Magpies 2023
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Just back from Park Island where the HB Saracens smacked the 'Poo Evergreens 43 - 24 in the early season trial. Not much could really be read into that as both sides ran out what looked to be completely different teams for each half and in the absence of team lists for any of them it was a little difficult to get a gauge on who was playing. Goodness players look harder to identify in the dark and out of their club uniforms so I really only recognised about 1/3rd of those in the Saracens teams at the start but a few more after listening to the players using each other's names as the game wore on. The XV run out by the Saracens in the first half looked to be the stronger of the two home sides and fair rocketed out to 26 nil after 27 minutes and then failed to score any more points (but not letting in any either) up to the halftime. The home side had almost a 100% lineout win rate in the half no matter which team had the throw in which certainly helped and the guy playing on the right wing certainly whizzed past his opponent a number of times in searing runs down the far side of the field from me. Not sure who he was but he looked to have a fair turn of pace and acceleration. They guy on the left wing did not have as many opportunities but did have a couple of nice runs. Keinan Higgins at second five only lasted about five minutes before limping off with a right calf strain of some sort whilst the loosehead who might, or might not have been Tim Farrell (hard to tell for sure in the dark and also wearing headgear), lasted even less before a right knee problem sidelined him so there was a number of unexpected changes way earlier that the coaching staff would have liked.
The second half was almost a complete reverse to the first with the Evergreens having a large possession advantage but not quite the ability to convert that into then number of points they should have. Despite the lack of possession the Saracens did manage to keep the scoreboard ticking over and got out to a convincing 43 - 19 lead with four minutes left with some long range tries from deep on defence only to let the visitors in for a very nicely worked long range try right on time (aided admittedly by about six missed tackles).Those calling for night games would not have been impressed with Napier turning on one of those special HB winter nights where it is dead still with little in the way of cloud cover which usually means a really nice warm day the next day but sadly means a devilishly cold night and tonight was no exception, although thankfully it did only get down to about 7 or 8 degrees during the game!!!
Oh and another bug bear, why do night games seem to see all the play take place on the other side of the field and down the other end to where you are standing???? On a brighter side at least there was a game of rugby to watch live in person to fill in part of midweek night. Will have to hope that someone from the press who was privy to the exact lineups writes a review so we know who was playing where for sure.
One thing I did like was the fast crisp passing of the HB backs, especially in the first half but having said that there were none of the changes of direction or switch backs etc that you could expect with the players having had more time together.
The tackling in the first half by the Saracens was sure and strong but the that's easy when you have most of the possession but the second half saw a couple of tries gifted with missed tackles leading to scrambling tries round the side of breakdowns let in to my annoyance where you were left wondering how the hell did that happen on account of it looking so easy. The game was played at a fairly good pace and the Saracens did construct a number of attractive tries which pleased the reasonable crowd in attendance that would have been over 500. Might even have spotted someone that resembled Darren Larsen wandering the sidelines inside the crowd control ropes but it can't have been him as only team officials etc were allowed on that side of the ropes and he is most certainly not one of those (unless he has defected to Manawatu?).
The 'Poo were a strange mix in that they looked to have a number of really slim youngish hostel dwelling students living on starvation rations whilst a good number of their team mates seemed to be hogging more than their share of the food come feeding time! There were certainly some big munters in the visiting uniforms.
Overall an enjoyable night. -
One thing I meant to mention last night was when receiving kick offs from halfway the 'Poo had their lock and prop kick reception combinations each on different sides of the field. I had not really taken much notice of whether that is standard practise nowadays or simply something unique to the 'Poo. Must take more notice of that watching senior club rugby on Saturday.
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Brad Weber is heading to Europe at the end of the year, but if he doesn't make the All Blacks, he'll still play for the Magpies, this season.
hbmagpies These goodbyes never get any easier.
You may have seen it already but Brad will be heading to Europe at the end of the 2023 season and we couldn't be happier for him.
Brad has epitomized what it means to be a Magpie, both on and off the field, and always wore the Black and White hoops with pride. We will miss him striking this pose on our shores.
41 Games
102 Points ( 19 Tries, 2 Conversions, 1 Penalty Goal)
Captain for 10 games
Debut 2016 vs Wellington
Whether it be for the Magpies or the All Blacks, Brad will still play until the conclusion of the NZ Rugby year in 2023.
All the best over there Brad and thank you for everything!Thank you, Brad
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Magpies play numbers game in early-season rugby hit-out
New head coach Brock James gave 30 players match-time on Wednesday night.
The next preseason game against Manawatū Evergreens will be on Monday 5 June 2023 in Dannevirke. This may be a double header with a Tui preseason game.There will be preseason games with the more established squad against Auckland and Waikato.
James said he’s unaware yet of any of those players transferring to other teams, such as other NPC unions, but there are many questions over most, including when they may be available to join the wider squad after they are no longer needed by their Super Rugby Pacific or MLR sides.
Unaware? Shouldn't he know who is signed or not?
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@Billsy111 Nope. And I'm getting really impatient. Can't wait for the NPC to start, but the waiting would be a lot easier if the HBRU could give us some good news. After Fakatava's re-signing with the Highlanders, they haven't even confirmed whether he has re-signed with the Magpies as well.
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Question to all you Magpies supporters.
When going through the list of players that are leaving their club in the Japan League One competition, I noticed that Michael Allardice is leaving his club. Of course, it's possible that he's just changing clubs, but if it were possible, would you want him back in the Magpies squad for the 2023 season?
Last year, we lost Cridge. This year, we won't have Bryn Evans and possibly Tom Parsons. The only experienced lock will be IWL, with rookies Frank Lochore and Tiaki Fabish the other remaining options. Sione Tuipulotu is a pretty average player, who's a loosie/lock, too, but I don't even like having him in the squad.
They might bring in Hunter Morrison, who's been training with Canes all season (NDC player), but that's another rookie.
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@Stargazer obviously a Welly supporter but wouldn't Tom Allen be a part of that picture or do you think he's too green?
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@Canes4life He's only in his first year out of school, so I think it's too soon. At least one more year in our Academy, I think.
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@Stargazer did you manage to figure out how tall he is? He seems to be around the 2m mark but looks can be deceiving sometimes.
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@Canes4life No, unfortunately not.
By the way, there's a really tall lock in the Napier Boys' 1st XV squad at the moment: George Prouting. And I mean really tall! His older brother Angus is tall, too (but a bit shorter than George), and played at lock for them until last season. This season, they've moved him to no. 8 and he's easily their best forward, at the moment.
If George becomes just as good, and bulks up, we could have another good option at lock in a few years time.
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@Stargazer good to know, we really need some big, athletic locks in our engine room. Hopefully like Gus Brown, he isn't eventually signed by competing franchises.
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@Canes4life said in Magpies 2023:
@Stargazer good to know, we really need some big, athletic locks in our engine room. Hopefully like Gus Brown, he isn't eventually signed by competing franchises.
Excuse me, this is a Hawkes Bay thread so you using the words "we" and "our" in reference to Hawkes Bay players when discussing a Hawkes Bay team is not tolerated or accepted.
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I'll retreat back to my Wellington Lions thread then and will see you all on the 30th of September when we lock away the Shield for the summer again.
