The Silver Fern

@ARHS I'd be pretty surprised if there's much resting done.

Home advantage is very important for the play-offs, so I don't think either team will be taking any risks unless something very odd happens to secure their positions.

But, don't tell Auckland... 🙂

You'd hope he's only out for 2 months.

Taumateine has been sneaky good for Counties. I think he's been one of the better halfbacks in the M10 this season.

Just read on the HBRU Facebook page that there was a 8,388 crowd at the game, yesterday. That's the biggest crowd they've had since 2015. Good times.

@Number-10 Little surprise that we got just a hammering then.

@Magpie_in_aus Lowe played often centre during his schoolboy days and played both wing and centre for NZ U20s. He has played in the 13 jersey occasionally for the Magpies in his first years in the squad. Personally, I think it's his best position, although he's playing well on both wings.

@stargazer I must be well over triple figures for the Wellington game by now. I am seriously considering buying another HB jersey to ensure I have enough left to last the entire club season down here as I'm sure some sort of sabotage/theft will occur to my sole jersey left given it is worn most Saturdays!

@Crucial said in Hawkes Bay v Counties Manukau:

@Nepia said in Hawkes Bay v Counties Manukau:

@Crucial said in Hawkes Bay v Counties Manukau:

@Billsy111 You guys also need to do some lineout drive training. The moves were so predictable that even our motley bunch knew what you were about to do and were able to nullify.
*apart from that bullshit YC/PT call

I just think we don't need to overuse it, overuse of it contributed to our loss against Southland and a few times last year.

We have some bloody good backs and top class loosies, we should base more attack around them rather than overdoing the lineout drives.

It was more the case that you only had one drive move (apart from going around our side and dragging it down to get a PT) and we studied it beforehand. Shit coaching on your side.

Yeah, as you had a whole season and one game of it to study. 😉

Wow, the current Bay struggled but still won, hardly impressive but still won. We won’t miss Cane though

Just thought I would remind our Hawkes friends 😀

Apologies to @Magpie_in_aus who went through shit with this game

Lastly bring on the battle of the bays!

@Paj @Propsicle @Stockcar86 @stargazer @Number-10

Just taken a call from Triple T of the Bush Tipping Team. Confident prick has taken me on in the Tipping Match between his mob and the Bay for a jug. Naturally the wager was accepted. After mustering a full turnout last week we somehow scrambled a draw against Northland when none of us were at out best. Hopefully that was simply us saving our top form for this week's encounter against the generally impregnable Wairarapa-Bush Team. Upon checking it looks like we are keeping our powder dry with no one having tipped yet, hopefully that it is not complacency setting in but rather an indication that every single aspect that needs to be taken into consideration before making those picks is still being pondered. A tricky situation though in the last match of the round where naturally it is assumed that each and everyone of us will be tipping the away team by some margin or other!

I actually woke up rather suddenly last night after clearly hearing Micheal Buffer's voice in my crystal clear dream announcing "and the judges score card see a unanimous decision in favour of the team fighting out of the Black corner and NEW" and that's as far as he got. I did not need to hear any more to know exactly what that meant!

Anyway heres the link to this week's tipping sheet, remember cut off time for tonight's easy ten pointer is 7.05PM

https://www.thesilverfern.com/tipping-submit

@Higgins ha ha yeah, next game...

@Higgins said in Ultimate NPC: - Hawkes Bay:

ANd now Peter O'Shaughnessey has just been the subject to a somewhat "clumsy" tackle and is off undergoing the Head Injury protocol. Is Mark Sisam next in line or would one of the younger guys get the nod if Saus gets the three week stand down?

Time to bring in McClutchie - the Canes selectors might realise he exists then.

Good win from the Tui today! They beat North Harbour 45 to 24 (HT: 22 - 17).

@Bones said in Lincoln McClutchie article:

@Tim said in Lincoln McClutchie article:

@Bones Michael Little is a good counter-example to the idea that the best players are signed into Super Rugby squads. He was much better than many midfield players in NZ squads (especially at the Blues), but had to go to Japan to get a full contract.

With Little it was a poor Blues organisation missing out, perhaps McClutchie has missed out at the Highlanders due to their pretty average coaches?

Considering we have an excellent first five (All Black) and a very good backup, I don't think we missed out. He would have been lucky to get game time.

TBH, I don't think HB fans were expecting him to go to the Highlanders, and we have few issues with Otago and the Highlanders, they're generally always happy to have players from our region.

Just in case @Stockcar86 was unaware of his team's result from last night I will save him the time involved in having to look it up 😀

crichq.com crichq.com

A bit closer this time out but it was a 20/20 game so that is not unexpected. I can just imagine the joy when the bails fell from the stumps signifying the third wicket to fall in the chase in pursuit of my guys 180.

@magpie_in_aus He is temporarily in the Highlanders squad as cover for Japanese player Himeno, who just came out of managed isolation. Renton will wear the 23 jersey against the Crusaders tonight.

Ili has already played for Melbourne Rising in the NRC a few years ago, so that's how they know him.

This worth a listen. They talk to the BOPRU CEO about the number of Super players in the squad next year, TTT and Rapid rugby.

Podcasts | Pandora

Haha

600a54a9-ff43-4c65-8fb1-58e47f04911b-image.png

@Magpie_in_aus said in Battle of the Bays: Steamers v Magpies:

They win the title, create a concert called bay dreams them behave like this....https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/118568012/mass-brawl-at-bay-dreams-in-bay-of-plenty

I feel you should rescind the name.

mate, anyone will tell you there are no locals at the Mount this time of year. Probably just drunken flogs on holiday escaping from shitholes like Hastings and Taradale