Super Rugby News
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Alaimalo has potential, but I think we are missing one really good super level winger right now. Adding Savea would be good though, and could go OK with Pulu - who has a real point of difference with his speed.
I was really unimpressed with TNW this year. I don't know where his best position is, but I know it's definitely not midfield.
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@gt12 Alaimalo looks to have really benefitted from his season with the Chiefs, looks to have added some bulk to his slim frame, but looks to still have his wheels, I'm hoping/expecting he will likely play FB for us too so Ranger can move to wing, so has that utility value.
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@Stargazer Not currently. One step at a time for Zac. He would need a huge season for Waikato and to satisfy NZR for the off-field conditions to be back in the frame.
I will say that everything I've read about Guildford since he moved to Hamilton has been very positive.
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@Duluth said in Super Rugby News:
@gt12 said in Super Rugby News:
I prefer Nanai on the wing
Same
I'm a broken record on this, but I really want to see Duffie at fullback.
What's his kicking game like?
One thing about him moving to fullback is it's harder to use that attacking kick pass for him to catch. He's one of the best exponents of that I've seen in rugby union.
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He has a good kicking game. Is it good consistently enough to play fullback? No idea until he plays there
Kick pass? Well there's nothing wrong with swapping him and Nanai occasionally on attack.
I note he's getting leadership roles too. He captained some pre season Blues matches and he's co-captain of Harbour. Fullback is a much better place to do that.
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@Wurzel That was late last year, early this year. They wanted him to prove himself during the club rugby season before allowing him an NPC contract. He has obviously done that, otherwise Waikato couldn't have signed him. My guess is that they take it one step at the time and that he now has to prove himself during Mitre 10 Cup.
They have never said that they would never want him to get a contract again, which would have been pretty cruel and hypocrite, by the way, especially after their mental health campaign.
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@JayCee said in Super Rugby News:
radio sport are reporting that Bryn Hall has re-signed with the Crusaders
Confirmed by the Crusaders. Hall has re-signed for one season.
http://crusaders.co.nz/news/1142-bryn-hall-re-signs-with-bnz-crusaders
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Dalton Papalii and Caleb Clarke have signed with the Blues. Unclear for how many seasons.
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@Higgins said in Super Rugby News:
At this rate there can't be many spots open in any of the five NZ squads for anyone that comes from out of the blue in the Mitre10 Cup to compete for.
I find it annoying that increasingly the NPC to Super pathway is being minimised with players being tied up early. A reward for a stellar NPC should be a Super berth, not being chucked into an incase of injury pool and having to wait for the next year to be selected in the squad.
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@Nepia yep, contracts being offered to kids who have barely even played M10 Cup (if at all in some cases) sure there is the odd exception that warrants it, but must be frustrating for some of the 23-25 yr olds who have been playing M10 at a good enough level for years miss out to some kid that gets a contract just so they don't get picked by someone else.
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Clarke and Papali'i are pretty obvious signings. I don't see any problem with young guys working their way through the age group teams and earning a contract.
I don't have sympathy for a 23-25 year old who can't squeeze his way into the top ~200 players in the country. That means not being rated by 5 different sets of selectors. It's not a charity.
The problem is the lack of open spots 1 week into the NPC season. Some franchises have already claimed their roster is almost sorted.. thats a real issue
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@Duluth said in Super Rugby News:
Clarke and Papali'i are pretty obvious signings. I don't see any problem with young guys working their way through the age group teams and earning a contract.
I don't have sympathy for a 23-25 year old who can't squeeze his way into the top ~200 players in the country. That means not being rated by 5 different sets of selectors. It's not a charity.
The problem is the lack of open spots 1 week into the NPC season. Some franchises have already claimed their roster is almost sorted.. thats a real issue**
Agree with this entirely.
The Jock Hobbs National Under 19 tournament is putting 400 players into view every year. Super teams are getting an eyeful of this emerging talent every year and taking punts on players. This is leading to a Mitre 10 Cup performer being ignored.
