Waikato 2024
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It is an interesting one because he's not going to get anywhere near as much space if he's playing in the loose forwards as he will in the outside backs so it's not like he can bring a lot of his open field talents to that role (obviously there are some skills that are useful wherever you play but he's got a pretty decent sidestep which won't be utilised much in the narrow channels).
In saying that, I feel like some of his loose forward skills could be used in the midfield.
In all likelihood though, he'll just end up as a flanker who occasionally pops up on a highlight reel for a play where he happens to find space...
I do wonder how an average club player would do if they were thrown, for example, on the wing for the All Blacks.
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@reprobate said in Waikato 2024:
Too short. Needs to bulk up massively and be the next Dane Coles.
Michael Hooper wasn't tall
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For my own curiosity I did a scan of the team lists throughout the season to see how many different players were used, and who was missed.
Two of the original locks (James Tucker and Hamilton Burr) only played a single game each, Tucker the first game of the season and Burr when he returned from Scotland in Rd 3. The same for Andrew Smith who could have covered at lock. It meant that the depth at lock was tested. Josh Balme came into the squad by Rd 4 and Tai Cribb was also added early. Laghlan McWhannell carried a huge workload.
Manaaki Boyle-Tiatia started at hooker in Rd 1 and was first-choice for most of the season but wasn’t part of the original squad. The other player who never played in the NPC was Mitch Jacobson. Both Oli Mathis and Senita Lauaki were squad additions to play openside.
With no Coombes-Fabling, and then injuries to Daniel Sinkinson (Rd 4), Josh Moorby (Rd 4), and later Gideon Wrampling, Filipo brought in the young players on the wing - Aki Tuivailala, Jole Naufahu and Waisake Salabiau are all U20 or U19 players. And then finally Oli Mathis in that position. Cody Nordstrom was on loan to KC so wasn’t available.
The final count was 13 extra players used during the season, many regular starters by mid-NPC.
Those that made their debuts were:
Manaaki Boyle-Tiatia
Gabe Robinson
Josh Balme
Oli Mathis
Andrew Smith
Senita Lauaki
Adrein Wharawhara
Jole Naufahu
Waisake SalabiauMost of the above players are in the 19-21 age group so will have gained valuable experience. Some will likely be training with the Chiefs over the summer.
Best performance: vs Hawke's Bay
Worst performance: vs North HarbourThe overall record was 6-6 but two of those losses were in the last play of games. Given Waikato upset Taranaki and made the SF I'd rate the season as a B.
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Re: the lineout
I wasn't familiar with Manaaki Boyle-Tiatia, other than seeing him play for Varsity in a club game pre-NPC. Google says he went to Scots College and spent time in both Otago and Canterbury. I hope Waikato keeps him, as he looks a better long-term option at hooker than Pita Anae-Ah Sue.
