Auckland 2018
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Gibson had to have surgery due to his quad injury:
“He’s had surgery so he’s out for the rest of the season. A big disappointment for him and I feel for him as a captain,” Ieremia told RugbyPass.
Filling the All Blacks' openside void
A loose forward crop that was once the envy of international rugby teams the world over now looks abnormally thin with veteran All Blacks openside Sam Cane going down with a neck fracture.
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Ieremia, in the first year of a three-year contract at Auckland, believes this is just the start. In February he will take the team on an overseas tour which will bring them together even tighter as a group and over the next few months he will work on helping non-professional players get the best out of themselves, and better align the schools and clubs in the city, plus the relationship between his organisation and the Blues.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/rugby/news/article.cfm?c_id=80&objectid=12150272
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@steven-harris Yeah going to a smaller province may give you gametime but it doesn't necessarily progress your career unless you specifically get sent on loan to gain experience, but to be fair to Slade, his path was blocked in the Auckland side so I can't blame him for taking the opportunity at Manawatu. If Choat had gone to Manawatu he probably would have sat on the bench behind Kirikiri anyway and gained next to nothing as opposed to hanging around and getting a start and playing a key role in the finals as a result.
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Beer confirmed the World Cup was also set to make it very difficult to retain the core group of this year's title-winning squad who lost just once in 2018 and snapped a run of nine championships in 10 years by the Red and Blacks.
"We'll be looking to work through the contracting with players, which Alama is across" added the Auckland boss. "But we've got to be considerate of what players might be available for Rugby World Cup selection across different nations. A few of them could be picked off by different countries, such as Canada, Australia and the Pacific Island nations.
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@tim said in Auckland 2018:
Beer confirmed the World Cup was also set to make it very difficult to retain the core group of this year's title-winning squad who lost just once in 2018 and snapped a run of nine championships in 10 years by the Red and Blacks.
"We'll be looking to work through the contracting with players, which Alama is across" added the Auckland boss. "But we've got to be considerate of what players might be available for Rugby World Cup selection across different nations. A few of them could be picked off by different countries, such as Canada, Australia and the Pacific Island nations.
poaching fucks.
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@tim said in Auckland 2018:
Beer confirmed the World Cup was also set to make it very difficult to retain the core group of this year's title-winning squad who lost just once in 2018 and snapped a run of nine championships in 10 years by the Red and Blacks.
"We'll be looking to work through the contracting with players, which Alama is across" added the Auckland boss. "But we've got to be considerate of what players might be available for Rugby World Cup selection across different nations. A few of them could be picked off by different countries, such as Canada, Australia and the Pacific Island nations.
Guys who might not be available next season:
Evan Olmstead, Mike Sosene-Feagai, Fa'atiga Lemalu, Leon Fukofuka, Dalton Papali'i, Akira Ioane(with 10+ backrow injuries, it could happen).
I can easily see both Melani Nanai and Tumua Manu putting their names forward for Samoa. Both turn 26 next year and might want to go to a World Cup while they're in their primes.
Let's say all those guys are unavailable, this is what the line-up might look like next season:
15 Jordan Trainor
14 Vince Aso
13 Tanielu Telea
12 TJ Faiane
11 Salesi Rayasi
10 Harry Plummer
9 Jonathan Ruru
8 Hoskins Sotutu
7 Blake Gibson
6 Waimana Riedlinger-Kapa
5 Taleni Seu
4 Jack Whetton
3 Marcel Renata
2 Robbie Abel
1 Ezekiel Lindenmuth16 Kurt Eklund
17 Sam Prattley
18 Marco Feapuleai
19 John Akau'ola-Laula/Lyndon Dunshea
20 Sione Havili/Adrian Choat
21 Desma Liaina
22 Daniel Kirkpatrick
23 Caleb ClarkeActually not that bad to me, but this teams needs to stay pretty healthy to win it again.
