The Silver Fern

Sean would be one of nicest young men i have had the privledge of interviewing during my time as a contractor at NZME, so respectful and so much mana within the NZ Rugby community.
Always gave you his time ,the memories i have of this young man are so clear it was like it happened yesterday ..
His mihi to Ross Wright when the Northland prop played his 100th game was sensational, beautifully fluent in Te Reo Māori , you could have heard a pin drop while Sean addressed the room.
And being good friends with his dad Peter brings it home even more so having watched this young man grow up to be a special individual.
Gone far too soon.

Me Ōku whakaaro ki te whānau pani i tēnei wa pōuri .
Me te aroha tino nui atu,moe mai ra e Sean

Me ōku whakaaro ki te whānau o Willie Lose i tēnei wa pouri .
Totally shocked , I worked with Willie during his time at Coca-Cola during the mid nineties, got to know Willie very well and we have kept in touch during his time as a commentator.
55 is far too young , hard to believe that one of his last calls was Saturdays Northland v Auckland game ..
Totally gutted .

Only saw Inga just after New Year , he was with his wife at Countdown Glendene , he was telling me about a show he was doing with Eroni Clark and couple of other lads he had played with , he had such a booming personality with the greatest of smiles ,we shared a couple of laughs a real good bugger.
A Kelston Boys High School ,Ponsonby ,Auckland ,All Black and Wigan Rugby League legend
E aroha nui atu ana ki te Tuigamala Whānau i tēnei wa pōuri.

If there’s one thing that came out of tonights game for the All Blacks Jordie Barrett is your number 1 fullback moving forward.
Not even a debate

Wallace Sititi interviews well like player who has played 70 tests little alone 7 got future All Black captain in waiting as for his on field play for such newby , bloody outstanding

Caught up with former All Black Alister Robinson at the just completed NZ Waka Ama Club Sprints held at Lake Karapiro .
Alister gave me a great update on Tom , many of us were worrried during the NPC especially in and around his unavailabilty for the Taniwha in last years Bunnings NPC there was much speculation that Tom may have to pull the pin with head knocks symtoms constantly being mentioned , talking to Alister the news is all good, Tom had a ruptured ear drum which at the time which was’nt diagnosed , he has since had an operation is back to 100% .

Screw versatility I say, for me that’s half the All Blacks problem picking guys who can play multiple positions as opposed to picking a specialist
You end up with tradesman like fillers on the bench

How good was Kieran Read...?,actually thought he should have been the MOTM..!

@Wurzel Parker will be given 40 minutes for the Taniwha this weekend and 60 minutes against Southland in Round 2 and will be then added to the All Blacks squad

It pains me to say I have never been more confident of an impending All Black loss
Under Foster we have arrived at RWC QF 4 years later as a massive underdog.
Even against England in the 2019 RWC semi final there was reasonable degree of confidence the ABs would get the job done

Hoping for the best expecting the worst
I would imagine that’s what many other supporters use to think when their team was taking on the All Blacks

Hearing from a source that Naitoa Ah Kuoi has been bought into the All Black squad , i have no reason to doubt this info and i stand to be corrected but if it is correct i would be keen to know who he is replacing

Walked away from Eden Park on Saturday night asking myself one question..have the Blues got the right skipper..?
Being down 3-12 and with a man in the bin,I thought the Blues did extremely well to keep the Saders scoreless during that time.
However the decision not to take 3 points from a very kickable position on the stroke of halftime had many of us in the west stand shaking our heads..On 2 other occasions points on offer were turned down..
You often wonder why the Blues never quite get across the line in this local derby games..much of it you can put down to poor leadership and decision making on field.

Sure you can heap blame on individuals but despite that in many cases poor options when coming to terms of what’s required and understanding game situations is something they need to fix and in a hurry..
I was often told,when your playing a good team,stay in the fight and when it gets down to the wire anything can happen,for that to happen you have to keep accumulating points.

There was a lot to like,talking to a good friend in Christchurch who caught up with Matt Todd earlier today..Todd had told him the Blues were definitely a different beast from previous years ,very tough up front and more structure to their game.but they also knew whom to pressure in the last 15 minutes and get maximum value..interesting coms..

Just from my own point of view,I think the Blues would have Brocken their duck against any other franchise ,but after all we are playing a team that’s got everybody else’s number in NZ.

Just on a man of the match..if Ardie and Sam are considered the best 7s in the country ,Matt Todd must the unluckiest player running around..watched his running lines from the top of the west stand always in the right place at the right time..not far behind the young Ennor ,but I have always known how good this kid was gonna be from his St Kent’s and NZ 20s days.

For the Blues,if Akira can keep this form up,who knows I am sure Hansen will no choice but to have him involved with the Blacks.
Nonu surprised me,did most things right and more ,got gassed by Ennor,but at the end of the day just up against younger faster legs.

Like the look of Tom Robinson,would love to see him used more running off a short pass from a prop channel 1 or 2..

Disappointed with the loss,but will be back for the next home game..loved the banter from the supporters up on the West Stand,never laughed so much at a game.

@Frank had it confirmed Parker’s injury is 6-8 weeks but more interestingly his rehab is being managed by the All Black medical team

As much as I have wanted the Blues to get across the line this evening ..I have got to question how much some really do know about the game of rugby ...the one area where the Crusaders have dominated has been in the high kick stakes..the Blues have been completely overshadowed in this aspect...the much maligned George Bridge has put so much pressure on the receiver from high kicks ...the Blues have failed to negate this area..and their own high kick when it really mattered , unfortunately fell by the wayside ..both Christie and Barrett at crucial times put kicks out on the full...to me the turning point was the charge down of Blacks kick ..and the subsequent short kick off from Mo’unga , the Blues had fallen asleep and you could see the momentum change ,some great individual performances , but big match players come up with big moments ..on that aspect ..The Crusaders Take the chocolates ..it was great to watch a game that I really feel the Blues are now relevant again..you know when a Canterbury crowd goes silent for long periods means you have them under the pump..to blame this evenings official is joke..game management when it really mattered was the difference..

Just got home from the game unbelievable atmosphere just a brilliant vibe that I haven’t experienced in a very long time
Ardie Savea’s performance was from another planet his skill level ,anticipation knowing when to enter a ruck or take play to where the space is truly remarkable

I have to give Hoskins Sotutu a lot of credit , he took a massive hit to the shoulder area early in the game and to have played the full 80 deserves a mention , actually thought he was one of the better Blues forwards on the paddock as well as Josh Beehre

But I do think MP were much more creative and both their set piece lineout and scrum stood up I thought all 3 MP loose forwards carried with so aggression but Ardies performance was special it was both a privilege and a pleasure to be on hand to see one of the best performances from a 7 in a very long time

The 2 major changes in this club team is the coach who has bounced around 3 or 4 different teams which should have been a red flag from day dot and former RWC winning Black Fern who is nothing but septic
She’s had 2 drunk driving convictions since 2020 and all she’s bought into this team is bad behaviour and poor ethics
The coach seems to be accepting of this behaviour which includes chasing an opposing spectator through a car park for a fight post game and getting into verbal arguments with spectators during games as well as skulling a beer that’s been passed to her by her coach when tries are scored her behaviour was witnessed in front of a major sponsor and his 2 young daughters , all of this has been videoed
This is supposed to be Premier Womens Rugby not a social rugby
There’s been close to 20 complaints to the union regarding behaviour of certain individuals in this team not to mention letters condemning player behaviour written in from their own supporters

Unfortunately the skipper who is also Northland Kauri player has allowed herself to think this is some sort of racism to why they have been kicked out
Also because people were jealous that they were clocking up such an excellent record
She sought a high court injunction to have the Unions decision to kick them out of the comp overturned , the high court judge took a whole 5 minutes after viewing all the evidence to find in favour of the Union , What does that tell you
Personally I hope she never gets selected for the Kauri again especially after running off to the media when she didn’t get her way
So to wrap things up this is not an over the top decision from the Northland Union
It’s around discipline nothing else , people in Kaikohe are saying to ban the whole team is harsh but at the end of the day this is a team game , they should all wear the cost
For me the coach and the management dictate the etiquette and behaviour on and off the field and on that note he’s failed this team badly
Crazy thing is he’s from the Otiria club and is on their committee he had a women’s team there which he could have coached but decided to seek glory coaching a club team that has 8 Kauri players

The former Black Fern has signed with Counties Manukau , she’s actually a talented player but for me has some serious baggage

If Northland were to release their findings not to mention the odd video it would be even more embarrassing for the club and it’s supporters,

Despite people who don’t know any better saying that all the Kauri players in the team should step away from the rep team to show unity to the club , 6 players turned up to Northland fitness training on Wednesday night except one player which wasn’t a surprise

I always knew the Auckland team of the 80s and 90s was great , but they had a core of the greatest All Blacks you would ever see over a period of time , but this franchise is next level it doesn’t matter who wears the jersey , and the coach will go down as the greatest Super coach bar none
I tip my hat to them Congratulations Saders fans

Sad to recieve the news of the passing of NZ Axeman and wood chopping legend Jason Wynyard who passed away peacefully this morning
My brother inlaw Pouri was the captain of the NZ Axemans team and Jason and his ex wife Karmyn were also very much part of the extended woodchopping whānau
A legend in the world of wood chopping ,he won 14 World Stihl Timbersports title between 1997 and 2017
100 World titles which is out the gate
Jason Wynyard MNZM
Me ōku whakaaro ki te whānau me ehoa me i tēnei wa pouri
Moe mai ra e rangatira

@Bones the Chay Fihaki selection beggers belief but i guess Razors sees something many of us cant see..
Personally i would rather they pushed Reiko out to wing and ALB into centre as opposed to pushing Fihaki onto the wing or better still AJ Lam
Of all Razors selections Fihaki and Bell grate me the most

Northland outside back Heremaia Murray has been signed by the Crusaders for 2024 , great reward for a stellar Npc season.