Crusaders 2017

Kiwidom

@Stargazer Highlanders Bravehearts Team named :

15 - Jason Emery - Highlanders
14 - Junior Ngauafe - Southland
11 - Sio Tompkinson - Highlanders
13 - Matt Faddes - Highlanders
12 - Tei Walden - Highlanders
10 - Josh Ioane - Otago
9 - Josh Renton - Highlanders
8 - Bill Fukofuka - Southland
7 - Dillon Hunt - Otago
6 - Adam Knight - Otago
5 - Eli Tonga - Otago
4 - Jackson Hemopo - Highlanders
3- Guy Millar - Highlanders
1 - Aki Seuli - Otago
2 - Flynn Thomas - Southland
Reserves : Sekonia Pole , Atushi Sakete,Emerson Paki, Asaeli Valu , Josh Clark, Slade McDowell ,Tupou Sopaga, Josh Walden and Jonah Nareki

Points to note* : Atushi Sakete, Aseali Valu and Emeron Paki are over from Panasonic in Japan on loan.
Former Penrith Panther and older brother of Lima , Tupou Sopaga has been named in the loose forward reserves. Not sure whether he is assigned to Otago or Southland yet.

Stargazer

The Crusaders Knights have just beaten the Highlanders Bravehearts by 21 to 12.

Stargazer

Crusaders Knights team to play the Hurricanes Dev team in Levin (Saturday, k/o 1pm):

Sean Paranihi
Andrew Makalio
Oliver Jager
Jonno Osbourne
Quinten Strange
Sam Godwin
Tom Christie
Heiden Bedwell-Curtis
Leon Fukofuka
Brett Cameron
Josh McKay
Inga Finau
Sean Wainui
Caleb Makene
Braydon Ennor

Reserves:
16. Tom Crozier
17. Harry Allen
18. Jack Straker
19. Jack Powell
20. Dylan Nel
21. Ere Enari
22. Will Jordan
23. Poasa Waqanibau

http://crusaders.co.nz/news/1068-crusaders-knights-team-named-to-play-hurricanes-development-side

Will post the Canes Dev team's line-up in the Canes thread if/once it has been published.

Stargazer

Good news from the injury ward:

Midfielder Jack Goodhue is still carrying a leg injury. He along with All Blacks No 8 Kieran Read and wing/midfielder Seta Tamanivalu, and first five-eighth Richie Mo'unga, should be available to play the Sunwolves after next weekend's bye.

By the way, the title and summary under the photo are from another article. The title of this article is:

"Keep calm and carry on: Crusaders vow not to let Waratahs niggle them in Sydney"

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/teams/91071665/Keep-calm-and-carry-on-Crusaders-vow-not-to-let-Waratahs-niggle-them-in-Sydney

Stargazer

Crusaders' travelling squad to South Africa:

Props: Alaalatoa, Crockett, Franks, Moody, Jager
Hookers: Makalio, Taylor
Locks: Barrett, Romano, Whitelock
Loosies: Bedwell-Curtis, Read, Samu, Taufua, Todd
Halfbacks: Drummond, Hall
First-five 8ths: Hunt, Mo'unga
Midfielders: Bateman, Crotty, Goodhue, Wainui
Outside backs: Bridge, Havili, Mataele, Tamanivalu

Omissions: apart from the known injured players (such as Ioane & Dagg), Ben Funnell is also not in the squad. Didn't look okay yesterday, so maybe he was already playing with a minor injury or a bug. No idea who of the props can cover hooker in case one of Taylor or Makalio goes down.

Chris B.

In the paper today that Funnell's wife is due to have a baby, so he's staying home.

Stargazer

Rugby Pass Podcast: The coaching secrets of the Crusaders' Scott Robertson (+ transcript)

http://news.rugbypass.com/view/rugby-pass-podcast-coaching-secrets-crusaders-scott-robertson-transcript

Stargazer

Injury update

He [Scott Barrett] trained by himself at Crusaders training on Monday and assistant backs coach Leon MacDonald said he was unlikely for Saturday afternoon's Super Rugby blockbuster against the Highlanders in Christchurch.

(...)

Crusaders flanker Pete Samu's promising Super Rugby season could be over with the  Ta$man man in a moonboot after injury his ankle in Saturday's 41-19 away win over the Rebels.

MacDonald said Samu was awaiting a scan, but admitted it "doesn't look nice".

 Ta$man loose forward Vernon Fredericks, who featured against the Chiefs, has been training with the Crusaders for the past few weeks. There was sufficient loose forward depth with Jed Brown back from injury against the Rebels and Heiden Bedwell-Curtis making the most of his opportunities.

There was better news on the injury front with midfielders Ryan Crotty, Jack Goodhue and openside flanker Matt Todd all participating in Monday's training session. 

The trio should be recalled for the South Island derby ...

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/93079286/lions-tour-injury-set-to-keep-all-black-hopeful-scott-barrett-out-for-another-week

ACT Crusader

Good news about Crotty, Goodhue and Todd. Not so about Scott Barrett.

For next weeks big SI clash I would go with

9 Drummond
10 Mo'unga
11 Tamanivalu
12 Crotty
13 Goodhue
14 Dagg
15 Havili

21 Hall
22 Hunt
23 Bridge

Chris B.

@ACT-Crusader I think that's probably spot on - let's hope Crotty is good to go. On reflection, Israel should be much better for his hit out against the Rebels and that selection pretty much covers all injury bases.

I'd say Moody, Taylor, Franks, Romano, Whitelock, HBC, Todd, Taufua in the forwards

Crockett, Funnell, Alaalatoa, Strange, Brown on the bench - though that's all pretty predictable.

ACT Crusader

@Chris-B I wonder if Scotty will keep Romano for the backend of the game. He's been excellent on that role. He and Crockett provide that insurance blanket of impact and experience to finish a match.

Chris B.

@ACT-Crusader Could be - you're right that he's been doing a great job from the bench. If it was me, I'd be trying to get as many minutes from Romano as possible though.

Romano on the bench would provide more consistent strength throughout the game.

cgrant

Strange was OK against the Rebels but it was only the Rebels ... A start against the Clan should give us a better idea of his current value.

Wally

@cgrant
He played most of the game against the Hurricanes (after S Barrett came off) and went pretty well. A fair bit of that might be the team culture where a series of relative no names are fronting up when required.
He does look about 17 years old though!

SammyC

The last time I saw @Wally this excited about a young lock was when he saw Chris Jack play club rugby at age 18. Told me there was no doubt he'd be an All Black.

When it comes to locks he knows his stuff.

akan004

Speaking of locks, does anyone think that Sam Whitelock looks a lot bigger this year? He always seemed like a beanpole lock to me but I don't feel that's the case anymore.

Bones

@akan004 think it's just a hangover from yesteryear. He's been pretty big for a while now.

What I find odd is people mentioning him as an option at blindside. If I was lining up one of our locks for blindside it would be Retallick.

Stargazer

Mitch Hunt: Game-saving kick something 'I'll remember for the rest of my life' (interview with Hunt - Veitch on Sport)

Stargazer

For all you South Islanders, although the day of the week and time of the day may prevent many people from going to Timaru:

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Stargazer

Crusaders U18 Development Squad

The 2017 Crusaders region Junior Knights Development Camp will be held from the 9th-12th of July at St. Andrews College. At the end of the camp, a squad of 25 players will be selected to play the Hurricanes U18 team in a curtain raiser to the Hurricanes v Crusaders game on 15 July.

Players selected for the camp:

Christs college
Lachie Gunson – Christ’s College, Canterbury
Sam Darry – Christ’s College, Canterbury
Jason Embling, Christ’s College, Canterbury
Amhlaoibh Porter – Christ’s College, Canterbury
Levi Emery – Christ’s College, Canterbury
Kaveni Balenacagi – Christ’s College, Canterbury
Nic Murray – Christ’s College, Canterbury
Isaiah Punivai – Christ’s College, Canterbury
Kurtis Weeks – Christ’s College, Canterbury

Christchurch boys high school
Hunter Stewart – Christchurch Boys' High School, Canterbury
Adam Reid – Christchurch Boys' High School, Canterbury
Angus Tucker – Christchurch Boys' High School, Canterbury
Campbell Reid – Christchurch Boys' High School, Canterbury
Sam Alsop-ten Hove – Christchurch Boys' High School, Canterbury
Corban Harding – Christchurch Boys' High School, Canterbury
Ben Colvin – Christchurch Boys' High School, Canterbury
Louie Chapman – Christchurch Boys' High School, Canterbury
Max Hughes – Christchurch Boys' High School, Canterbury
Cullen Moody – Christchurch Boys' High School, Canterbury
Tahu Kaa-Goodwillie – Christchurch Boys' High School, Canterbury
Latham Kelly-Foleni – Christchurch Boys' High School, Canterbury
Jack Harris – Christchurch Boys' High School, Canterbury
Jordan Jennings – Christchurch Boys' High School, Canterbury
Ryan Barnes – Christchurch Boys' High School, Canterbury

Timaru boys high school
Thomas Edwards – Timaru Boys' High Schools, South Canterbury
Melvin Pauni – Timaru Boys' High School, South Canterbury
Cullen Grace – Timaru Boys' High School, South Canterbury
Finlay Joyce – Timaru Boys' High School, South
Maka Mafelio – Timaru Boys' High School, South Canterbury
Dean Andrews – Timaru Boys' High School, South Canterbury

St. Andrews college
Shilo Klein – St Andrew's College, Canterbury
Jack Rose – St Andrew's College, Canterbury
Veitata Kinivuwai – St Andrew’s College, Canterbury
Scott Rees – St Andrew's College, Canterbury
George Harding – St Andrew’s College, Canterbury

Nelson college
Max Fraine – Nelson College, Ta$man
Kyle Te Tai – Nelson College, Ta$man
Caleb Havili – Nelson College, Ta$man
Caleb Coventry – Nelson College, Ta$man
Graham Urquhart – Nelson College, Ta$man
Anton Segner – Nelson College, Ta$man
Leicester Faingaanuku – Nelson College, Ta$man

Rangiora high school
Angus Fletcher – Rangiora High School, Canterbury
George Prain – Rangiora High School,
Fletcher Newell- Rangiora high school

Waimea combined
Caleb Delany – Waimea College, Ta$man
Josh McPherson – Waimea College, Ta$man
Matthew Stevenson – Garin College, Ta$man

St Thomas of Canterbury college
Sione Afemui – St Thomas of Canterbury College, Canterbury
Patrick Elia – St Thomas of Canterbury College, Canterbury

Marlborough Boys college
Vailua Kaloni – Marlborough Boys' College, Ta$man
Jack Shadbolt – Marlborough Boys' College, Ta$man
Nigel Satherly – Marlborough Boys' College, Ta$man

High school old boys rugby club
Simon Rosevear – High School Old Boys, Canterbury

Shirley boys high school
Glen Beardsley – Shirley Boys' High School, Canterbury

St Bedes college
Reuben Cotter – St Bede’s College, Canterbury

In addition to this squad, a Wider Training Group has also been selected and will be involved during the camp:

Wider Training Group:
Jacson Edie – St Andrew's College, Canterbury
Caleb Allison – St Bede’s College, Canterbury
Josh Duckworth – Rangiora High School, Canterbury
Sam Caldwell – Christchurch Boys' High School, Canterbury
Charlie Watanabe – Burnside High School, Canterbury
Alex Harford – Christchurch Boys' High School, Canterbury
Brad Cvitanich – Timaru Boys' High School, South Canterbury
Angus Gilbert – St Andrew’s College, Canterbury

Unavailable due to injury:
Jaydn Holdaway – Marlborough Boys' College, Ta$man
Ollie Lewis – Christchurch Boys' High School, Canterbury

Also unavailable for selection:
Llew Johnson – St Andrew’s College, Canterbury

http://crusaders.co.nz/news/1125-players-selected-for-crusaders-region-junior-knights-development-camp

The Silver Fern

Crusaders 2017