Exodus 2018
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As a Blues fan i'm happy to see him go and make hay overseas.
He doesn't really fit in the future plans for the Blues - he simply doesnt have the distribution to play midfield and doesnt have the speed to play on the wing - good player that I think could actually suit the NH game more as it suits the strengths of his game. Good player who has served the Blues well but I think he's reached his peak in NZ.
This actually could be a positive in that the Blues don't feel like they have to shoe-horn him into midfield just because he was an AB. I'd rather see Blues give midfield gametime to proper midfielders (midfield being an area of weakness for the Blues for a long time).
As for his assault charge i'm not going to make a sweeping statement without knowing the ins and outs of the case.
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Moala's done a good dash here. He turns 28 next year and he'd of done 8 years as a pro here by the time he leaves, so he's not some young player who is leaving after just a few years. I think he's leaving at just the right time, as he seems to have stalled a bit and his market value will probably just decrease the longer he stays.
I do wonder if he can crack the starting backline for Clermont though, because they are pretty loaded in the backs department. The midfielders and wingers they currently have might be better than him at the moment, so a starting spot might not be guaranteed for him, but it might not matter so much, as seasons are so long over there, everyone in the squad seems to get a good run of playing time by the end of the season.
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@rocky-rockbottom said in Exodus 2018:
@billy-tell said in Exodus 2018:
It's a bit sad what has happened to SH rugby - I watched a good deal of European rugby over the weekend, and a recurring theme was how many SH players featured.
If I take Clermont vs Saracens for example, we have Flip Van Der Merwe, Fritz Lee, Isaia Toeva, Peter Betham, Vincent Koch, Will Skelton, Marcelo Bosch, Sean Maitland, Juan Figallo, Schalk Burger.
The Montpellier backline, we have Aaron Cruden, Jan Serfontein, Francois Steyn, Nemani Nadolo, Jesse Mogg.
And so on.
I really hope Super Rugby is a better standard this year, because outside of the NZ teams, my interest has seriously waned. European Club Rugby is a good deal better than previously, not in the least due to the number of big name SH stars on offer.
i don't get how with all these star players the matches themselves are such a dreary fucken trudge. I give up watching after 10 minutes, players walking from ruck to ruck, ekeing out their 3 inch hit-ups, another knock-on, woohoo, smoko time fellas, 4 minute drinks break so everyone can have a breather. It's like both sides are playing to a gentlemens agreement, "let7s just waddle around like cleft-brained carthorses and fuck around for as long as possible for the entire match and maybe that'll induce some sort of collective amnesia among the bigwigs as to why we were signed up to play here in the first fucken place."
I watch quite a bit of french rugby because they play it on Foxtel often and I've found the games to be generally quite good.
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@rocky-rockbottom said in Exodus 2018:
@billy-tell said in Exodus 2018:
It's a bit sad what has happened to SH rugby - I watched a good deal of European rugby over the weekend, and a recurring theme was how many SH players featured.
If I take Clermont vs Saracens for example, we have Flip Van Der Merwe, Fritz Lee, Isaia Toeva, Peter Betham, Vincent Koch, Will Skelton, Marcelo Bosch, Sean Maitland, Juan Figallo, Schalk Burger.
The Montpellier backline, we have Aaron Cruden, Jan Serfontein, Francois Steyn, Nemani Nadolo, Jesse Mogg.
And so on.
I really hope Super Rugby is a better standard this year, because outside of the NZ teams, my interest has seriously waned. European Club Rugby is a good deal better than previously, not in the least due to the number of big name SH stars on offer.
i don't get how with all these star players the matches themselves are such a dreary fucken trudge. I give up watching after 10 minutes, players walking from ruck to ruck, ekeing out their 3 inch hit-ups, another knock-on, woohoo, smoko time fellas, 4 minute drinks break so everyone can have a breather. It's like both sides are playing to a gentlemens agreement, "let7s just waddle around like cleft-brained carthorses and fuck around for as long as possible for the entire match and maybe that'll induce some sort of collective amnesia among the bigwigs as to why we were signed up to play here in the first fucken place."
You have to pick and choose your matches. I've watched La Rochelle a couple of times this season, and they are every bit as attack-minded as the Super Rugby sides. Some of the dullest matches I've watched have involved the Brumbies, so I don't think it's necessarily the competition but more which teams you watch.
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Does anyone know of a site/source that keeps track of NZ players and where they’re playing?
I’ve just compiled the birthplaces/parentage of all players in PRO14 clubs and am going to make a start on the Premiership next.
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@pot-hale said in Exodus 2018:
Does anyone know of a site/source that keeps track of NZ players and where they’re playing?
I’ve just compiled the birthplaces/parentage of all players in PRO14 clubs and am going to make a start on the Premiership next.
Not a site, but the NZ Rugby Almanack (book) always has lists of NZers playing overseas.
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@nepia said in Exodus 2018:
@pot-hale said in Exodus 2018:
Does anyone know of a site/source that keeps track of NZ players and where they’re playing?
I’ve just compiled the birthplaces/parentage of all players in PRO14 clubs and am going to make a start on the Premiership next.
Not a site, but the NZ Rugby Almanack (book) always has lists of NZers playing overseas.
Cheers - thanks for that.
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@pot-hale said in Exodus 2018:
Does anyone know of a site/source that keeps track of NZ players and where they’re playing?
I’ve just compiled the birthplaces/parentage of all players in PRO14 clubs and am going to make a start on the Premiership next.
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It's now official. George Moala has signed a three-year contract with Clermont.
The media release doesn't state when exactly he'll join the club next year, so I assume he'll start immediately after the Super Rugby season. Usually when a player arrives later in the season (because of playing Mitre 10 Cup), they mention that explicitly in the media release.
http://www.asm-rugby.com/actus/le-all-black-george-moala-s’engage-pour-3-saisons
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@mn5 said in Exodus 2018:
@pot-hale said in Exodus 2018:
Does anyone know of a site/source that keeps track of NZ players and where they’re playing?
I’ve just compiled the birthplaces/parentage of all players in PRO14 clubs and am going to make a start on the Premiership next.
Yes - I’ll admit it.
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@stargazer He's been a great servant to Auckland and Blues rugby and deserves to get a big payday. He was virtually playing on his own during the Blues 2015 season where no-one else seemed interested and was also a star in the 2015 Mitre 10 Cup where he and a few others almost carried us to the title this year. Thanks for the memories George.
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Samoa and Bay of Plenty prop Jordan Lay has signed with Edinburgh until the end of the 2017/18 season.
http://www.edinburghrugby.org/news/17/12/28/news-edinburgh-sign-samoan-international-prop-jordan-lay
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@jauzy019 said in Exodus 2018:
Seta Tamanivalu set to join french club Bordeaux-Bègles according to Midi Olympique tomorrow.
I dunno anymore. Do we get upset about a Fijian ditching the Abs and essentially committing himself to a hard push in 7s if he wants to play international rugby again?
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Hame Faiva is playing for Treviso.
Kiwis carving up the north. Marty Banks + 95
The strong New Zealand influence at Benetton Treviso has helped the Italian club up to fifth position in Conference B of the Guinness PRO14.
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Saracens have announced the signing of scrum-half Nic Stirzaker on a three-month deal which keeps him at the club until March.
Saracens swoop for Stirzaker
Saracens have announced the signing of scrum-half Nic Stirzaker on a three-month deal that keeps him at the Premiership club until March.
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@tim said in Exodus 2018:
Hame Faiva is playing for Treviso.
Kiwis carving up the north. Marty Banks + 95
The strong New Zealand influence at Benetton Treviso has helped the Italian club up to fifth position in Conference B of the Guinness PRO14.
The number of Kiwis playing (or coaching) in Italy is interesting.
Benetton Treviso is coached by Kiwi Kieran Crowley since 2016.
Former Auckland, Northland and Blues player Dean Budd has been playing there since 2012 and has played for Italy at least 6 times.
Jayden Hayward joined the team in 2014 and now also has 3 caps for Italy.
Nasi Manu, Whetu Douglas, Marty Banks, Hame Faiva and Monty Ioane all arrived at the club in 2017.James Tucker joined Zebre in 2017.
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@bones said in Exodus 2018:
@jauzy019 said in Exodus 2018:
Seta Tamanivalu set to join french club Bordeaux-Bègles according to Midi Olympique tomorrow.
I dunno anymore. Do we get upset about a Fijian ditching the Abs and essentially committing himself to a hard push in 7s if he wants to play international rugby again?
I was tearing up a bit but then I remembered his tackling attempt on Jonothan Davies.
Good riddance.
