Blues v Highlanders
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@taniwharugby Rene always requires lots of rugby to get into shape. He always has looked good going forward ( he is a power runner ) and lazy going back but I would love to have him back for Northland. For me good coaches get great performances out of their players - the Blues seem to manage the opposite year after year. To me they never seen to have the right mix of players - namely guys that run into space and pass the ball well.
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With Rene turning 31 this year and coming off two major injuries, it was always a bit of a long shot for Rene to be anywhere close to what he once was. I don't think he'll be at the Blues next year, but I'm thinking he can still salvage one last big payday overseas before his stocks get too low.
It would be nice if he went back to Northland. He probably only signed with Harbour because he wanted to live in one place for all his rugby.
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@Dice He looks a lot lighter than he used to be.
Some serious question marks have to be asked of Tana's outside back recruitment.
He lost Li and Lam, didn't want Visinia and brought in Collins, O'Donnell and Ambrose Curtis. He also missed out on promising Northlander Solomon Alaimalo. Trainor has yet to be sighted except for the Brisbane 10s where he looked poor.
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@KiwiMurph said in Blues v Highlanders:
Some serious question marks have to be asked of Tana's outside back recruitment.
He lost Li and Lam, didn't want Visinia and brought in Collins, O'Donnell and Ambrose Curtis. He also missed out on promising Northlander Solomon Alaimalo. Trainor has yet to be sighted except for the Brisbane 10s where he looked poor.
Yeah the outside back selections have been strange
Also not signing GPT at hooker. He was one of the last signings for the Highlanders. With Parsons having concussion issues, Moulds not good enough at lineout time it seems crazy not to select a good set piece hooker who has been in great form in the last two NPCs.
Last year selecting Matenga ahead of Fatialofa and Seu is unforgivable. That talent from the region is probably lost for good.
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Not selecting Fatialofa was a rugby CRIME. He had been outstanding for Auckland in the NPC.
I can understand not selecting GPT this season though. He has been struggling with a serious injury since midway through last year's NPC season, and is still injured. Not selecting him in 2016 was dumb though.
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@Duluth said in Blues v Highlanders:
@KiwiMurph said in Blues v Highlanders:
Some serious question marks have to be asked of Tana's outside back recruitment.
He lost Li and Lam, didn't want Visinia and brought in Collins, O'Donnell and Ambrose Curtis. He also missed out on promising Northlander Solomon Alaimalo. Trainor has yet to be sighted except for the Brisbane 10s where he looked poor.
Yeah the outside back selections have been strange
Also not signing GPT at hooker. He was one of the last signings for the Highlanders. With Parsons having concussion issues, Moulds not good enough at lineout time it seems crazy not to select a good set piece hooker who has been in great form in the last two NPCs.
Last year selecting Matenga ahead of Fatialofa and Seu is unforgivable. That talent from the region is probably lost for good.
Parsons concussion issues only arose part way through npc, so there's no way you could know that was going to happen. GPT and Moulds were both wider training the previous year at the same time. They both got little to no game time. Both had good NPC seasons. They both had serious injury issues last NPC season. So really signing of Q McDondald was out of left field. Blues could have retained both.
Moulds had excellent impact off the bench v Landers and the Blues lineouts were all won from there on in.
Parsons had massive issues at line out time and he's usually bang on, so what's the issue? Probably lots of small things making a big mess. -
@Number-10 what % NZ Rugby player numbers do Auckland make up?
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@Number-10 said in Blues v Highlanders:
According to the 2016 Auckland RU Annual report, page 28
28% of all players in the 2016 Mitre 10 Cup competition came through the Auckland system.
How do they define "came through the Auckland system"? Does that include every player who went to an Auckland school for one or two years on a scholarship but did all their age grade, club and other school rugby in another region?
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@Stargazer said in Blues v Highlanders:
@Number-10 said in Blues v Highlanders:
According to the 2016 Auckland RU Annual report, page 28
28% of all players in the 2016 Mitre 10 Cup competition came through the Auckland system.
How do they define "came through the Auckland system"? Does that include every player who went to an Auckland school for one or two years on a scholarship but did all their age grade, club and other school rugby in another region?
Would a kid who gets a scholarship at an Auckland school be playing club rugby as well or would they be playing exclusively for the school whilst on the scholarship?
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@ACT-Crusader is interesting, these kids get identified young, but you could argue many become better players through the Auckland school system than they would have if they had stayed where ever else they come from (although will always be exceptions)
I know plenty of Northland kids get picked up by Auckland schools, 3 of the more high profile ones in recent times were the Goodhue twins and Sam Nock, but would the Goodhues have been better staying in Kawakawa instead of MAG and Nock at Kerikeri instead of St Kents? Best thing is they all decided to come back.
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@Dice said in Blues v Highlanders:
I have a feeling the Chiefs will get Black next year.
What makes you say this?
DMac is being developed to be Cruden's replacement at the Chiefs with Stevenson moving to FB.
I doubt Black moves to sit on the bench (again).
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@Bovidae maybe he wants to be part of a winning culture...?
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@Bovidae said in Blues v Highlanders:
@Dice said in Blues v Highlanders:
I have a feeling the Chiefs will get Black next year.
What makes you say this?
DMac is being developed to be Cruden's replacement at the Chiefs with Stevenson moving to FB.
I doubt Black moves to sit on the bench (again).
I was thinking that, but then I figured that there was no guarantees that Cooper will want to move DMac from fullback since he's so good there. If a 10 spot is open at the Chiefs and they make a pitch to Black, I can't see the Blues getting him.
Is Stevenson still signed for next season? The move to Harbour might indicate that he's coming home for all his rugby. The Blues CEO has said they're working to bring back some of the homegrown talent.
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@mariner4life I'll let the Canes supporters bite...
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