Māori All Blacks to play Ireland?
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@Bovidae You'd hope they name a squad of at least 26 players, so there's room for at least 4 loosies. Whether they pick a reserve that covers 6/8 or 7 will probably depend on the quality of the eligible players that are available. There may be more eligible players than we're aware of. Who knows, they may suddenly discover that Adrian Choat or Blake Gibson have Māori ancestry!
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@Bones Technically, he doesn't play in NZ anymore, does he? It's a bit unclear now, as he may return to play for the Mako. Anyway, there's a chance he may be picked to play for Fiji. Agree he would be a good option for the Māori All Blacks though.
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@cgrant Yes. I found his name here: https://www.manawaturugby.co.nz/images/MRU_Squad_Notice.pdf
and this article seems to imply it, too:
https://www.teaomaori.news/super-rugby-pacific-squads-announced
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@Bones said in Māori All Blacks to play Ireland?:
Cirikidaveta?
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Te Ahiwaru Cirikidaveta waited 24 years to meet his father but was reunited with him in Suva before the Drua’s game against the Highlanders last week....
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@Higgins Yeah, that's been long known, but as I said in my reply to Bones, he's technically playing outside NZ, which could make him ineligible, just like playing for any other team outside NZ does. The only thing that could possibly help him is his Mako contract.
Or he could play for Fiji.
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Confirmed:
https://www.allblacks.com/news/maori-all-blacks-to-play-two-match-series-against-ireland/
The Māori All Blacks will play Ireland in two mid-week matches in Hamilton and Wellington this July New Zealand Rugby (NZR) announced today.
The first match will be at FMG Stadium Waikato in Hamilton on Wednesday 29 June at 7.05pm with the second at Sky Stadium in Wellington on Tuesday 12 July at 7.05pm. Both matches will be live and exclusive on SKY.
Ireland will bring an expanded squad to cater for the two mid-week matches which will be in addition to the three Test Steinlager Series against the All Blacks.
The Māori All Blacks have played Ireland on two previous occasions, the most famous being the New Zealand Natives 13-4 win at Landsdowne Road in Dublin in 1888. The only other match between the two sides was in 2010 at Rotorua International Stadium where the Māori All Blacks won a thrilling match 31-28.McMillan is still the head coach:
McMillan will name his squad for the series next month including a new captain after respected hooker Ash Dixon’s departure for Japan last year after leading the team to a two-match series win over Manu Samoa.
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Good they have confirmed it as they been advertising corporate boxes etc for last week or so. Personally think it's great and trying to decide whether to go up to Hamilton for game, or down to Wellington where I got tickets for test, and perhaps have a holiday in Waiarapa for a couple of days.
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So the first game is before the 1st test, and the second game between the 2nd and 3rd tests.
I thought they might play a game in Rotorua but it's not a great venue for a night game. That 2010 game against Ireland was good fun to be at though.
@Stargazer Like Napier? I agree, and they could have played the July 12 game there, but obviously Ireland probably prefer to be based in Wellington for the entire week.
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@Bovidae said in Māori All Blacks to play Ireland?:
So the first game is before the 1st test, and the second game between the 2nd and 3rd tests.
I thought they might play a game in Rotorua but it's not a great venue for a night game. That 2010 game against Ireland was good fun to be at though.
@Stargazer Like Napier? I agree, and they could have played the July 12 game there, but obviously Ireland probably prefer to be based in Wellington for the entire week.
Rotorua is out of action for the season. Resurfacing or something that has had covid delays
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@FakatavaFuture said in Māori All Blacks to play Ireland?:
@Bovidae 2010 Maori abs is when I first took real notice of Aaron Smith , I thought geez that lad out of manawatu is going to be a star for the canes! wasn't to be tho as Hammett opted for Tyson Keats
That almost sums up the Hammatuer perfectly
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Didn't realise it when I posted that, but I see the first game of 29 June is on the same day as the first Heartland Ranfurly Shield game. That would have been a perferct opportunity for McLean Park to have both games. The Ranfurly Shield game as the curtain-raiser, say at 6.00pm, and then the Māori ABs at the main event at 8.15pm.
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@Stargazer I would imagine the locations were chosen in consultation with Ireland for minimal disruption for the test week preparations - i.e. the Hamilton game is in the leadup to the Eden Park test and the Wellington game in the leadup to the Wellington test.
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@KiwiMurph You may be right, although it's only a one-hour flight. Just hoping they move that Ranfurly Shield game now. Attendance at mid-week games, esp against opposition like Heartland teams, is usually already lower, but if the game is at the same time, or on the afternoon of the Māori All Blacks game, they can forget having even a small crowd at McLean Park.
The Ranfurly Shield game was planned for a Wednesday, because we have so many SR players now that most players for that RS game will have to come from club rugby, so they can't play the game on a Saturday.
