NPC - news, injuries etc
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The ODT reckons Otago is losing a couple of its stars Otago halfback Jono Ruru has played his last game for Otago, and has signed with the Auckland union.
The energetic halfback may be followed out the door by promising flanker Dillon Hunt, who is thought to be heading to North Harbour.Ruru, who is in Canada with the New Zealand Maori side, has signed a two-year deal with the Auckland union.
This follows his signing by the Blues franchise last month.
His agent, Henry Bates, said once the Blues came knocking with a pretty good opportunity, Auckland then also presented a proposal shortly afterwards.
He said the offer from Auckland was too hard to turn down and Ruru had decided to head north.
As a draft player, it was wiser for Ruru to sign with Auckland as it would make it easier for the Blues to sign him and other franchises could not get their hands on him next year.
Ruru (24) had no ties to Dunedin and had family and his partner in Auckland.
Otago Rugby Football Union general manager Richard Kinley said although no union wanted to lose players it was understandable Ruru wanted to move on for another opportunity.
Ruru had come south in the middle of the club season last year from Hawkes Bay when injuries had opened up a vacancy in the No9 jersey for Otago.
He had played just one game for Hawkes Bay and was the fourth-choice player in the position for the Magpies.
But he had impressed for Otago and his combative style and good running game had found a home at Forsyth Barr Stadium.
Otago has signed halfback Josh Renton for next year.
Hunt is believed to be heading back to North Harbour and his departure will be a big blow to the union.
Hunt (22) has had a rapid rise this year and was picked to play against the All Blacks for the Barbarians at Twickenham. He had an outstanding rookie year for the Highlanders this season, called in as injury cover as other flankers went down.
Strangely, Hunt has been selected in a back reserve’s jersey for tomorrow’s game and is bound to get some game time.
Kinley said the union was still talking to Hunt and working through the process.Hunt’s partner is believed to be working in Auckland and Hunt has just about completed his surveying degree.
He has played just 13 games for Otago since making his debut last year and went to school on the North Shore at Westlake Boys’ High School.
Meanwhile, loosehead prop Craig Millar is exploring options in Japan although there is a chance he could come back and play for Otago.
The loosehead prop missed out on a Highlanders contract this week and there is a possibility he could end up playing for the Sunwolves.
Bates said that might be tied in with also getting a deal with a Japanese club.
Millar (27) played just two games for the Highlanders this year but impressed for Otago this season.
With the Highlanders aggressively pursuing tighthead props Tyrel Lomax and Kalolo Tuiloma, the squeeze went on the loosehead props.
Loosehead prop Aki Seiuli has signed for the Otago union for the next two years.
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Ruru had come south in the middle of the club season last year from Hawkes Bay when injuries had opened up a vacancy in the No9 jersey for Otago. He had played just one game for Hawkes Bay and was the fourth-choice player in the position for the Magpies.
Philpott and Bishop: "It's ok, we have Chris Eaton, how about you and your brother go and have Super careers playing for other provinces and clubs." -
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@southernmann Great intel,Ruru will be a great acquisition to Auckland with the emergence of Nico Costa who should have been the starting halfback for Auckland from the beginning of the season,should be a good battle for the number 1 position.
In regards to Dillion Hunt,it makes perfect sense that he returns to Harbour given he is from the region and will be joining a team on the rise.
Also wondering if Auckland had signed Isaac Salmon from Ta$man given he has signed with the Blues and the fact the Blue & whites are very weak at tight head.
Don't really now much about Salmon,but you have got to say,it's probably the most out of left field selection of all the squads.
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@southernmann So I'm assuming that we have now seen the last of Jono Hickey?
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@african-monkey I fucking hope so.
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Andrew Makalio is back playing club rugby in Auckland ...
Varsity do the double
University has completed a notable double in clinching the premier men s Cup title at the Auckland Club Sevens...
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Hmm:
Former Highlanders assistant coach Jon Preston has indicated he wants to become a head coach and will probably be after a provincial gig.
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From the media release:
Mitre 10 Cup crossover games confirmed for 2018
Wednesday, 8 November, 2017 - 09:45 Representatives from the 14 Mitre 10 Cup Provincial Unions have met to pick their opposition for crossover matches between the Premiership and Championship teams for the 2018 season. With Waikato and Wellington officially swapping sides of the two-column table, Waikato will play the 2018 season in the Championship and Wellington returns to the Premiership for the first time since 2014, courtesy of a thrilling extra-time win over Bay of Plenty. New Zealand Rugby’s Head of Provincial Union Rugby, Steve Lancaster, said these crossover games are exciting with no guarantee the Premiership team will come away with the win. "As we’ve seen in the 2017 season, the quality of rugby was outstanding, with some great match-ups between teams from the Premiership and Championship. "Wellington is a great example of this, beating eventual Premiership winners Canterbury convincingly in a crossover fixture. Wellington made the games against Premiership opposition count, winning three of their four crossover fixtures, and eventually earning promotion into the Premiership for 2018. "The crossover matches are an important part of the Mitre 10 Cup format, pitting Championship against Premiership, and seeing traditional geographic rivalries maintained," he said. The four rounds of picks took place as follows (home team listed first): i. The 1st round of picks are selected by Premiership teams in reverse order of seeding. These games will be played as home games for the Championship teams; - Manawatu v Wellington - Southland v Auckland - Hawke’s Bay v Counties Manukau - Waikato v North Harbour - Northland v Taranaki - Otago v Ta$man - Bay of Plenty v Canterburyii. The 2nd round of picks are selected by Championship teams in reverse order of seeding. These games will be played as home games for the Championship teams; - Southland v Counties Manukau - Hawke’s Bay v North Harbour - Manawatu v Ta$man - Northland v Auckland - Otago v Canterbury - Bay of Plenty v Taranaki - Waikato v Wellington iii. The 3rd round of picks are selected by Premiership teams in order of seeding. These games will be played as home games for the Premiership teams; - Canterbury v Hawke’s Bay - Ta$man v Southland - Taranaki v Manawatu - North Harbour v Bay of Plenty - Counties Manukau v Northland - Auckland v Waikato - Wellington v Otagoiv. The 4th round of picks are selected by Championship Teams in order of seeding. These games will be played as home games for the Premiership Teams; - Taranaki v Waikato - Counties Manukau v Bay of Plenty - Auckland v Otago - North Harbour v Northland - Canterbury v Manawatu - Ta$man v Hawke’s Bay - Wellington v Southland Following the meeting, New Zealand Rugby will begin work on the Mitre 10 Cup draw for 2018, which will be completed over the coming months. -
He said six provinces were on the hunt for coaches which provided plenty of opportunities.
It makes Rugby Southland's challenge of finding a coach even more difficult if, in fact, they feel they need to search outside the province.
Peter Skelt as already indicated he wants a shot at the Stags jobs, while outside the region there doesn't seem to be a stack load of options.
Former Highlanders assistant coach Jon Preston has indicated he would like a head coaching job, while former All Black prop Dave Hewett has applied for the Canterbury job previously without success.
The Taranaki job is vacant with Colin Cooper joining the Chiefs. New Zealand under-20 assistant coach Willie Rickards is believed to be a strong contender to fill that job.
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From Taranaki Rugby statement:
Mr Collins said it was expected the Port Taranaki Bulls’ home games would still be played at Yarrow Stadium in 2018, but without the use of the TSB Stand. “The venue remains open with a capacity of 18,000.” -
Heard the Auckland Mitre 10 cup head coaching job which was supposed to be announced a couple of weeks back has been put on hold due to Auckland Rugby conducting a full audit across the whole organisation.
Apparently along with Nick White,Assistant Bevan Cadwallander and team Manager Lewis McLintock from this years management have all been gased.I had heard that former All Black,Canterbury & Crusaders prop Dave Hewitt had applied for the job.
Would not be bad option in my opinion,might bring some ethic from the Saders region.italicised text -
Alama Ieremia is the new Auckland coach...
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Stuff