Exodus 2016

muddyriver

Joe Edwards is heading off with him to bordeaux after mitre 10 cup

African Monkey

@muddyriver Can't blame him. There's just no opportunity for him in NZ . Hope he goes well there.

Bordeaux's loose trio for next season could be an all ex.Auckland/Blues lineup

Edwards
L Braid
P Saili

With the awesome Simon Hickey at 10.

Stargazer

@African-Monkey said in Exodus 2016:

A bit old but I haven't seen it reported anywhere on here but some fantastic news regarding Simon Hickey
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11711891

Yes, that news is three months old. Hickey re-signed with Bordeaux in June (was posted on page 22 of this thread by Daffy Jaffy).

@muddyriver said in Exodus 2016:

Joe Edwards is heading off with him to bordeaux after mitre 10 cup

They've quite a few Kiwis at Bordeaux now, including Bruce Reihana as their skills coach.

Edited to add that the signing of Edwards (as injury cover for Peter Saili) has been discussed widely in the French media (end of August), but has not been officially announced by Bordeaux on its website or social media accounts.

cgrant

Hickey will have to warm the bench since Bordeaux have Ian Madigan at 10. He is not an outstanding player but he is better than Hickey IMO.

Duluth

@African-Monkey said in Exodus 2016:

A bit old but I haven't seen it reported anywhere on here but some fantastic news regarding Simon Hickey

GPT should be captain as soon as he is fit again

I hope they don't go for Elkington-MacDonald at flyhalf next year.

I would just select Wiseguy and leave him there for a couple of years. He's got a lot to learn.. but it would be great to see that large pack having contestable kicks in front of them

mimic

Wiseguy looks to be the front runner.. Bit surprised D'Angelo wasn't given a go though.. I prefer him over T-Mu

African Monkey

@Duluth Yeah I'd do the same and invest in Wiseguy. He may struggle initially but it should be worth it in the long run.

Stargazer

Confirmed: Robbie Fruean has signed with Bath

http://www.bathrugby.com/news/fruean-confirmed-as-joining-bath-rugby/

Having experienced so many setbacks in his life/career due to his health problems, I really hope he will go well in England!

cgrant

Fruean had all the attributes to become a great centre but he did not live up to the expectations because of his health problems. I really feel sorry for him and hope he will have a good career in the Premiership.

Billy Tell

@cgrant Seemed like he was going to be amazing before rheumatic fever struck.

cgrant

Cruden off to France ?
With Cotter taking the reins of Montpellier next year, it is a possibility. Midi Olympique talks about a 1.4 M NZD deal per year.

Stargazer

@cgrant said in Exodus 2016:

Cruden off to France ?
With Cotter taking the reins of Montpellier next year, it is a possibility. Midi Olympique talks about a 1.4 M NZD deal per year.

The French media were already writing about French clubs chasing Cruden last year. Just like they were writing about Barrett. And Ben Smith. And Julian Savea. If everything they write were true, we wouldn't have half of our All Blacks.

But, of course, if Cruden is going down the pecking order, he might well be considering it. It won't be before the 2017 Super Rugby season though, as he still has one season to go on his contract ...

Looking at the current stock of first-fives (Barrett, Cruden, Sopoaga, and - dependent on where the AB selectors see him, at 10 or 15 - DMac, and then a little gap until Mo'unga etc), I hope we won't read an announcement about Cruden before the Exodus 2018 thread.

booboo

1.2 mill a year???

http://m.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11720383

Tregaskis

$1.2m or $1.4m pa? Shit, I hope he doesn't get lowballed. He'll be on the bones of his arse.

Billy Tell

We can replace Cruden. Losing Faumuina AND Franks would be a much bigger blow.

taniwharugby

One of the headline of a related stories; Rich foreign clubs ready to drain ABs

Oh cos they haven't been doing that for years?

Billy Tell

IMHO It's a no-brainer for Cruden. Nothing more to achieve at Super Level. Has lost the race to Barrett. Specialist 10 so a limited bench option, likely to be replaced by McKenzie in the long run.

So, backup to Barrett for 300,000 a year or star 10 for Montpellier for $1.2M...

taniwharugby

That's the attitude, just give up!

Billy Tell

Just for the record I'm hoping he stays. However I think he is currently worth more to the Chiefs than to the All Blacks.

Daffy Jaffy

Paul Grant off to Bath after the Mitre 10.

http://www.planetrugby.com/news/bath-sign-otago-number-eight/

The Silver Fern

Exodus 2016