Waikato v Canterbury
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@duluth said in Waikato v Canterbury:
Meanwhile, Brown also says that former All Blacks winger Waisake Naholo will be a welcome sight in his side's starting XV, when Canterbury resume their NPC season against Waikato on Friday. Naholo, 30, made his Canterbury debut off the bench in their last match before New Zealand went into COVID-19 lockdown, defeating Manawatu 25-22. Back in New Zealand after a stint in England with London Irish, Brown is confident that Naholo can recreate the form that saw him become a fan favourite with both the Highlanders and Taranaki. "He's a real professional, you probably heard that coming back from the UK. "Everything he's done here, he's done to the letter of the law. It's exciting to have him in the team. "[He] adds a dimension, and contributes off the field as well. He'll do a job for us there no doubt."
Weirdly, Waikato are short favourites. I can't think of the last time that happened
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Team to play Waikato:
1 DANIEL LIENERT BROWN
2 SHILO KLIEN
3 OLI JAGER
4 LUKE ROMANO
5 SAM DARRY
6 REED PRINSEP (Te Rarawa) (Captain)
7 BILLY HARMON (Ngāi Tahu)
8 HENRY STOWERS
9 MITCHELL DRUMMOND
10 FERGUS BURKE
11 WAISAKE NAHOLO
12 RAMEKA POIHIPI (Ngāti Whakaue)
13 ISAIAH PUNIVAI
14 CAMERON BAILEY
15 JOSH MCKAY
16 SAM STEWART
17 FINLAY BREWIS
18 FLETCHER NEWELL
19 DANIEL JOHNSON
20 COREY KELLOW
21 JONO KITTO (Debut)
22 JACK DEBRECZENI (Debut)
23 DALLAS MCLEOD
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Good game to restart the season. Canterbury looking a bit stronger in their pack compared to the start of the season.
I'm gonna say Canterbury in a very close one.
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@arhs said in Waikato v Canterbury:
@bovidae Great to see Steven Misa back in there!
And he would be the 3rd hooker in the squad. Sam Cooper wasn't part of the original squad but started against Wellington. I liked what little I saw of Hardman, and he is a big unit.
Noticed Beaudein Waaka in also.
Waaka usually returns in the NH off-season. I was hoping that Dawai would be fit again, so I assume his injury is serious.
Bizarre that Te Whare chose to play for King Country when a line-busting outside back seems to be needed.
Yep, and like last year there is a lack of size with both of these wingers playing.
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@tim said in Waikato v Canterbury:
@bovidae Looking forward to seeing how McWhannell goes against the Canterbury forwards.
time to start watching how the second row is actually playing rather than just hoping neither of them break!
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some slight concerns about Naholo running over the top of Coombes.. not the biggest unit