Blues 2017
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Ranger is an interesting one because defensively he is a beast at centre and is able to compete for the ball where he is one of the best in the world as a back.
However in attack he has looked lost there. I like him on the wing as his lack of passing game isn't too much of an issue.
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@Pepe
A few adjustments to your stats Pepe, 2015 Matt Moulds was WTG 2016 Add in Jack Ram. Dan Bowden never actually took the field for Northland so you could actually leave him out of the stats, cheers. -
@Northlandallday
Thanks for the corrections (that's why I always slip the "E & OE" in).
But didn't Matt Moulds debut in 2015 vs the Stormers?
I'll leave Dan Bowden in the figures because he was contracted to and involved with the Northland squad (despite being injured). -
@KiwiMurph I would guess Mat Mattich may be brought in. He must have been close to Taramai's spot in the squad as he was excellent for Northland this year (though often at number eight). He trained with the squad last season and played pre season I think.
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09 Nov 2016
The Blues welcome Olympic weightlifting coach Dr. Adam Storey to the team as the new Sports Science Manager and Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach under Jason Price.
Adam has a Doctorate in Sport and Exercise Science and Physiology from Auckland University and he is currently a Research Fellow at AUT University’s Sports Performance Research Institute. Since 2008, Adam has coached New Zealand weightlifting teams at key pinnacle events including the 2010 and 2014 Commonwealth Games, and the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games.
Prior to coming on board with the Blues, Adam worked for High Performance Sport New Zealand as the Lead Strength and Conditioning Specialist for Athletics NZ. In this role he worked closely with Valerie Adams and supervised her strength and conditioning work in her come back from surgery over the past two years.
Adam is Hamilton-born and had some involvement with the Chiefs but also moved to Wellington where he lived for some years which lead to him naming his first born son after his favourite All Black Christian Cullen.
He has always wanted to work fulltime in the professional sporting environment for the Blues.
“Like all Kiwis I love rugby. But as a professional in the strength and conditioning field, I have always wanted to work fulltime in the rugby environment and for a professional sport.”
“I am really excited to have the opportunity to work with the Blues. The facilities, the staff and the approach here is fantastic and I am looking forward to working with the players when they begin officially next month.”
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16 Nov 2016
The Blues will welcome back their long-term injured players ready for the start of the 2017 Investec Super Rugby season.
Former New Zealand Under-20 star TJ Faiane and fan favourite Rene Ranger are progressing well in their rehabilitation. Both suffered season-ending anterior cruciate ligament injuries earlier this year and both have faced long term rehabilitation – Faiane for 13 months and Ranger for 11 months.
“Both have done a great job in terms of rehabilitation following their surgeries,” said Blues medical director, Dr Stephen Kara. “These sorts of injuries require real patience and discipline and both guys have coped well with the situation and the mental challenges to do things by the book.”
Rehabilitation is a long-term planned activity beginning after recovery from surgery, based on each individual case.
The first phase involves gentle activation of muscles and low-risk cardio work, which increases in phase 2 to include more fitness on the bike and grinder, and neuromuscular training on wobble board and rocker board.
From weeks 7-12 allows for some straight-line running and phase 4 up to 16 weeks includes goals of straight running without pain and jumping without difficulty.
The progression for the next 10 weeks involves aggressive strengthening work with squats and leg press and step ups, agility drills, plyometrics with hopping and jumping and sport-specific interval and other training work which is the final phase until return to play – no earlier than seven months after recovery from surgery.
Both players are expected to play a full part in the Blues pre-season plans which get underway in early December.
New signing Sonny Bill Williams, who suffered an Achilles tendon rupture at the Rio Olympics, is also progressing well in his rehabilitation and is expected to return at some stage later in the Blues’ open eight-game block until their first bye.
Captain James Parsons is due to return for the start of pre-season after more than two months out with acute concussion.
George Moala has returned home from the All Blacks Northern Tour with an elbow ligament injury but Dr Kara believes he should also be ready early in the pre-season training block.
A number of players have minor injuries suffered during the Mitre-10 Cup competition but all are expected to be ready for the start of pre-season training. These include Michael Collins (hand injury), Piers Francis (hand), Blake Gibson (shoulder), Josh Goodhue (ankle), Sam Nock (hand), Declan O’Donnell (wrist) and Jimmy Tupou (face).
The other members of the All Blacks will make gradual returns to the Blues with the likes of Jerome Kaino, Patrick Tuipulotu and Charlie Faumuina the last to come back to the squad before the start of the season.
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Harry Plummer is recovering from a shoulder operation, and is aiming for NZ U20 in 2018.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11753558
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It's looking like all the Blues will be fully available from the start, except SBW and Parsons (~ round 5 return), established All Blacks Kaino and Faumuina ("gradual return"), and possibly Tuipulotu.
So, what's the early season starting XXIII going to look like?
We know that Francis is favoured for 12, so that leaves the back three, hooker, locking combination (Tupou/Scrafton has been hinted at), and openside flanker as points of contention.
I'll go with this prediction:
15. Nanai 14. Duffie (10s captain, would prefer M. Vaega) 13. Moala 12. Francis 11. R. Ioane 10. West 9. A. Pulu 8. Luatua 7. Gibson (K. Pryor plenty of time off the bench) 6. A. Ioane 5. Scrafton 4. Tupou (C) 3. O. Tu’ungafasi 2. Moulds/Faiva (no idea who will start) 1. Manu 16. Hodgman 17. Faiva/Moulds 18. Mafileo (early return from the bench for Faumuina?) 19. Cowley-Tuioti/Tuipulotu (returning from the bench?) 20. K. Pryor 21. Guyton (would love to see Nock overtake him) 22. Perofeta (covers 10 & 15) 23. M. Vaega (covers midfield & wing) -
Probably put Ranger at 14?
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I think that later in the season we'll see:
15. Nanai 14. Duffie/Vaega/Collins 13. Moala 12. SBW 11. R. Ioane 10. West 9. A. Pulu 8. Luatua 7. Gibson 6. Kaino/A. Ioane (sharing starts) 5. Scrafton 4. Tuipulotu 3. Faumuina 2. Parsons 1. Manu 16. Hodgman 17. Faiva/Moulds 18. O. Tu’ungafasi 19. Tupou/A. Iaone 20. K. Pryor/A. Iaone/Kaino 21. Guyton 22. Francis/Perofeta 23. M. Vaega/Duffie/Collins -
@taniwharugby Shoot, I forgot about him.
I suspect that the coaches might go for a "2nd fullback" type wing.
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@Stargazer Both Ioane and Duffie play on the right wing, so I'm not sure how they're going to balance that out.
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I'd put Ranger at 11, and have Rieko at 14 in my top Blues team. Some time for Rieko at 13 wouldn't be out of place either.
There are plenty of options there, if people stay fit, and Pulu passes it.
I'm still not convinced about West - I thought he would turn the corner last year, but we're still waiting. He plays well, they don't suffer injuries, and that Blues team should be good. If he's shit, it won't matter about how talent he has around him.
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@Tim be interesting to see where Tana goes at 7, cos Pryor was very good last year when Gibson was injured and the last couple of games Gibson came off the bench with Pryor starting.
Any news on Tom Robinsons injury from the 10s? I know he was unlikely to get any time for the Blues, just interested to see.
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