@Rapido Quinten's had no luck with injuries. In Super rugby, he's behind Whitelock and SBarrett - but, every time one of them gets injured it seems Quin gets hurt immediately after.
Picked for the ABs in 2020 and then got injured in camp, before he played. I think that might have opened the door for Vaa'i.
I reckon he's still a decent prospect as a test lock (though he's not a fern favourite). He's not massively tall - slightly more than SBarrett according to the stats, but he's mobile and does most things well.
As Nisbo noted last night, the Mako are much better when he plays - quite noticeable last year when he got hurt and then came back.- got us back on track.
@Dice he was like a different player at the chiefs this year though and for the Maori. Hopefully turned a corner mentally, skill and pace to burn just needed to not be too cool to apply himself.
It was a good change Canterbury not always winning. But this team must be close to favourites this year
Pretty stacked team already and Ennor to come back?
Still not convinced by the Canterbury backs. Strangely, despite the scoreline and the long-range tries, I didn't think the backs were all that impressive. Not terrible, but good enough I suppose. They will be tested when Canterbury come up against a pack that can hold their own.
The Bunnings NPC kicks off on Friday 6 August with Tasman Mako out to defend their Premiership title and a new contender looking to rise up from the Championship.
Great to see there are stats, but awful way of presenting them. There's no way you can easily compare player stats this way.
Another thing. Chay Fihaki looked really good last night, which is great. But it annoys the living fuck out of me that Canterbury retain Fihaki, an Auckland kid out of Sacred Heart, and allow local lad Sam Gilbert to go to Otago. Both were in NZ U20 last year, and sure, Gilbert is a 15-cum-10 who can cover wing as he did last year for Canterbury, while Fihaki is a wing-cum-centre, but they're near enough postionally that it looks like Canterbury (and the Crusaders) made a choice and the local kid lost.
@kev yeah I feel that FB gives him too much time to think about what he is about to do, he seems to work better with less time when playing more on instinct, that said, I'd say his confidence probably isnt where it needs to be right now either, which is why a stint on the wing, and then moving in later in the game might be best for him
Love the finish of the game. Sums up Southland’s woes. Southland player did all the work to stay in the field of play and get the offload off, only for a basic handling error to happen straight after and game over.
Kept scoreless in the second half after a big lead. If Southland were a horse...
Bunnings NPC Round 1 Match Appointments and Team Lists
