Mentioned on the Chiefs thread that Fletcher Smith has signed for the Canes. Pretty happy with that to be honest. Jackson Garden Bachop is probably the one that gets the boot with James Marshall also coming in.
JGB is signed untill the end of 2019 though so we could end up carrying four first fives which is probably pointless. I would rather them have BB, Smith and Marshall, with someone like McClutchie signed up for development.
Outstanding effort from Auckland. Really dominated in all facets. Please give those Cantabs a spanking next week.
From a Wellington persepctive Ben Lam showed exactly why he will never be an A.B. Didn't look interested at all. Toomaga Allen was another that just didn't really care about being out there.
As a Wellington and Canes fan I hope they don't get many games for the Canes this year. I don't care if Ben Lam scores 100 tries in a season, an attitude like that won't win any championships. He has proven time and time again that he goes missing in the big ones, just another big lazy wing that only cares about looking good.
Many on here believe Renata should be a Canes re-signing. 100% agree, atm all we need is a scrummaging prop and he looks to be getting better and better. Also how does Akira not make the A.Bs 51 man squad after a performance like that. Luke Whitelock is probably the most boring and ineffective player to ever grace New Zealand pro footy fields, only gets in through his Cantab connections.
@african-monkey yeah Papali'i is a huge loss. I still think this game will be a cracker and it is refreshing to see all the teams so even.
I've got a good feeling that Wellington will get up in this one. Papali'i is too much of a loss and with the Lions getting a few key players back in the last few weeks, they might just have too much in the tank.
@chris yeah he is a unit and still only 22. Just has to stop getting injured.
@chris he did his rehab with the Canes but nothing has been confirmed whether he has signed on with them or not.
From this article it looks like Rayasi hasn't decided what his next move will be so could still wind up anywhere. http://www.clubrugby.co.nz/wellington/story.php?id=2997
@cgrant This is pretty spot on with what I've watched aswell.
