Blues 2019
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@Tim Any ideas for tomorrow's topic? Maybe we could talk about who was worse out of John Senio, Grayson Hart or Toby Morland to kill some more time?
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@African-Monkey Well we do seven months to go!
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@Tim said in Blues 2019:
@African-Monkey Well we do seven months to go!
Until we are disappointed again, or is 2020 our year?
Personally i think we should go down the road of the other thread and discuss butchers (people who sell dead animals - not the rugby players from the Blues) in the Warkworth, Mangawhai area.
Talking about failed blues selections is going to be a loooooong thread.
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Better late than never
Blues board chairman Don Mackinnon confirmed to Stuff that they had enlisted former Black Sox captain and coach Eddie Kohlhase from High Performance Sport NZ to head a piece of work they hope will transform them from mediocre to "world-class" in this vital aspect of professional sport. "Eddie is leading a project across the Blues and our three provincial unions to look at our whole talent identification, recruitment and development system out of school where we've been poor, partly because we've not been aligned with our provincial unions. "It's an incredibly important project to get us up to world-class in that space, and we're not [world-class]. The great thing about it is the three provincial unions are totally on board and want to create a system where, alongside the Blues, we are retaining our best talent." Mackinnon confirmed Kohlhase's work had begun on the project and he was currently in the interviewing and information-gathering phase. "We're hoping to have a preliminary report back for our July board meeting and finalisation by August. We're moving on this as quick as we can because it needs to be fixed." Asked if he expected the Kohlhase review to produce structural change, the Blues chairman replied: "It's not a talkfest. I'm hoping it will lead to concrete recommendations around how we align the four organisations so that we're getting the best players and keeping them and spreading them across our regions. -
Just had so info passed on to me regarding Sam Nock, apparently he was offered a 2 -3 year deal with the Blues, but has only signed for 1 year with the option re committing after next year..
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@Steven-Harris nice! Good news for all involved I reckon.
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@KiwiMurph yep, he has shown more than a glimpse of his skills this season, he now needs to step up and show that more consistently...starting in the real Blue jersey later this year
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@taniwharugby said in Blues 2019:
he has shown more than a glimpse of his skills this season
An awful cameo, followed by a good game and a half. Sadly that's better than the other two halfbacks.
Hopefully the 3rd spot goes to a rookie
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@Nogusta so Christie is confirmed?
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@taniwharugby yea apparently announced at the Cake Tin last week during the semi final
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@Nogusta said in Blues 2019:
@taniwharugby yea apparently announced at the Cake Tin last week during the semi final
Oh I am sorry
He was really really bad for the Canes this year.
So have to say thanks for letting us swap him for Scrafton! -
@taniwharugby said in Blues 2019:
@Nogusta so Christie is confirmed?
Not in a media release, social media post, or anything like that.
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@Stargazer they did a leavers tribute about 10 mins before the quarter final and the stadium announcer mentioned Christie was going to the Blues next year. I don’t think they would have said that if he wasn’t.
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@Canes4life Nothing in my reply to @taniwharugby contradicts that. However, it may have been announced in the Cake Tin by a stadium announcer, some of us would like to see it confirmed by the Blues and/or Hurricanes as well, because an official media release may contain more information. For example, is Christie a direct replacement of Augie Pulu, or is one of the other halfbacks also leaving? For how long have they signed him? Or, have the Hurricanes already signed one or two halfbacks to replace Christie and Judd? Are they expecting to sign one or two halfbacks soon, or will they look at what talent may emerge from the Mitre 10 Cup? Personally, I'd be very interested to know whether they're going after Fakatava, considering the Highlanders still haven't announced their signings for 2020.
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Christie move confirmed by the Blues - awaiting derisive comments.
Ta$man and Hurricanes halfback Finlay Christie will move back home to play for the Blues starting from the 2020 Investec Super Rugby season.
The 23-year-old, who is the back-up to TJ Perenara at the Hurricanes this year, has signed with the Blues for two years, joining Jonathan Ruru and Sam Nock who have both extended their contracts with the club.
The 23-year-old Christie, who was born in Peebles in the Scottish Borders, moved with his family to Pukekohe before attending Saint Kentigern College. He played for Counties Manukau U-19s before heading to the University of Canterbury and after excelling at club level, took up a contract with the Ta$man Mako in 2016.
His form with Ta$man led to him playing eight games for the Chiefs in 2017 before moving to the Hurricanes the following year.
Christie’s move north will re-link him with Blues coach Leon MacDonald, who guided him at Ta$man, where he will continue to play his Mitre-10 Cup rugby.
“I was impressed with his skillset and attitude at Ta$man and now he gets the chance to return home to play,” Leon said. “Finlay will complement both Sam and Jonathan and give us three quality halfbacks all with different styles and different strengths. This will allow us to select a halfback that best fits the game plan each week.”
Blues high performance general manager, Tony Hanks is pleased with the signing.
“It is great to have a good mix of halfbacks, all now with experience and success at Mitre-10 Cup and Investec Super Rugby level,” said Tony.
“Sam has come through our system from the age grades and is now a senior player who has played a key part in the rise of Northland rugby, yet he is only 22 years old. He will reconnect with Christie after the pair played together at Saint Kentigerns.
“Jonathan has settled well with us since moving here last year and became a key part of the success for Auckland in the Mitre-10 Cup.”
