame Shield Snorters, for shame...

Breakers roster stacking up pretty good.

Thomas Abercrombie
Finn Delany
Kyrin Galloway
Colton Iverson
Terry Li
Robert Loe
Lamar Patterson
Daniel Trist
Corey Webster
Tai Webster
Jarrad Weeks

@Catogrande said in Island Rugby - Dan Leo Documentary:

@junior The thing I find potentially concerning about the proposal to allow switching from Tier 1 to Tier 2 is of unintended consequences, which I see as twofold. Firstly if any young guy knows he can always revert to say Samoa with little consequence it could see a flood of younger guys opting for a chance at a Tier 1. Secondly if much older guys, however good come back what does that do for the motivation of the younger guys who don’t then get a look in?

Maybe I’m overthinking this but I just can’t see it not having ramifications.

I would not restrict the switch back rule to Tier 1 / 2 - it would apply to all countries. In practice though it’s likely to benefit the Tier 2 countries more. I understand your concern about younger guys, but I think the issue with the PI teams and why many are advocating for the switch back rule is because they lack decent players with enough experience (I’m not sure if this is in fact the case but it appears to be the argument).

Also, with what I’m advocating, there’s effectively an 8 year stand down period where a guy is not playing internationally. That to me is enough of a disincentive for silly switch around a and should give at least some guys pause to make an early commitment to their home nation. When you factor in also the time spent playing for their adopted nation, in most cases you’re looking at an overall period of 10+ years which means that any older guy coming back to say Samoa and taking the spot of young up and comer will have to be pretty bloody good because by that stage he’ll be pretty bloody old.

@Kiwiwomble said in ABs 2020: Who didn't get a fair crack?:

@Chris-B said in ABs 2020: Who didn't get a fair crack?:
> I'm not really a fan of the thread title, because it's the All Blacks and not the Under-10s. If you're not established as the best player in your position then any time you get is a privilege.

Plus - we only had six tests, we struggled, and when Fozzie pushed the rotation button a bit, we lost (though players not on the park had a fair bit to do with that).

That first bit sounds a bit sanctimonious - but, what I mean is a complete newbie like Cullen Grace - any time he got was a bonus.

A slightly different tack - people who I'd want to see in the first test next year (based on what we've seen).

Nepo Laulala, Scott Barrett, Akira Ioane, Will Jordan.

I guess that's part of the argument, how do you become established if not given games...and how do you get games if not stand outs in super rugby

Well if you're not a stand out in SR, how did you in the squad?

Development for junior players in the All Blacks comes during the week, not the weekend. Then where injury, rest or opportunity provides they can come off the bench. We don't have the mid-week games anymore so the balance has to be on winning Tests and then worrying about opportunities. This poses the larger problem of having played the best possible team to secure some silverware we make too many changes.

I don't consider anyone didn't get a fair crack this season, hampered as it was by covid-19. That's not the same as pointing out positional selections were debatable.

Zarn Sullivan. Safe under the high ball and kicks far better (and longer) than BB, the incumbent AB fullback.

@Snowy said in The Reason I Never Made the ABs:

@Gunner said in The Reason I Never Made the ABs:

I was just a bit shit at rugby, all heart but zero talent.

Nice. I was a bit the opposite - still shit at rugby but had "some" athletic ability. Lacked the aggression. If I was as angry in my teens as I am now...who knows what might have happened. I was even born at the right time.

Actually Outliers is quite interesting but I wouldn't read too much into it.

There should be a version of rugby for grumpy old men.

@Tim The bolded bit is really old "news". 🙂

@ACT-Crusader said in NRL 2020:

@bayimports said in NRL 2020:

@canefan yes, son of "Siro", younger brother of Curtis

Not as big as his old man but I’d say more skilful than him. Siro was a man mountain in league.

A Tigers legend.

Very good article written by Herchel Fruen a couple of years back..
the amount of schoolboy talent that comes out of Northland and ends up in other provinces is staggering ...
If they can find away to polish this talent , anything is possible .