NPC - news, injuries etc
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I'm not really sure what the point of these games is, considering Ta$man will have to take a B team to the USA, as all, or almost all, of their first-stringers will be with their SR franchise. The upside is that those US teams now have a chance of beating them. Whether we'll be able to watch these game in NZ is still a question.
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@Stargazer Someone might stream the games, but I don't think it will be a high standard of rugby - I don't recognize any of the names in the Houston squad - though some are evidently imports - some South African and British sounding names - maybe of Currie Cup standard.
Leguizamon is playing for Seattle.
Most interesting thing in the article below is that Canterbury and the Crusaders are apparently part-owners of Seattle.
https://www.mako.nz/news/tasman-mako-to-undertake-summer-american-tour
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@Chris-B said in Mitre 10 Cup - news, injuries etc:
Most interesting thing in the article below is that Canterbury and the Crusaders are apparently part-owners of Seattle.
Yeah, they have been for almost two years.
The Hurricanes have a deal with the Toronto Arrows (then called the Ontario Arrows).
Don't know whether the other NZ franchises have similar deals.
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@Stargazer said in [Mitre 10 Cup - news, injuries etc
Don't know whether the other NZ franchises have similar deals.
Blues / Honda Heat ?
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@Nogusta I should have been clearer, I meant similar deals with MLR teams. But yes, several NZ teams (or their academies), including Mitre 10 Cup teams, have some form of partnership with a Japanese team.
I remember that not only the Blues, but also the Chiefs (Kobelco Steelers) and Highlanders (Docomo Red Hurricanes) had development options for some players from those Japanese clubs, resulting in those players playing for the development team in 2019. Hawke's Bay (and no doubt more provinces) does the same. There have been movements in the opposite direction, too. IIRC that's how first Gareth Evans, and now Lincoln McClutchie, ended up with the Docomo Red Hurricanes.
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@Stargazer Great try by Sam Briggs at 67 minutes.
Rips the ball from a Sabrecat and runs 70 metres stepping three defenders on the way.
Pretty sure Sam's dad is former Nelson Bays captain and prop - Gavin - who wasn't really noted for his mobility!
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...and the Mako win 29-19.
I only watched the last 20 minutes, but it was actually pretty entertaining footy - open with lots of ball movement and the Baby Sharks looked pretty sharp.
The coverage was excellent - pretty much Mitre10 Cup standard.
Houston probably good Heartland rugby standard - maybe a bit better?
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@Chris-B Yeah, about Heartland level, at least this team. Maybe the team they field in competition games will be a bit stronger.
Someone in the comments suggested a game between the MLR champions and the SR champions. I was just thinking about how to word it nicely that that would be a blood bath, when - fortunately - someone else replied that that would be a step too far and that playing the Shute Shield champions would be a better fit.
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@Stargazer One of the slight problems with these sorts of tours - the promoters want to play up that the Mako are New Zealand's national provincial champions, while playing down that there's only a handful of squaddies on tour.
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