Sean would be one of nicest young men i have had the privledge of interviewing during my time as a contractor at NZME, so respectful and so much mana within the NZ Rugby community.
Always gave you his time ,the memories i have of this young man are so clear it was like it happened yesterday ..
His mihi to Ross Wright when the Northland prop played his 100th game was sensational, beautifully fluent in Te Reo Māori , you could have heard a pin drop while Sean addressed the room.
And being good friends with his dad Peter brings it home even more so having watched this young man grow up to be a special individual.
Gone far too soon.

Me Ōku whakaaro ki te whānau pani i tēnei wa pōuri .
Me te aroha tino nui atu,moe mai ra e Sean🙏🏼

Only saw Inga just after New Year , he was with his wife at Countdown Glendene , he was telling me about a show he was doing with Eroni Clark and couple of other lads he had played with , he had such a booming personality with the greatest of smiles ,we shared a couple of laughs a real good bugger.
A Kelston Boys High School ,Ponsonby ,Auckland ,All Black and Wigan Rugby League legend
E aroha nui atu ana ki te Tuigamala Whānau i tēnei wa pōuri.🙏🏼❤️

If there’s one thing that came out of tonights game for the All Blacks Jordie Barrett is your number 1 fullback moving forward.
Not even a debate

How good was Kieran Read...?,actually thought he should have been the MOTM..!

Walked away from Eden Park on Saturday night asking myself one question..have the Blues got the right skipper..?
Being down 3-12 and with a man in the bin,I thought the Blues did extremely well to keep the Saders scoreless during that time.
However the decision not to take 3 points from a very kickable position on the stroke of halftime had many of us in the west stand shaking our heads..On 2 other occasions points on offer were turned down..
You often wonder why the Blues never quite get across the line in this local derby games..much of it you can put down to poor leadership and decision making on field.

Sure you can heap blame on individuals but despite that in many cases poor options when coming to terms of what’s required and understanding game situations is something they need to fix and in a hurry..
I was often told,when your playing a good team,stay in the fight and when it gets down to the wire anything can happen,for that to happen you have to keep accumulating points.

There was a lot to like,talking to a good friend in Christchurch who caught up with Matt Todd earlier today..Todd had told him the Blues were definitely a different beast from previous years ,very tough up front and more structure to their game.but they also knew whom to pressure in the last 15 minutes and get maximum value..interesting coms..

Just from my own point of view,I think the Blues would have Brocken their duck against any other franchise ,but after all we are playing a team that’s got everybody else’s number in NZ.

Just on a man of the match..if Ardie and Sam are considered the best 7s in the country ,Matt Todd must the unluckiest player running around..watched his running lines from the top of the west stand always in the right place at the right time..not far behind the young Ennor ,but I have always known how good this kid was gonna be from his St Kent’s and NZ 20s days.

For the Blues,if Akira can keep this form up,who knows I am sure Hansen will no choice but to have him involved with the Blacks.
Nonu surprised me,did most things right and more ,got gassed by Ennor,but at the end of the day just up against younger faster legs.

Like the look of Tom Robinson,would love to see him used more running off a short pass from a prop channel 1 or 2..

Disappointed with the loss,but will be back for the next home game..loved the banter from the supporters up on the West Stand,never laughed so much at a game.

As much as I have wanted the Blues to get across the line this evening ..I have got to question how much some really do know about the game of rugby ...the one area where the Crusaders have dominated has been in the high kick stakes..the Blues have been completely overshadowed in this aspect...the much maligned George Bridge has put so much pressure on the receiver from high kicks ...the Blues have failed to negate this area..and their own high kick when it really mattered , unfortunately fell by the wayside ..both Christie and Barrett at crucial times put kicks out on the full...to me the turning point was the charge down of Blacks kick ..and the subsequent short kick off from Mo’unga , the Blues had fallen asleep and you could see the momentum change ,some great individual performances , but big match players come up with big moments ..on that aspect ..The Crusaders Take the chocolates ..it was great to watch a game that I really feel the Blues are now relevant again..you know when a Canterbury crowd goes silent for long periods means you have them under the pump..to blame this evenings official is joke..game management when it really mattered was the difference..

Interesting listening to Murray Mexted this morning on Radio Sport,touched on both the Blues & Auckland and the issues both have had over the last decade.

I was delighted to hear Mexted speak both frankly about the failure to identify or scout talent,which has been a big bug bear I have had for a least 10 years..

Even the current Auckland Mitre 10 cup is classic,having watched quite a bit of Auckland club rugby,I have been highly impressed with the 3 argentine Costa brothers that play for Eden,I was told by someone on the AK coaching staff,that they were not up to mitre 10 level.

yet Nico comes on for Auckland v Canterbury at halfback and almost changes the game,a position Auckland have struggled at in the last few seasons,and I would imagine all 3 x Brothers would have a great understanding of each other's game..just saying..!

I also question the Blues ability to select a player required for their roster,I see the Blues signed the boy Ruru from Otago,with the greatest respect I reckon Jack Stratton from Canterbury looks a much better prospect,can think right back to the Lions first game against the NZ Babas,he was awesome against quality opposition.

Even the selection of Otere Black bothers me,he was targeted by the Blues a couple of seasons ago and declined,
Personally when the Blues were chasing Beauden Barrett,I would gave gone after Richie Mo'unga,at the time he was the 3rd choice 10 at the crusaders,but having seen him at NZ 20s level,one could see he had the goods.
Even in recent times,best young first five at the NZ under 19s tournament a couple seasons back was Brett Cameron from Canterbury,..will probably be the 3rd choice at the saders in 2018 behind Mo'unga and Hunt.

Another player I would be all over is Jackson Hemapo from Manawatu,the man is a beast,and from the time Stephen Luatua signed with Bristol,they should have been all over it.
I realise in the scheme of things there are agents and money to deal with,but man alive,open your eyes..!

For all the commotion that was made about releasing Matt Todd from his Japanese contract,he hardly played 20 minutes in the 2 most important tests of the tour..what was the point..?

I have never been a fan of Foster and thats primarily based on his record and the nepotism that he displayed when he coached the Chiefs
When he got a role within the All Blacks i was staggered , how the hell does that happen..?.so much for the best candidate..

I had an opportunity to question him before the start of the 2021 season about certain elements of the All Black game after he made a public comment about the draw and pass being one of the big work ons for the team..
I said to Foster with respect i personally think the team has more works ins than just draw and pass, to which i enlighened him .
Firstly i said , i dont think we get enough value out of our props in terms of gainline , and we have also lost the ability to hold onto the ball for long periods , teams that play us hold the ball for far longer periods which creates our next problem , discipline when we have not got any ball,we give away so many penalties many of them needless and finally after watching the plan of 2 pivots fail dismally , i thought our attack was very poor creating very little and relying on individual brilliance ..
(Ireland actually schooled us in this area)
Its fair to say that he disagreed with me , wish i could play that conversation back to him.
I personally think hes out of his depth and void of ideas.

Caleb Clark nailed down a starting position in my opinion , so strong

The Terepai King selection caught me by surprise , to be honest I am actually delighted as it means Eslie Fono ,Kalani Going & Terepai King have all come through via the Northland futures program..
As previously stated I am agreement there’s probably only 2 spaces left to cover , someone to cover Ofa Tuangafasi and one extra ..have heard of 2 possible outside propping options , but not a liberty to say at this time .

Love to see Fakatava get a run in the 2nd test ..Christie does nothing for me at this level

@Machpants I will give him that one

Ta’avao..🤦🏻

Great D from Reiko in that case

Penalty try if this isn’t a try ..and YC

@Frank very visible

For all the negative discussion pre match about Scott Barrett, he’s been a total success as a big ball carrier ..
Great having that big extra body

Need to accumulate as many points as we can because I am nervous as about Ta’avao

Tupaea looks quite small compared to the Irish midfielders