For 2016

Peter Mettrick

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Higgins" data-cid="534066" data-time="1445749183">
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I don't know what you mean by Renton and Cridge continuing to improve. Neither have played for the best part of two seasons thus there is no base to start any improvement comparison from. 
I remain, as always, available for selection (reservations over the Head Coach's attributes not withstanding, but struggled to hold down a spot in my Presies Grade team this season so not holding any great expectations), provided my choice of preferred footwear does not conflict with any commercial arrangements the HBRFU may have in place
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Thats why I said possibly,because it is hard to judge what level they will be at next season and whether they can be used in the itm cup or new signings needed.

? Offline

According to this morning's HB Today Tony Lamborn has a Hurricanes WTG contract for 2016 and Dominic Bird and Sam McNicol could both be Magpies in 2016.

Stargazer

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Number 10" data-cid="534426" data-time="1445800026">
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According to this morning's HB Today Tony Lamborn has a Hurricanes WTG contract for 2016 and Dominic Bird and Sam McNicol could both be Magpies in 2016.
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Hmmm, that same article suggests that Eaton "could score another Super contract this week." Tui ad ... ?
 
If Bird - who's name is the most fitting for a Magpie contract of any NZ player - will play for us next season, who will he compete with most? Allardice or Abbott?
Won't mind him joining the team at all; he had a great game in the Premiership final. He'll be injury cover for the ABs at best, so there's a good chance he'll actually be available to play for the Magpies.
If healthy, Cridge can forget playing for the Magpies (except in case of injury of one of the top 3) if Bird is joining the team. Wonder whether Waqa is staying ...
 
Sam McNicol moving from the Canes WTG to Chiefs WTG? Can't see him score a full contract ... Do we need/want him? What position is his favoured position? 
 
Lamborn, only a WTG spot? I guess the all full-contract spots were already taken in NZ, because it just doesn't make sense. He'll probably get more game time than a WTG contract suggests, as soon as the Canes coaches have figured him out.
 
With both O'Connor & Stanley leaving, we'll need recruitment for 6-8, although I hope Evans will finally getting a season without major injury, because he's been extremely unlucky for the last 2 seasons. Or will Kaleb Sweet move from the Saracens to the Magpies?

Stockcar86

McNicol is a wing/fullback - always good for extra cover - I'd have him ahead of Lewis Marshall. A 6-7-8 of Evans Lamborn TBW sounds like a well balanced combo. I would have Penitito ahead of Sweet as the loosie cover

Stargazer

Stargazer

Source: Dominion Post, 11 November 2015:
 
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St Pat's Town Premier 1 winning trio sign with Hawke's Bay Rugby Union
 
Three key players in St Pat's Town's Premier 1 winning first XV will be playing in the black and white of Hawke's Bay for the foreseeable future.
Captain Jack Nelson-Murray, halfback/first-five Zac Donaldson and No 8 Hannon Brighouse will make the move north in January after receiving little interest from their home union Wellington.
Such is the strength across Wellington first XV rugby that not every player leaving school could hope to sign with Wellington, but having three from the same school move to the same union is quite rare.
However, the move made sense for the trio, as they will be able to support each other as they look to make the next step in their rugby careers, staying in Donaldson's family's bach when they make the big move.
"My family is originally from Hawke's Bay, my grandparents and cousins and stuff still live up there and we have a bach up there, so that's where we're going to be staying, Jack, Hannon and myself," Donaldson said.
All three were approached individually by the union, with Donaldson saying he thought he would be making the move by himself.
"I thought it was just going to be, then my mum and dad came up to me a said Jack was being looked at and I thought that would be pretty sweet having him there.
"Then recently Hannon signed on and I was like 'far out, that'll be great'. That's where you build relationships and lifelong friends."
Donaldson has been behind Kemara Hauiti-Parapara in the age-group halfback stakes in Wellington for some time, but said the challenge of moving to a new region was more of a draw for him.
"It's always a good idea to get out of your parents' house and where you grew up, and live it all, and I think a different scenery, different culture, different people could be good and obviously I'm looked behind as a second halfback to another person that's why I was keen to look elsewhere."
When Nelson-Murray lifted the Wellington college premiership title in August, having beaten top qualifiers Scots College 19-8, it was the first win for the school in 20 years.
Nelson-Murray said that was the highlight of the year and great to do with friends he had played with for his entire five years at school.
"All of the team, barring about seven of them, had all played under-15s together, so we knew each other pretty well and it was something pretty special to win it with them."
While he would have liked to continue his career in Wellington, Hawke's Bay made an offer he couldn't refuse.
"You always want to play from where you're from, but in this day and age I guess being a top sportsman starts younger and younger and I felt there was more of an opportunity in Hawke's Bay.
"I hadn't really been approached by Wellington and wouldn't be getting that sort of role I'll be getting in Hawke's Bay, so I sort of felt I would be able to develop myself as a player a bit more in the Bay."
Both him and Donaldson already had an eye to their futures after rugby and would be studying a pre-apprenticeship in carpentry at Eastern Institute of Technology.
Will all that time together test their friendship?
"We'll be going to class together and it's only five minutes from our house, and we'll be training together alot, but we're pretty close so it should be alright," Nelson-Murray said.
Brighouse said was looking forward to developing his game with the likes of Blues loose forward Brendon O'Connor at the Bay and could play blindside flanker as well as No 8.
"I had a lot of interest from different regions and I really wanted to stay in Wellington but Hawke's Bay gave me a good offer and they gave me the opportunity to develop as a rugby player and that hooked me in."
Donaldson will look to learn off All Black Brad Weber and Chris Eaton and summed up all three's sentiment that the move would be good for their rugby development.
"We're still young, we might not be playing in our final positions yet, who knows I could get massive and play centre, obviously that's not going to happen but you get what I'm saying."
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Peter Mettrick

Brighouse might be a bit out of luck trying to learn off Brendan O'Connor.Interesting they have brought in a young loosie,perhaps Renton may not be as good as they thought?

Higgins

It is not often first year out of school players front up in the ITM Cup unless they are supremely talented. We seem to be fairly well covered in the No 8 position with TBW and the young kid Joe Penitito so maybe we might not be seeing much of Hannon Brighouse in particular. Unless of course Mr. Philpott is still searching for reasons to keep TBW on the sidelines! Of course he could also be cover for Hugh Renton who might still be insufficiently recovered from injuries to take a full part yet again.

WingerHB

I suspect they've been signed to the HB rugby academy rather than the ITM Cup squad.

Stargazer

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Number 10" data-cid="534426" data-time="1445800026">
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According to this morning's HB Today Tony Lamborn has a Hurricanes WTG contract for 2016 and Dominic Bird and Sam McNicol could both be Magpies in 2016.
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McNicol's move back to the Bay is now confirmed (according to this article on the Stuff website:
 
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote">
Lions outside back Sam McNicol makes provincial shift home to Hawke's Bay
 
TOBY ROBSON
Last updated 18:26, December 9 2015
 
Talented fullback Sam McNicol will return home to Hawke's Bay next season, ending an injury-plagued two-year stint in Wellington.
 
The Napier Boys High School and New Zealand Secondary Schools star shifted to the capital in 2014 with high hopes, but never really got a chance to showcase his abilities due to regular injuries that restricted his provincial rugby to just one match for the Hurricanes and four matches for the Lions this year.
 
McNicol's first season in Wellington ended with double hip surgery after he experienced constant pain while playing for Petone in the local club competition and he was hit by injury again this year when he fractured his eye socket during the Lions' final preseason match against Canterbury, ruling him out of most of the provincial season.
 
The 20-year-old made his Lions debut on the wing against Bay of Plenty and played the final three matches of the season including the semifinal and final when Wellington's bid to gain promotion to the national provincial competition's top tier ended in a solitary point loss to Hawke's Bay at McLean Park.
 
Hawke's Bay's coaches clearly liked what they saw and jumped at the chance to bring one of the region's local schoolboys home to Napier.
 
"We're thrilled to have him coming back because he was one of the ones we didn't want to leave when he left," Hawke's Bay chief executive Mike Bishop said on Wednesday. 
 
"He's a great young footballer with a very good attitude and we always like our local boys to come home. He and Brad Weber are two good examples of that year, as is Brodie Retallick in some respects because he made his name with us first too. To have guys like Sam coming back again and seeing his future in a black and white jersey is good for us and exciting for Sam."
 
McNicol's provincial shift coincides with a move from the Hurricanes to the Chiefs in 2016. He made an eye-catching Super Rugby debut for the Hurricanes against the Chiefs earlier this year, a match in which he scored a brilliant solo try only to be called back due to a forward pass.
 
Bishop didn't believe McNicol's Super Rugby shift had played a part in his decision to leave Wellington. 
 
"He was keen on our set up here and we were more than happy to have him."
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WingerHB

Great signing. Will it be at the expense of Zac?

Stargazer

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="WingerHB" data-cid="546758" data-time="1449652452">
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Great signing. Will it be at the expense of Zac?
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That's possible. Or Lewis Marshall. Don't know for how long Marshall was signed. Or Fruean?

Stargazer

Gareth Evans has re-signed with the Magpies for 2016 and 2017.

Nepia

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="WingerHB" data-cid="546758" data-time="1449652452">
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Great signing. Will it be at the expense of Zac?
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I thought Zac's deal is NSW for Super rugby and Magpies for NPC. 
 
 
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote">we always like our local boys to come home.
 
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 :mocking: Comedy gold from Bishop again.

WingerHB

You're right about Zac's dual contract, but that might be doubt after his drinking relapse. They weren't prepared to comment on the latest incident, maybe for legal reasons? Would be a shame if he had his contract torn up.

WingerHB

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Stargazer" data-cid="546768" data-time="1449659447">Gareth Evans has re-signed with the Magpies for 2016 and 2017.</blockquote>
 
Hopefully we get more game from him. He's had terrible luck with injuries. Renton too - love to see what all the fuss is about.

? Offline

yes I think Zac was signed to HB for 2015 and 2016.

Munsterboy

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Number 10" data-cid="533882" data-time="1445726737">
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So far, there are only two confirmed departures:
 
Brendon O'Connor to Leicester
 
Tom Stanley to Oxford University
 
There must be a question mark with Andrew Horrell. He only signed a one-year contract with the Chiefs for 2016 which suggests he is then looking for overseas.
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Slight correctlon No.10, I believe Tom's off to Cambridge, not Oxford.
 
As it happens, he has kindly donated a signed Magpie's jersey for a charity auction I'm running in aid of ex-Canada international Matt King.
 
I'm also auctioning a signed All Blacks jersey donated by Codie Taylor!
 
If you're interested in bidding, you can do so here: <a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='https://www.32auctions.com/rugbykit'>https://www.32auctions.com/rugbykit</a>
 
Sorry, don't mean to spam the forum, just trying to raise awareness amongst Magpies/All Blacks fans who might be interested.
 
Please spread the word! Thanks!

Stargazer

Not only does the latest HBRU e-Newsletter confirm the departure of Brendon O'Connor (Leicester Tigers) & Tom Stanley (Oxford Uni), and the signing of Sam McNicol, it also mentions the:
 
- departure of first five Tyrone Elkington-MacDonald to Auckland (for work reasons)
- signing of Tiaan Falcon
- signing of Marino Mikaele Tu'u (also Hurricanes apprentice)
 
I knew Philpott was appointed assistant coach of the NZ U20s, but the e-letter also says that Danny Lee is a technical adviser of the team.
 
Mason Emerson, Mason Kean, Max Fryatt, Marino Mikaele Tu'u and Jonah Lowe are all in the wider training squad of the U20s.
 
 
I doubt Tiaan Falcon will be ready to step up as a replacement of Ihaia West if he gets injured. I hope they are looking to sign another 10, esp if it is doubtful that Dagg will return in 2016. We need another good goal kicker.
 
I'm, by the way, quite sure Guildford was only signed for 2015. Hope he'll be back in 2016.

stoli

Another change for 2016 is a change of gear sponsor with Kooga no longer the supplier. I don't know who will be but do know its not Canterbury

The Silver Fern

For 2016