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🙏🏼

Me ōku whakaaro ki te whānau o Willie Lose i tēnei wa pouri .
Totally shocked , I worked with Willie during his time at Coca-Cola during the mid nineties, got to know Willie very well and we have kept in touch during his time as a commentator.
55 is far too young , hard to believe that one of his last calls was Saturdays Northland v Auckland game ..
Totally gutted .

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

Caught up with former All Black Alister Robinson at the just completed NZ Waka Ama Club Sprints held at Lake Karapiro .
Alister gave me a great update on Tom , many of us were worrried during the NPC especially in and around his unavailabilty for the Taniwha in last years Bunnings NPC there was much speculation that Tom may have to pull the pin with head knocks symtoms constantly being mentioned , talking to Alister the news is all good, Tom had a ruptured ear drum which at the time which was’nt diagnosed , he has since had an operation is back to 100% .

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..?

@Pepe they have lost a few players from last season Deon Ma’u is playing over in Europe at the minute and Pisi Leilua has gone to Kamo

@taniwharugby former Counties Manukau and Highlanders winger Tevita Nabura kitted up for Kerikeri yesterday after being out of rugby for 3 seasons recovering from a serious leg injury
Be interesting to see how he goes although at 30 years old turning 31 in June his best days might be past him
Also turning for Kerikeri yesterday was former Ngati Porou East Coast halfback Sam Parkes ,very tidy footballer who has played for the NZ Heartland team

@KiwiMurph with 24 contracted PUD contracted players that won the Super Rugby U20 comp in Taupo you would hope they have the ability snare the best ones from that lot

How the hell did Auckland Rugby not hang onto Felix Kalapu ..?,but somehow manage to extract a very average lock out of Sydney Club Rugby
Kalapu has got genuine physicality to go with his superb lineout work

Teleni Seu is a superb forward highly underated

Great D Tahs

@Stargazer Harry Godfrey would have to be close to the player of the tournament thus far ,oozes class ..!

One thing i like about Razor he thinks outside the square when it comes to selection a lot can be seen about the way the Crusaders recruit and does’nt matter who he selects hes got a great ability to get the best out of them ..
I know some pundits have always questioned how much depth they have in the front row as their scrum over the years has been such a weapon but all of a sudden they have bought through Fletcher Newall ,Tamaiti Williams ,Finlay Brewis and Kershawl Sykes-Martin…where as if you look at the Blues , they went to the market and got Nepo Laulala and Hodgeman . Renata and the Lay brothers are solid props but are hardly guys that were ever gonna push on to be All Blacks
Joshua Fusitua is the only young prop I can think of in recent times that could progress on to being a very good prop

@FakatavaAllBlack he managed the last 20 minutes brilliantly,Knocked over a sideline conversion and then the 50 metre penalty
Like most very good players has time

Turned over to Super Rugby after watching Super Rugby U20
Thought it was a replay of an old NPC rerun of Southland v Taranaki