Hurricanes 2019 Discussion
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@Duluth I take this with a grain of salt. Goodes and Broadhurst suffering career ending concussions are out of the Canes hands and the likes of Fatialofa & Uhila heading overseas are personal choices. There are only so many quality locks and props in New Zealand and when guys like Lousi, Cridge etc get injuries on top of that, then it makes it bloody tough. I'm not making any excuses but you have to do with what you've got and it could be alot worse right now.
I guess the downside for the Canes heading into the bye is we've had a wave of much needed firepower sitting in the stands. Dane Coles, Gareth Evans, Alex Fidow, Toby Smith and Geoff Cridge are all quality players who will make a big difference for us in the late stages of the campaign if they can get back to full fitness. Whether that is enough to take down the Crusaders is a another question altogether.
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Hurricanes Hunters line-up for their game against Japan Wolfpack (that's Japan 'A', not a Sunwolves Dev squad as has been written in some media):
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Look who are there: Alex Fidow and Geoff Cridge are apparently not/no longer injured!
And with the NZ U20 players unavailable, some new faces - including Tyrone Thompson - on the bench.
From a Bay perspective, also happy to see Tim Farrell back. IMO, he should have gotten the starting LH spot. Also Tom Parsons still there.
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From the media release;
The Hurricanes Hunters will have a chance to end their season unbeaten when they meet Japan A in Tokyo on Saturday. The match is the second time the two sides will meet after the Hunters won their first encounter 52-31 in Porirua last month. Hunters coach Darren Larsen has made nine changes to his starting XV from the last match. Hurricanes Super Rugby squad member Peter Umaga-Jensen returns to the run on side after he scored a try off the bench at Jerry Collins Stadium. He is joined by fellow squad members Alex Fidow, Geoff Cridge, Salesi Rayasi and Heiden Bedwell-Curtis who will captain the side. Rayasi and No 8 Teariki Ben-Nicholas were two of the stand-out players against the Jamie Joseph coached Japan A side in their first meeting with both men scoring a brace of tries. The Hunters bench features a number of promising players who have been involved in the Hurricanes development programme at age-group level, including former Wairarapa Bush halfback Isaac Bracewell who started in the Hurricanes Heartland Under-20 side. "This is a massive opportunity for a large number of players who get the chance to play an international side," Larsen said. "It also allows them to experience preparing and playing overseas alongside fully fledged professionals." -
Anyone know much about Ben Werthmuller?
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@Canes4life Not much, only that he's from Manawatu and has played NPC for them last year; he wasn't named in their 2018 squad but called up later due to injury. Went to Palmerston North HS.
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@Duluth he will get a run, still only 22. I'm not too
fussed tbh, I'd rather give him a crack when he is
a bit stronger and has a few more NPC games
under his belt. No point ruining his confidence by
throwing him in the deep end early. -
@Stargazer said in Hurricanes 2019 Discussion:
From a Bay perspective, also happy to see Tim Farrell back. IMO, he should have gotten the starting LH spot. Also Tom Parsons still there.
Are you sure about that? He has played about half a game in two years and must be way short of match fitness. I was priviledged to see the named looshead prop (Veni Paonga) cruelly expose the starting tighthead prop (Alex Fidow) when Wellington College played Scots College a few years back so is perhaps a little bit better than given credit for. Having said that I also saw Paongo get comfortably handled by my club's veteran tighthead prop when he made his debut as a second half replacement for Tawa two or three years back.
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@Canes4life said in Hurricanes 2019 Discussion:
@Tim Plumtree obviously likes easing his players
into Super Rugby, personally I would have liked to
see Umaga Jensen & Rayasi get a run against the
Sunwolves.I would have liked to see Ben-Nicholas as well.
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Not sure they can play Ben-Nicholas as he is not a part of the squad. Their contracted loose forwards are as follows: Heiden Bedwell-Curtis, James Blackwell, Gareth Evans, Vaea Fifita, Sam Henwood, DuPlessis Kirifi, Reed Princep and Ardie Savea. From memory none of them have been replaced by someone on an injury replacement contract.
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@Nepia said in Hurricanes 2019 Discussion:
Also a loose forward.@Higgins said in Hurricanes 2019 Discussion:
James Blackwell,
Best lock in the team isn't he?
Could they play Ben-Nicholas while Evans is out injured?
Don't recall reading anything about Gareth Evans being replaced but with the level of reporting in the Dominion-Post being almost non existent I no longer purchase it so
might havemissed something. -
@Stargazer said in Hurricanes 2019 Discussion:
Hurricanes Hunters line-up for their game against Japan Wolfpack (that's Japan 'A', not a Sunwolves Dev squad as has been written in some media):
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No score updates or match report from the Canes, but I managed to find the result on the Japan Rugby website.
After the home game resulted in a 52 - 31 win a few weeks ago, the Hunters suffered a big loss to Japan 'A' in Tokyo on Saturday: 21 - 66 (HT: 7 - 42).
Hurricanes scorers:
P Umaga-Jensen, B Procor, O Sapsford tries; P Paraone cons 3xBilly Proctor started in the 13 jersey instead of Patafilo, who was added to the bench. Proctor wasn't in the original line-up.
Mateaki Kafatolu received a yellow card in the 45th minute
Of the contracted Hurricanes players, Cridge, Bedwell-Curtis and Rayasi played the full 80 minutes.
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YOUNG TRIO SIGNED BY HURRICANES UNTIL 2021 Wed 24th Apr The Hurricanes continue to position their squad well for the future by adding three more promising players to their roster for at least the next two seasons. Lock Liam Mitchell (23), fullback Chase Tiatia (23) and utility back Danny Toala (20) are the latest group to have signed with the club until 2021. Their decision follows closely on from promising prop Xavier Numia (20), openside flanker Du'Plessis Kirifi (22), and lock James Blackwell (23) also committing to the Hurricanes for the same period with Vince Aso (24) and Alex Fidow (21) signing on until at least the 2022 Investec Super Rugby season. Tiatia has quickly become an established selection since he was given an opportunity as injury cover following a long period of training with the Hurricanes while Mitchell has also impressed in his rookie season and has appeared in every match to date along with Blackwell. Toala, meanwhile, has been a real stand-out for the Hurricanes Hunters and Under-20 sides. He was on the cusp of making his Hurricanes debut against the Stormers in March when named on the reserves bench without making it on to the field. Hurricanes general manager of rugby Ben Castle said it was great news for the Hurricanes to have a real commitment from these talented young men. "It is really pleasing for the club to announce further signings. These players have great futures ahead and we are delighted they will be part of the Hurricanes family over the next few seasons." he said. Hurricanes head coach John Plumtree felt the latest group of players would add significantly to the stability of the squad moving ahead. "We know a lot of players move on during a Rugby World Cup cycle so it is really important to have a group of players who want to establish themselves in the Hurricanes jersey and play a big part in our plans moving forward," he said.
