Auckland Rugby 2020

[Dice]

What's up with Jordan Trainor? Isn't in the team above and wasn't called up for any Blues pre-season games despite Page being out.

[Dice]

@Tim They lost 35 - 7.

Heatherley scored the only try.

[Tim]

[Stargazer]

@Tim That caption though: "Who is looking forward to seeing Ofa wear the blue and white hoops this year?" As if.

[Kirwan]

@Stargazer said in Auckland Rugby 2020:

@Tim That caption though: "Who is looking forward to seeing Ofa wear the blue and white hoops this year?" As if.

Could do the Canterbury thing and parachute in some ABs for the finals?

[Stargazer]

@Kirwan Instead of Bledisloe 3 and/or the game against Fiji after that?

[Kirwan]

@Stargazer said in Auckland Rugby 2020:

@Kirwan Instead of Bledisloe 3 and/or the game against Fiji after that?

Just pointing out the ABs have let players get game time at the expense of the NPC before.

[Tim]

[Higgins]

@Tim Has the cash run out at Pakuranga?!!!!!

[Tim]

[Duluth]

Club rugby finally returns

Teamsheets: https://www.sporty.co.nz/asset/downloadasset?id=1a3fd713-e8e8-4cd8-8dd5-4c172ef55e89

[KiwiMurph]

@Duluth Good to see Lemeki Namoa back.

[Tim]

@Duluth

Niko Jones at 7 for Waitemata.

Tumua Manu at 12 for College Rifles (good combo with Meihana Grindlay). Coming back from injury?

[Bovidae]

Nankivell and Sullivan are listed to be playing in Waikato club rugby so they must have released a number of Chiefs to play.

[Daffy Jaffy]

 Auckland Premier first round results. 
     Te Papapa:      3  vs  80 	Marist: 
Eden: 	24  vs  18   Grammar TEC: 
Waitemata:     17  vs  13     Papatoetoe: s
Otahuhu 	6  vs  44       Pakuranga: 
Suburbs: 	20  vs  20	Manukau: 
East Tamaki: 	6  vs  59     College Rifles: 
Ponsonby:     48  vs  16	  University:

[Tim]

[Tim]

Some good young backs to look for in the NPC squad: Taufa Funaki, Zarn Sullivan, Meihana Grindley, AJ Lam, Lemeki Namoa.

Any young standouts in the forwards? Maybe the hooker Vikenia?

[KiwiMurph]

@Tim Niko Jones?

[Tim]

Some clues from the Blues U20 and A squads.

Steven Bates and Dave Askew have named their first Ganellen Blues U20 team of the year. The team will travel to Napier to play the Hurricanes U20 in a Super Rugby curtain raiser at McLean Park, on Saturday the 29th of February.

Bates and Askew have picked the promising Zarn Sullivan as captain, with Terrell Peita as his vice captain, in a side which features 11 players recently named in the New Zealand U20s as well as NZ 7s player Niko Jones and the 2019 Development Player of the Year, Lemeki Namoa.

The match will kick off at 2.05pm.

Starting XV:
1 Tevita Langi – North Harbour
2 Soane Vikena – Auckland
3 Jimmy Roots – North Harbour
4 Damien Naufahu – Auckland
5 James Brown – Auckland
6 Rob Rush – Northland
7 Niko Jones – Auckland
8 Terrell Peita (vc) – Auckland
9 Manu Paea – Auckland
10 Zarn Sullivan – Auckland
11 Heremaia Murray – Auckland
12 Lemeki Namoa – Auckland
13 Joel Cobb – Auckland
14 Lewini Mocevakaca – Auckland
15 Sofai Maka – Auckland

Reserves:
16 Gil Cann-Vaana – Northland
17 Leandro Vakatini – Auckland
18 Sione Ahio – Auckland
19 Joeli Matalaweru – Auckland
20 Noah Perelini – Auckland
21 Taufa Funaki – Auckland
22 Corey Evans – Auckland
23 Patrick Elia – Northland
24 Kade Banks – North Harbour
25 Jack Gray – Auckland
26 Clayton Frans – North Harbour
27 Cam Church – Auckland
28 Meihana Grindlay – Auckland
29 Hamdahn Tuipulotu/ Aisea Takapu – Auckland
30 John Latu – Auckland

[Tim]

Eleven players from the Blues region have been selected in a 52-strong squad selected for the New Zealand Under-20 camp in Palmerston North next month.

This is the first step towards selecting the team to compete at July’s World Rugby Under-20 Championship in Italy.

The 11 Blues region players include Blues ITC players, who trained through the pre-season with the club, in Auckland’s Soane Vikena (pictured), Taufa Funaki and Zarn Sullivan.

The other Blues players to attend the camp comprise Northland’s Robert Rush, North Harbour’s Jimmy Roots and Aucklanders Hamdahn Tuipulotu (brother of Blues captain Patrick), Terrell Peita, Corey Evans, Lemeki Namoa, Meihana Grindly and Heremaia Murray.

The 52 players were selected after more than 100 players were tested in November.

“It’s widened our base and created a really competitive environment,” said New Zealand Under 20 head Coach, Craig Philpott. “With that has come a good selection dilemma because outside the 52 that we have named, there are another 20 players on a shortlist that could easily have been selected.”

The development camp next month also includes expert coaching focussed on set-piece work with forwards and a focus on game drivers for halfbacks, first fives and fullbacks. North Harbour’s Tevita Langi is one of eight additional players to attend the set piece camp