The Silver Fern

@trooa I tend to agree with pretty much all you say but I shouldn't pass judgement till I know who exactly who is selected.

The starting loose forwards however hopefully won't be too bad....Kapelli is a beast, Norris is pretty solid and hopefully an inform Karpik is great but depth will be an issue.

The backs are stacked with speed at least and, judging by yesterday's game, Delany has made it clear how he wants the game played. The Taranaki game (BOP racked up 50 points) was impressive with the backs running it from everywhere but to be fair Taranaki didn't look flash. The team playing against Counties didn't have it their own way however.

Like has been said here before, don't read too much into pre season games.

@Bovidae Yes, thats the one. Apparently was something of a folk hero in the Rebels.

Apparently the team is announced tomorrow and I'm guessing its widely known in rugby circles who is selected. Given photos from social media and who was listed in yesterdays pre season game we could already make a guess for all its worth .

Hookers :- Ekland
Rangi
Souchon
I assume Kurty will be back and Souchon and Rangi played yesterday. Souchon has been around the team for a while and Anaru Rangi ,I'm guessing, is a new signing. Apparently he is NZ born and spent the last few years playing for The Rebels in Super rugby.

Props :- Ross
Kumeroa
Mafileo
Tosi
Thwaites
Bartlett
Hetet
Not 100% sure on this one. Thwaites and Hetet (from last year) never played yesterday being replaced by Matt Wallace. Wallace is 37 and played NPC many years ago so I'm unsure if he was just a fill-in.

Locks :- Ah Kuoi
Selby Rickett
Sangster
All playing well.

Loose Forwards :- Cane
Norris
Kapelli
Broughton
Collier
Lasaqa
Karpik
Karpik didn't play yesterday either but have been told he's been seen about so fingers crossed.

Halfbacks :- T.T.T.
Dobie
Donaldson
Dobie (the Scottish international) is a class act and will be a great acquisition.

Inside backs :- Cashmore
Trask
Hawera
Trask is now the elder statesman I guess but Cashmore looks better every time I see him play. Hawera has had stints a for Waikato, Southland and the Brumbies

Outside backs ;- Finau
Lalomilo
Narawa
Haugh
Kaka
Lasaqa
Walton
Quite a few selection unknowns here also and I'm assuming one or two additions to this area also. Joey Walton was an Australian age group player whose been playing for the Warratahs. He looked good yesterday.

Okay , has anyone got any other additions or found mistakes that I've made. Last year they announced a wider training group also who were called on for injuries. Does anyone know much about Jericho Yorke, Axil Hohneck and Seamous Bardoul ? They all played yesterday so maybe are in the team but I know little about them.

And finally does anyone know of any injuries ? Someone went off with what looked like a bad arm injury and Triple T played half a game on the wing so I'm assuming theres some.

@trooa Well spotted. Just had a squiz at last years team list and I'm guessing we could almost name the team now bar for a few gaps. Does anyone know what has happened to Vella, Skipworth Garland, Vaipulu and Thwaites ?

I heard today that "a BOP team" will be playing in a preseason game in the Chiefs Centurion Cup held in Te Kuiti on Saturday 23rd July (I assume against all the other Chiefs Unions) and then one pre-season game on Saturday 30th July away in Takapuna (Game of Three Halves vs Northland and North Harbour).

Also theres some NPC players training on the BOP Rugby facebook page. How many faces can anyone recognise ?

Just checked the team lists and there is a "Jacob Norris " playing for Tauranga Sports. Could be a handy acquisition if its the same one...

https://www.allblacks.com/playerprofiles/jacob-norris/

Also a "Connor McLeod" is playing for Judea But are unsure if its the one in question.

@Tim I have no idea. Sorry.

Well, in the absence of anyone else I thought I would start a BOP tread for all its worth.  I'd be interested to know what everyone thinks about the coming season and if anyone knows of any signings etc. But firstly...

Coach :- It was no surprise to see that Daryl Gibson has gone given last years underwhelming season. The only real question is if he was "pushed" or whether he "walked" or whether the official line is correct. Delany's promotion could be seen as a surprise when you consider that he has never been a head coach of any team  (correct me if I'm wrong there ) and, as far as I'm aware, the job was never advertised. He has however been in the system for a long time so I'm hoping that the transition isn't too brutal. I wonder if the likes of Glen Jackson or Marty Burke have been earmarked for future rolls and whether they have even been approached ?

Game schedule :- I'm guessing you've all seen the schedule which has some big changes...No Rotorua games and no night games. I can't say I'll miss freezing nights in Rotorua and Tauranga is a far more welcoming venue. Three games in eight days against Hawkes Bay, Northland and Waikato will be brutal (especially at the end of the season ). As usual no direct Shield challengers but I think there is a small chance that if NH beats HB and defend it against Counties, we get the next challenge. There's probably other permutations but I haven't looked closely.

Players :- There has been an exodus of several senior players from the roster (Black, Douglas, Harris, Scott-Young, Van Den Hoven, Campbell, Wainui are a few that I can recall) so I'm expecting many new signings. I have no idea of any new names playing locally or even who is injured or who is playing Super Rugby. I'm sure someone here will know.

Anyway, its probably far to early to be thinking about the NPC (I'm more looking forward to The Blackcaps in England right now) ....and I really should get back to work.

Comments ?

@bovidae Just done a quick google as I know nothing about him.

Apparently did his High Schooling in Tauranga and went to Uni at Waikato where he played for The University Club. Is now The Port Operations Co-Ordinator at Mainfreight at the Mount

I'm afraid I'm in the "sack the coach" camp !!

Gibson's selection was questionable right from the start given the results he has had in past coaching roles ...as has been mentioned many times here. Did he get the job on his profile and past playing career or was he simply the best candidate? Obviously I don't know and I know people can use all sorts of excuses (Sean Wainui, Covid and injuries)but the team hasn't really delivered. The Hawkes Bay and Taranaki games were particularly galling, given we were virtually at full strength. Both those teams looked well drilled, better organised and were simply more cohesive and accurate . BOP however looked ill prepared and seemed to lack ideas.

I know I'm just venting because of how we're been playing but I suspect the Union isn't too impressed either. I see , at the latest awards presentations, the team of the year went to the Toa and the coach of the year unbelievably went to Rodney Gibbs whose team I think only won one game this year (correct me if I'm wrong).....hardly a great vindication of how they thought the Steamers went.

I know injuries have been horrendous this year. We were one of a handful of spectators at the Northland game in Rotorua and, sure, we won but (with respect to Northland) it looked like two pretty average teams playing and one slightly less average team winning. The one huge plus is the blooding of a few new players. Sangster has been a revelation !

I'm glad I have gotten that off my chest. I seem to recall being wrongly cynical of McMillan's selection many years ago and I know the season isn't over yet so I sincerely hope Mr Gibson can redeem himself in my eyes.

Bunnings Warehouse NPC and Heartland Championship Update

The Bunnings Warehouse NPC match between Bay of Plenty and Northland, scheduled to be played at Tauranga Domain at 2.05pm this Sunday, will be postponed.

After consulting with their playing groups, both unions agreed it did not feel appropriate to play on the day of Sean Wainui’s tangi.

New Zealand Rugby (NZR) is working with the Bay of Plenty and Northland unions to reschedule the match, which had been scheduled to be played and will announce details in due course.

Additionally, as a sign of respect to Sean and his whānau NZR have asked the rugby community to come together to acknowledge Sean’s life prior to all Bunnings Warehouse NPC and Heartland Championship matches this weekend.

Players, coaches, managers and match officials will be wearing black armbands and Sean will also be acknowledged via a special tribute and moment's silence prior to each match this weekend.

@arhs I'm really not 100% sure. Apparently there is one player who is tied up in the Auckland border crossing thing but I'm not sure who that is. Ah Kuoi was carrying an injury but I saw him at the Ta$man game (6 weeks ago) and didn't look to incapacitated. I'm pretty sure he would be playing in the place of Sangster if available. I spoke to Mafilio at one of the games and he said he had a back injury. Webber has been seen training on Facebook and looked okay. Garland was unavailable early in the season because of family matters but I'm not sure of his availability now. Filipo and Broughton were only ever in the Wider training group. I think you're probably right about the strategic inclusion of Black, Harris and Van den Hoven and maybe the non-inclusion of several players is because of form. You also have to remember that Black hasn't played for a quite a while so I'm sure they will be easing him in a bit. Its still a pretty handy team given that two ex All Blacks can come on as reserves.

For me, the only real surprise is Sangster.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/provincial/300408628/nz-rugby-six-players-removed-from-npc-squads-after-covid19-travel-exemption-error

Yep, it's certainly somewhat of a lottery as there are so many unknowns. The three week delay between games will have given both teams time to mend niggling injuries. THE BAY could potentially have Ah Khuoi, Mafileo and Black available for selection (I'm not sure what the situation is with Cane and Ekland), Webber is back from sevens and possibly Garland back also. Its a nice selection problem to have if so many of the team are available.

Arguably Hawkes will lose something with the lack of local crowds. It will definitely be an intriguing contest and , like everyone is saying, its to close to call.

@kiwipie https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/sport/2021/09/rugby-provincial-sides-hit-training-paddock-as-nation-not-auckland-embraces-covid-19-alert-level-2.html

Read into it what you may.

@kiwipie They had some footage on the news the other night of THE BAY training with a quick interview with our coach. It was a bit ambiguous but there was a reference to The Shield game. Not exactly sure what can be read into it but fingers crossed !!