Hawke's Bay rugby 2018
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Caught up with Mark Ozick and Josh Syms at Waitemata Park in Auckland yesterday,they were watching the Waka Nathan challenge cup which is to anyone outside of Auckland a preseason rally day were all the Auckland Club teams are on show,
A couple of players they were looking at were Siosiua (Josh) Kaifa a very rugged open side flanker who has appeared on a handful of times for Auckland and Sebastian Visinia younger brother of Lolagi Visinia,Sebastian is a very tall rangy midfielder.
Talking to both coaches they are looking for more gainline physicality which was a real issue for them in 2017.
Sam Ulufonua the Lock from ponsonby in Auckland has been signed but only on a PD contract,I stand to be corrected but it’s something similar to player development contract for younger players.
Gone from 2017 are both Vaega brothers and Hugh Renton ironically the younger of the Vaega brothers was running around for Gramnar Tech and I believe Cardiff is running around for Karaka in the Counties Manukau region.Both coaches seem to have a very good senergy with each other.
Auckland can never seem to select the right talent but man alive there is some talented rugby players running around at many of there clubs, I guess it’s all about having the ability to select that talent.
Even Southland have signed the 3 Costa brothers from Eden Rugby in Auckland,Kaifa while he looked a bit off the pace fitness wise,had very good size,is very physical,good over the ball and very accurate on the tackle will be a very good acquisition to the Bay.
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@steven-harris said in Hawke's Bay rugby 2018:
Caught up with Mark Ozick and Josh Syms at Waitemata Park in Auckland yesterday,they were watching the Waka Nathan challenge cup which is to anyone outside of Auckland a preseason rally day were all the Auckland Club teams are on show,
A couple of players they were looking at were Siosiua (Josh) Kaifa a very rugged open side flanker who has appeared on a handful of times for Auckland and Sebastian Visinia younger brother of Lolagi Visinia,Sebastian is a very tall rangy midfielder.
Talking to both coaches they are looking for more gainline physicality which was a real issue for them in 2017.
Sam Ulufonua the Lock from ponsonby in Auckland has been signed but only on a PD contract,I stand to be corrected but it’s something similar to player development contract for younger players.
Gone from 2017 are both Vaega brothers and Hugh Renton ironically the younger of the Vaega brothers was running around for Gramnar Tech and I believe Cardiff is running around for Karaka in the Counties Manukau region.Both coaches seem to have a very good senergy with each other.
Auckland can never seem to select the right talent but man alive there is some talented rugby players running around at many of there clubs, I guess it’s all about having the ability to select that talent.
Even Southland have signed the 3 Costa brothers from Eden Rugby in Auckland,Kaifa while he looked a bit off the pace fitness wise,had very good size,is very physical,good over the ball and very accurate on the tackle will be a very good acquisition to the Bay.
Thanks for the updates.
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@steven-harris I'm sorry for the late response. Thank you for this info!
Ozich has done some great work with Hastings BHS, but NPC is another kettle of fish. I really hope they know what they're doing when selecting new players. Buckman is going to be a huge loss and hard to replace. There are also a few other big holes to fill. While Falcon can easily replace West, I'm not sure whether McClutchie is ready to take Falcon's place on the pine. But at the same time, you don't want them to recruit a 10 from outside the region if that player going to block or delay McClutchie's development. Same with fullback and Toala, loosie and Flanders etc etc. But there's no doubt we need more and better depth than we had last year. If the players mentioned in your post are the right players to solve our depth problems, then they're more than welcome.
Oh, and a year without major injuries would be nice too, but it seems we're already starting with a couple of injuries. Cridge, Farrell, possibly Lowe (still haven't seen an update from the Canes about that foot injury from last Saturday). Sam McNicol's continuing concussion problems are also a worry. Not sure whether we'll ever see Edmonds back on the field.
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You can't trust Texans. They even stole Sam Giddens!
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@footy01 said in Hawke's Bay rugby 2018:
@wingerhb Tongia is shocking. There’s a reason why Hawkes bay let him go in the first place and why he was playing for Southland
Maybe but Hawkes bay have got quite a lot of spots to fill after last years debacle.Good thing is at least guys like him,Lewis Marshall,Willie McGoon etc are all playing club rugby so Ozich and co has time to assess his options before deciding if we need to bring players in at the last minute. Looks like Taradale have picked up 2 or 3 fringe Wellington forwards too.
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@stargazer said in Hawke's Bay rugby 2018:
Is Gillies Kaka still playing in Japan? His wife is contracted with the Black Ferns 7s, so I'm quietly hoping he'll be back in the Bay, but not sure.
He is still on the Red Dolphins player profile page from earlier this year
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Article about (& interview with) Sam Ulufonua:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/hawkes-bay-today/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503460&objectid=12025392
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@stargazer Are they rasing the Turf a metre or so like they did at Waikato Stadium?
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@hooroo This is the work to be done:
Work began today to rip up the current turf and replace it with a hybrid grass in time for spring rugby season.The high-tech hybrid turf is being grown in Pukekohe on a specialist backing. Artificial fibres are embedded in the backing to create additional strength. Plastic sheeting ensures that root growth is carefully managed, and the grass able to be harvested following its growth cycle."We are replacing all the drainage system. We are also putting in an irrigation system and also sensors as well so they will be able to monitor soil moisture and it will be able to control how much water we put on and when we put that water on it on. So also it will be a lot more efficient,"The same turf is used at Eden Park and the Melbourne Cricket Ground -
The first Magpies wider training squad has been named:
- Lewis Marshall, Pasqualle Dunn, Tom Parsons, Travis Taylor (all Central),
- Josh Eden-Whaitiri, Josh Kaifa, Sasa Tofilau, Lucas Goodin, Tianua Poto (all Clive),
- Devan Flanders, Ryan Tongia, Sam Ulufanoa, Willie McGoon (all Havelock North),
- Aleki Vuki, Ben Hamelink, Danny Toala, Folau Fakatava, Jason Long, Josiah Tavita-Metcalfe, Mason Emerson, Ausage Fomai, Timo Vaiusu, Jacob Devery (all HRS),
- Fa'alemiga Selesele, Frank Tupuola, John Ika (all MAC),
- Chris Johnston, Ellery Wilson, Hannon Brighouse, Johnny Luano, Matt Gardner, Michael Buckley, Mitch Drew, Ricky Hayes, Shae Tucker, Jake Nelson-Murray, Zac Donaldson, Sia Paiese (all NOBM),
- Will Tremain (OBU Wellington),
- Pouri Rakete-Stones, Hayden Hann (both Pirates),
- Kianu Kereru-Symes, Lincoln McClutchie, Mason Kean (all Tamatea),
- Joe Apikotoa, Lester Maulolo, Lui Luamanu (all Taradale),
- JJ Tualagi, Mark Braidwood, Sebastian Visinia, Trent Boswell-Wakefield, Tim Farrell (all Napier Technical).
This squad will prepare for a preseason game against Ta$man on Wednesday, 2 May in Wellington.
The squad doesn't include loosie Tony Lamborn who is on international duty with the United States team, and Samoa Commonwealth Games Sevens representatives Tom Iosefo and Neria Fomai. It also doesn't include the Bay's 10 Super Rugby players - Ash Dixon, Ben May, Michael Allardice, Gareth Evans, Marino Mikaele-Tu'u, Jonah Lowe, Brad Weber, Tiaan Falcon, Israel Dagg and Brodie Retallick.After the Ta$man game a second wider training group will be named to prepare for the June 4 fixture against Wairarapa Bush in Featherston. The Magpies will also play the Manawatu Evergreens on July 4 and Ozich is hoping for a fixture against Auckland on July 29 but no player involved with the Maddison Trophy final the previous day will be expected to play in this match. The Magpies' final pre-season game will be against Waikato in Taupo on August 4 and their Mitre 10 Cup campaign will begin with an away fixture against Southland on Sunday, August 19.Great news is that Trent Boswell-Wakefield is back and will play his first club rugby game of the season on Saturday.
The article also mentions a few more Aucklanders. It doesn't say whether they have signed contracts:Versatile loosie Josh Kaifa, 25, who played Mitre 10 Cup rugby for Auckland last year will arrive in the Bay on Monday to link up with K9 Petfoods Clive. Kaifa was the 2015 Auckland B team player of the year. Another Clive-bound newcomer is centre Sasa Tofilau who will turn out for the riversiders against WIT Napier Old Boys Marist at Farndon Park on Saturday. Magpies head coach Mark Ozich said Tofilau and Kaifa are the last two newcomers to arrive in the Bay.Siosiua (Josh) Kaifa - profile from Auckland Rugby page:
Club: Manukau Rovers
Position: Loose forward
Height: 1.88m
Weight: 104kg
DOB: July 21, 1992
Caps: 7
Points: 0This is what I found about Sasa Tofilau on the website of Edinburgh Rugby:
http://www.edinburghrugby.org/edinburgh-rugby/player/sasa-tofilauhttp://www.nzherald.co.nz/hawkes-bay-today/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503460&objectid=12029220
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A lot of people rate Kaifa highly. However in the matches I saw him play, he fell off too many tackles.
Some good prospects coming through in Auckland would have pushed him down the rankings. Still a good signing though
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@duluth It's unclear to me whether they've already signed him or not, and on what kind of contract. Maybe @Number-10 knows more. There are quite a few loosies competing for a spot in the squad (including off-contract Magpies Tony Lamborn, Fa'alemiga Selesele and former Magpie Trent Boswell-Wakefield), and we've only lost Hugh Renton as far as I know.
We also have Gareth Evans and Marino Mikaele-Tu'u, and young lads such as Devan Flanders (he may be on academy/development contracts though) and Will Tremain (not sure whether he has been signed).
Tackling was a huge problem for the Magpies the last few seasons. The last thing we need is another loosie who can't tackle. We'll see what happens!
