@bones was more a dig at Clarke, it was a legit tackle haha

@tim Jared had a good game around the paddock , but was shaded by Ross Wright at scrumtime

@gt12 Yeah, probably the pick of their backs.

@duluth said in Manawatu v Counties:

I see the NPC website has players match stats from opta on this page. Click on the players number

Bunnings NPC Round 1 Match Appointments and Team Lists Bunnings NPC Round 1 Match Appointments and Team Lists

The Bunnings NPC kicks off on Friday 6 August with Tasman Mako out to defend their Premiership title and a new contender looking to rise up from the Championship.

Great to see there are stats, but awful way of presenting them. There's no way you can easily compare player stats this way.

@Winger his shoulder I think he was grabbing it if we had made the semis we might have won the whole thing with some actual leadership.

..and Counties fans will be a bit happier now

Taranaki starting to take control

You'd hope he's only out for 2 months.

Taumateine has been sneaky good for Counties. I think he's been one of the better halfbacks in the M10 this season.

Far better back play from bop. Black put players into space this week and both half backs looked snappy. But the manawatu defence did give them space.

Another thing. Chay Fihaki looked really good last night, which is great. But it annoys the living fuck out of me that Canterbury retain Fihaki, an Auckland kid out of Sacred Heart, and allow local lad Sam Gilbert to go to Otago. Both were in NZ U20 last year, and sure, Gilbert is a 15-cum-10 who can cover wing as he did last year for Canterbury, while Fihaki is a wing-cum-centre, but they're near enough postionally that it looks like Canterbury (and the Crusaders) made a choice and the local kid lost.

@ACT-Crusader said in Counties v Manawatu:

Entertaining game. Unfortunate finish for the Turbos with that attack incorrectly called in touch.

Lineouts again a lottery for both sides.

Who is the last forward to score a hat trick in the NPC?

Last forward to score a hat trick in Mitre 10 Cup was Patrick Tuipulotu for Auckland v Tasman, September 7, 2018.

This game was at the same time as the shield match. Sky should realise theres people who will watch one game and record the other

The fluffybunnies announced the shield result and score at the end of this match

@Bones said in Manawatu v Otago:

@ACT-Crusader he's just one of those players that operates better with less time and space... instincts better than his planning!

also just doesn't the wheels...running off someone shoulder for sprint to the line? perfect...covering a whole backfield?...no

this was promising,

*“I’ve enjoyed centre, at the back of the Highlanders season, playing a few games and getting used to it,” Collins said.

“The risk is, if you are shifting every couple of weeks, you start losing the finer touches which take a couple of weeks to get used to.

“I’m pretty happy to play at centre for a wee while.”*

Paul Cully  /  Sep 20, 2020  /  sport Ranfurly Shield: Michael Collins vows Otago won't die wondering against Taranaki Ranfurly Shield: Michael Collins vows Otago won't die wondering against Taranaki

Two years after ripping the Log o' Wood out of Wakato's hands, Otago will go to Taranaki with new weapon Freedom Vaha'akolo and plenty of passion.

@kev yeah I feel that FB gives him too much time to think about what he is about to do, he seems to work better with less time when playing more on instinct, that said, I'd say his confidence probably isnt where it needs to be right now either, which is why a stint on the wing, and then moving in later in the game might be best for him

Clayton McMiillan

Ross Geldenhuys

I get BOP press releases emailed to me, I will try and post them more.

@shark said in Canterbury vs Manawatu:

@Tim said in Canterbury vs Manawatu:

Is Josh McKay the new Michael Collins?

More like a faster Damien McKenzie without the positional smarts.

How fast is he, he must be a bullet? DMac is quick.

How on earth?

Love the finish of the game. Sums up Southland’s woes. Southland player did all the work to stay in the field of play and get the offload off, only for a basic handling error to happen straight after and game over.

Kept scoreless in the second half after a big lead. If Southland were a horse...

@J77 ha not quite, just use them differently.

Outrageously bad refereeing for the Koroi try with the Otere Black obstruction.

Makes my head explode.

@shark I reckon you won't get much use out of Will next year - even if you open that massive red and black chequebook!

Who is the Aussie 10?

@Duluth said in Manawatu v Taranaki:

It looks like a 1980s NPC match

Great to see players with actual mud on their face. Hosing down, and the turf isn't quite as good as a lot of the Tier 1 stadia.

Good fun, though, this is classic rugby

@Magpie_in_aus I'm keeping an eye on it. Haven't seen any injury update, yet.

@sparky

Ben Lam needs to take an angry pill before a game. He has all the skills but just needs more aggression. and his defense needs work

@crucial Tall Matt Todd!

Lineout was rubbish. Missed Parkinson in the first half, but when he came on we lost Makalio and Niuia threw like he'd been taking lessons from Nathan Harris.

Hope Makalio is nothing serious. One of quite a few we don't have great cover for.

Once Lomax came on our scrum was dominant, but we didn't really get the full benefit of that.

Still, points in the bank - onward and upward.

When Hemepo came on he looked like an All Black - a cut above the average.

@shark there’s plenty of locks around. Will Tucker was NZ20s this year. Antonio Shalfoon is a great prospect at Lincoln. Was injured all year , but killing it now for Canterbury maoris. Don’t know if their FABs though.

@nepia Don't worry, he's good for at least 50 more years in black.

Turbos should get a bonus point just for that mascot.

@bovidae said in Manawatu v Waikato:

Anyone know if the Manawatu player has been cited for the cheap shot on Tucker?

NZR is extremely shit when it comes to publishing citings and decisions on citings. I remember finding them last year, but don't quite remember where. I'll keep an eye on it.

Full time: never in doubt, Taranaki keep the shield. 46 - 25.

Manawatu 24 - 29 Counties

After converted tries to Jamie Booth and Harrison Brewer, as well as 2 penalty goals, Manawatu finishes on top at full time: 23-10. Very uninspiring match, esp from Waikato.

interesting call there, agree with it, but we see often they go the other way on that due to the indiscretion.

@KiwiMurph said in Manawatu vs Tasman:

Tasman really miss Banks and Havilli - a lot of youth in that backline and it shows - way too many errors. Hunt not the greatest couple of weeks.

Yeah - I think our season goal might be trying to avoid relegation. The starting XV that we expected to have: i.e. including Havili and Hames, but not Squire; is very strong - but, things are very thin and green below.

At the end, when Paulo and (I think) Ainley went off and Taufua was in the bin, we might only have had about a hundred NPC caps on the field and most of them belonging to Guyton and Fredericks.

On the plus side, Jordan is going to be an excellent acquisition. He looked significantly bigger out there than I thought he was - already got a fair bit of Ben Smith about him. Some refinement to do, but he's going to have the goods.

Equal argument would be to select players with the right build, right desire to learn and best natural skills. Scrummaging at young levels can easily be dominated by early maturing bodies or sheer size. Those dominant props do not necessarily go on the be the best test players.
I'm glad that the ABs seem to dig a bit deeper when selecting test potential than Super coaches do.