Sione Lauaki rip
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Really sad. He was a truly outstanding player, and real favourite of Henry's off the bench during that 2006-7 era for obvious reasons - like that above videa!
What a real rotten run in recent times for younger AB deaths. Between Hopa and Collins there wasn't many truly young passings (Drake?) but Collins, Lomu, Berryman and now Lauaki is real tough slog for the NZ rugby community. Add in Haiu at the Blues.
RIP Lauaki - very memorable player.
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Damn, a guy who we never saw enough of at his best, but when he was there, was one of THE best.
RIP big fella.
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@rotated Mention of Aaron Hopa, tragically killed in scuba accident, reminds me of rather extraordinary coincidence -- another diving Aaron Hopa who died around the same time: https://www.google.co.uk/amp/m.gulfnews.com/amp/news/uae/general/divers-mysterious-death-was-murder-says-inquest-1.433826
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@KiwiMurph said in Sione Lauaki rip:
RIP. What a terrible week - first Joost now this. So young.
Amazing talent - will always wonder what if he got named on the bench for the ABs in 07 RWC Quarter - he was in blinding form that tournament.
Was he not suspended for two games following the Romania game?
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@Wurzel nah the suspension was turned over, but they had been training as if he wasnt available (given he wouldnt have been there for the semi either, had we made it...) that they decided against naming him for the 1/4
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@taniwharugby said in Sione Lauaki rip:
@Wurzel nah the suspension was turned over, but they had been training as if he wasnt available (given he wouldnt have been there for the semi either, had we made it...) that they decided against naming him for the 1/4
I'm pretty sure they had to name the team between the suspension and it being overturned and RWC protocol would not allow them to change the team except for injury.
They didn't push for it because rotation and like you said they had been training without him and Masoe was pretty interchangeable back in those days (different player, but not appreciably worse).
They changed that reverse loophole in 2007 so if a player was cleared they could be included, I think they sped up the appeals process in tournament too.
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One of my favourite players. There was that Shield match for the Orcs in 2003 - the loss to BOP that O thought he put himself on the map professionally. Then the performances for the PIs, showed how dominant he could be.
It was great after the Lions tour that he continued to develop his game and by 2007 was a key piece in the AB 22. Shame about how it all played out for him personally in that tournament.
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Far out , that is terrible ,
his best was outstanding , was unusual in that it seemed to take him quite a while to get his fitness and form together , it seemed he needed more game time than most for that to get going , possibly something to do with his size , but when it did happen , he was one hell of a wrecking ball
RIP Sione
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WTF logged in to see another of our fine players gone way too soon.
Man, he was beast at his destructive best for the Chiefs - never really hit the expected heights for the ABs, dogged by demons perhaps, another in the mould of Flavell, Collins and Cribb, - still a fantastic athlete and powerhouse ball runner in his prime.. RIP Sione. -
Henry spoke about him yesterday and how devastating he was when fit,
But there were issues getting him to that level of fitness , and now wonders if that was all related to this illness
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JUdging by some comments on FB, it seems Twattue has said rather less than ideal things about Lauaki
I refuse to click on his rants, so unsure what he said, but can only imagine
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@taniwharugby I had a read, and honestly, I think some people are getting their panties in a twist for no real reason.
Rattue was simply extremely honest about him. I.e - he didn't forget about the faults that came with Lauiki's play. Maybe thats considered poor form by many, and I can understand how people can come up with that point of view, but on the whole he didn't say anything I thought that wasn't unfair.
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@MajorRage guess you reap what you sow...he spends most of his time being a cnut about pretty much everything, so people will then find anything remotely controversial in his words
As I said, I never knowlingly click on his rants, because I think he is a trolling cnut, and doesnt deserve to have me reading his tripe
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Fair enough - it's all just opinion anyway. Here is probabaly the "worst" of it.
"But there were always doubts about his fitness and psyche. A move to Waikato and the Chiefs didn't rid Lauaki of the gremlins.
Whatever McCaw copped - big fend, big injuries - he had the capacity to get back up again, and again, and again. The love of punishing training sessions, emotional strength, stability, a sense of purpose ... he had the lot, whereas a man like Lauaki didn't. Not even close, unfortunately, because he had an x-factor the game cries out for.
We are not to know if illnesses - renal failure and cardiovascular problems - discovered in 2012 contributed to his premature career decline.
What quickly became clear in Lauaki's truncated elite career is that he didn't have the capacity, mental or physical, to keep getting up. There were serious off-field transgressions, assaults that he admitted to"
Rattue then winds it up with this.
"But at his rare best, he was a never-to-be-forgotten sight on the field, a one-man stampede. No other All Black in the professional age represents so much potential lost."
Stuff
