Hawke's Bay Club Rugby 2022
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@number-10 said in Hawke's Bay Club Rugby 2022:
Starts Saturday March 26.
Nash Cup - 10 teams, will play a round robin of 8 (not 9) and only the top 8 will go forward to the Maddison Trophy.
Have been told Taradale have acquired Harry Godfrey from Central and Hastings RS have lost a few players.
The bolded bit is conform the new format that started last year.
A round robin of 8 weeks, that's different from last year, isn't it? I remember the 10 clubs being placed in two pools of 5, playing 4 games against the clubs in their pool and a cross-over game, so that would be a round robin of 5. And then a final.
The Nash Cup starts a week earlier than last year; if the Maddison Trophy comp stays the same, it would mean that club rugby finishes two weeks later? Last year, the Maddison Trophy started on 15 May.
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Bugger, the start of the Nash Cup has been put back from next Saturday to Friday April 15 https://www.facebook.com/napierobmaristrugby shows a letter from the HBRFU confirming this.
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With the delay to April 15 (Good Friday), the first round Nash Cup is scrapped.
Instead, the Maddison Trophy will be played with 11 teams - Pirates promoted - for a full round robin (10 games plus a bye) and playoffs.
The top eight will advance to quarter-finals and the bottom team will drop down to Town & Country for start of 2023.
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From the HBRU Facebook page:
🏆 Ray White Maddison Trophy Coming Soon 🏆
Kicking off on Friday 15th of April, all the Maddison Trophy games will be brought to you LIVE or ON DEMAND on the Sideline app!
Register for the season here bit.ly/MaddisonSideLine
Not only will you have access to all the Maddison Trophy games - but also any sport that Sideline covers inlcuding Secondary School rugby! -
Trying to track where current (& some past) Magpies are playing club rugby, as well as some former school boys that caught my eye the last few years:
Wellington club rugby:- Isaia Walker-Leawere (Poneke)
- Tiaki Fabish (OBU)
- Harry Godfrey (Petone, bench)
I wonder whether they'll be back playing in the Bay from 15/4?
Former Magpies that I will only mention this week:- Josiah Tavita-Metcalfe (Norths, bench)
- Ben Power (HOBM)
Manawatu club rugby (former HB schoolboys/club players that I will only mention this week):- Hunter Nuku, ex-Te Aute and Taradale (Kia Toa)
- Julian Goerke, ex-Hastings Boys champ (Varsity)
- Jordi Viljoen, ex-Hastings Boys (came there from Palmy Boys though)(College Old Boys)
- Kegan Christian-Goss, ex-Napier Boys (has moved to Manawatū from Otago)(Old Boys Marist)
North Harbour club rugby- Gene Syminton (Northcote), I can understand a move, after Thompson's signing. Picked up by North Harbour already?
I may add more players (above), later. Many team sheets haven't been posted yet. Also, club rugby starting later in many provinces. -
@stargazer Tiaki Fabish is down to start for OBU in Wellington. He is probably still a member of the HB Academy like he was last season so it looks like genuine varsity students must have dispensation to play their entire club rugby outside of the Bay.
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Preseason games - Sat 9 April 2022:
Premiers
MAC v Te Awamutu Sports Rugby - 1.00pm at Owen Delany Park, Taupo
Old Boys Marist (PN) v Taradale - 1.30pm at CET Arena 4, Palmerston North
Napier Tech v Clive - 2.00pm at Farndon Park
Havelock North v Napier Pirates - 2.30pm at Tamatea ParkSome clubs were quite late in announcing their PS games, last week, so maybe more clubs (Tamatea, Hastings, NOBM ...) will be playing, tomorrow.
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FYI from HRS Facebook page (some of this we already know from @Number-10 's post earlier in this thread:
CLUB RUGBY 2022:
The season was supposed to start tomorrow (26 March), but has been postponed until the 15th April (Good Friday). The impact of Omicron has hit all clubs with many players either unwell or isolating due to Covid.
This has seen very low numbers at training in the last month and clubs are struggling to have the players to fill up their teams. This is why, the competition has been postponed, in the hope that the Omicron virus will ease and players will be able to get back to training and prepare for the season. Our club has been impacted as much as any club and our club management is very concerned about how we attract players to the club.
We need all our members to encourage any young men and women that may be interested in playing rugby to attend our club trainings at Ellwood Park on Tuesdays & Thursdays at 6 pm.
This season will be very testing for HRS. Along with the challenges that Omicron is bringing, we have lost a large number of players from our 2021 Premier Team. The team’s success in the last few years has seen players rewarded with higher honours. From last year, Jacob Devery is now with the Hurricanes, Danny Toala & Neria Fomai are with Moana Pasifika. Mason Emerson is playing rugby in France, Jordan Thompson-Dunn and Fale Matamata are in Portugal, Angus McGuire, Danya Tulou and Miracle Lolofie are in Australia, Connor McLeod is currently in Bay of Plenty and Jason Long won’t be starting club rugby until the end of April.
In spite of these losses, the Premier team still retains many talented and experienced players and there is a great opportunity for some of our younger players to now step up to premier rugby. All other HB clubs are facing the same lack of numbers at this stage of the preseason.
Not helping this, is that all of last year’s Magpie Squad (35 plus players) will not be playing club rugby at the start of the season. If they are not playing Super Rugby, they are in USA, Japan, Australia etc.
Our immediate challenge, is to find more players for our Senior Reserve Women & Colts teams. The situation is serious, and we need help to find more players.
Hawkes Bay Rugby is working on promoting the club rugby season and We will be doing the same using face-book and other advertising platforms.Club Rugby Format - revised:
With season being postponed, the rugby union has come up with some new plans for the season which will start on 15th April.
The Premier Grade will be one round only for the Maddison Trophy. Napier Pirate have been brought back to make an eleven-team premier grade.
This is because there is no longer the opportunity to have a Nash Cup Round and which include promotion/relegation. The bottom team after the Maddison Round will drop down a grade in 2023. The top eight teams will play off with quarter finals, semi-finals and then The Final on 17th July for the Maddison Trophy.
The Town Grade & Colts grade will have a brief first round followed by a longer second round but they will finish with the final of each grade on 17th July. The women (5 teams) will have two rounds of competition with their final on 2nd July.
There is still every chance of disruption during the season as teams battle
With lack of players and Covid illness. We just have to do the best we can.
Bolded bit:
So it looks like Connor McLeod won't be a Magpie anymore, this year. As probably Weber or Fakatava will be with the ABs, we have Fakatava/Weber and Enari for the Magpies. It will be interesting who'll come up as back-up. It would be great if we wouldn't have to rely on someone like Tusitala (I assume they haven't signed him, yet).Players from other clubs have also left for Australia. I saw a photo from Penikolo Latu in the shirt from one of the clubs playing in the Shute Shield comp, so I assume that's where many of them are playing, if they haven't gone to league. Several school leavers, too.
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@stargazer There is a semi-decent halfback currently at Ories moving up to the Bay soon. I will see what sort of promise he is on to make the move but can say he has not had any association with the Marist club down here so that sort of leaves Taradale as the most obvious suitors.
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I've only seen these preseason results:
Last week: Tamatea 41 - 22 Bridge Pa
Yesterday:
Aotea lost to Bridge Pa
Aotea beat NOBM 'B' and HRS 'B'
Havelock North beat Napier PirateHave only seen one team line-up (MAC):
Lattrell Smiler-Ah Kiong played for Te Awamutu Sports.
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It looks like the HBRU FB page has started a series of previews of the Nash Cup & Maddison Trophy competitions, with each video focusing on one club. The first one is about Napier Pirates ....
... and not very informative. But what did I expect to see in only one minute? I guess I hoped they'd show a team list, but they only name a few players. Hugh Taylor from the Academy and someone from the WTG (who?). The Tipene (Second Chance Charlie winner from the Hurricanes area) they're talking about is Tipene Meihana. And that's basically it.
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Second episode: Aotea
Name drop here is Ryan Tongia.
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@number-10 Yep, this was posted on Facebook:
PREMIER RUGBY UPDATE:
With the shortened Club Rugby season with squads being effected by Covid -19 it was unfortunately not deemed possible for the premier division to play two rounds within the time frame available. It was therefore decided that there would be just one round of the premier division with playoffs for the Ray White Maddison Trophy.
However, the Ray White Nash Cup will not be left out this season, there will be two trophies up for grabs in the Premier Grade, the Ray White Nash Cup will be played for in the round robin stages, with the team finishing in first place at the end of the round robin, being crowned the winner. The top 8 teams will qualify for the playoffs via quarter finals, semi finals and then again a club finals day at McLean Park where we will find our Ray White Maddison Trophy winner. Get out and support your team starting this FRIDAY!
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Havelock North
Cooper Flanders, Tony Lamborn, Sam Smith (I assume this is him?) and Isaac Bracewell from Wellington. Both Wairarapa boys by the looks of it.
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@Stargazer Some interesting selections for my Texans who play MAC at Whitmore Park later today. Jayden Stok and the Malasia brothers are all in the lineup as is Tim Farrell and Cracker Braidwood who are both on the bench. Not sure what that means as it could be a serious comeback by Mr. Farrell or simply getting him and Braidwood stripped because of a shortage of props and they might be able to fill in for 20 minutes or so in case of injuries. Also Nik Patumaka, a highly regarded player from Gisborne who was included in the Hurricanes Under 18 Development Camp in 2021, also starts in the number 6 jersey.
Sure to be an emotional game for my guys as it is just a fortnight since the funeral of cancer victim and Tech colts player Hunter Dongi was held in the clubrooms.
