Blues 2018

Tim

Herald claiming, based on seemingly nothing, that Nock will start:

Sam Nock, 21, will now be the starting No9 for the Blues on their tour of South Africa where they play the Stormers and Lions, two teams who would be tough enough for Tana Umaga's side as it was.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=12006230

number9

Anyone know who made the Blues Travelling Squad to South Africa? Hoping that Rurr and Perofeta made the trip it, prefer Ruru over Nock and Perofeta can provide the spark in the 2nd half when Gatland has a tendency to go flat.

Stargazer

@number9 Ruru made the squad. See my previous posts. He was the one posting clips from the airport.

number9

@stargazer said in Blues 2018:

@number9 Ruru made the squad. See my previous posts. He was the one posting clips from the airport.

Thank you, I had missed your post. That's a relief with Ruru making the squad hopefully he starts.

KiwiMurph

@number9 Herald is also reporting Perofeta is part of the Blues squad travelling to Africa.

G-Man

@rocky-rockbottom Jissus, this was kak funny

nzzp

@rocky-rockbottom quality, and showed the talent that Kirwan had to work with.

We've fallen so far we can't see out of our hole right now. Things could get worse before they get better.

FML. Blues. Fark.

African Monkey

Yes before the season started I was thinking of 2015 with the draw we had to start the season off. Man this season has the potential to turn to real shit, we may be looking at a wooden spoon battle.

Nepia

@rocky-rockbottom Exciting new halfback Bryn Hall? Clearly you hadn't seen him play previously and were unaware of his tendency to spray balls round like a one armed man firing an MP40 before making this video.

Anyway, nice work, I wonder why I didn't do one for the Hammettuer - laziness I expect.

KiwiMurph

INJURY UPDATE👨🏻‍⚕️🔵
Augustine Pulu - Foot - 5 weeks
Blake Gibson - Shoulder surgery – 7 weeks
Dalton Papalii - Hand fracture - 3 weeks
Glenn Preston - Calf strain - 2 weeks
Otere Black - ACL - Next season
📅 Time frames are expected return dates.

Haha I knew it would be something like this when they said Blake Gibson would be "out for the first part of the season".

Nothing about Kara Pryor - I wonder if he has made the trip to South Africa?

taniwharugby

@kiwimurph or Moulds? While his throwing can be suspect, he has been mentioned as one of the leaders amongst the team, so would have been a better option than Apasai to come on and close out the game

Duluth

@taniwharugby said in Blues 2018:

so would have been a better option than Apasai to come on and close out the game

faint praise..

I agree though. Wright & Eklund would also do a better job

Tim

@kiwimurph So round 10 or 11 for Gibson.

At least Papali'i will be back after the bye.

KiwiMurph

On this African tour I'd like to see Perofeta come on at fullback (im assuming he'll be eased in off the bench) with 30 minutes to go.

He has experience at fullback, can use his running and playmaking ability against tired legs and with both he and Gatland on the park at the same time it offers a nice balance the Blues backline wouldn't have had for a long time.

Tim

The Blues have lost prop Alex Hodgman to an arm injury, with Sione Mafileo travelling as a replacement, but their entire squad showed such form at Ellis Park, including, significantly, their reserves, that Hodgman's absence shouldn't be an issue.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=12011106

Dice

@tim Looks like Ofa will be covering loosehead.

taniwharugby

@tim don't see why not, Stormers coming off 2 bruising losses, a lot will come down to Tana getting his selections right and resisting changing the line-up too much and making change for changes sake

Duluth

@taniwharugby

Also the Stormers have to travel. The Blues might even be favourites.. I wouldn't put any money on it though

Looking forward to the battle between Damian Willemse and Perofeta.

Tim

@duluth said in Blues 2018:

The Blues might even be favourites.. I wouldn't put any money on it though

Even money at the TAB.

KiwiMurph

Any tips on how to embed a video link?

Anyway a nice video of Akira's ball in hand highlights here

https://www.rugbypass.com/news/watch-akira-ioane-turns-man-match-performance-blues

The Silver Fern

Blues 2018