Hurricanes 2019 Discussion
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@Machpants said in Hurricanes 2019 Discussion:
@Nepia yeah 6+ is pretty darned good
Although 10 was a bit dicey until BB came along (although if the Hammettuer hadn't of come along it probably would have been Cruden in there).
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@Nepia 6+ + Coles is pretty darn good.
Would there be any other better backline than that? Maybe the Blues??
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@Canes4life said in Hurricanes 2019 Discussion:
@Nepia 6+ + Coles is pretty darn good.
Would there be any other better backline than that? Maybe the Blues??
Not sure - I don’t think so, there’s no midfield to compete with the Canes, even if Smith gets injured, Tana and Nonu would still dominate. No back three could compare either.
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@Nepia 11. Cacau/Lomu 14. Howlett and 15. Mils would be fairly deadly.
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@Canes4life said in Hurricanes 2019 Discussion:
@Nepia 11. Cacau/Lomu 14. Howlett and 15. Mils would be fairly deadly.
Caucau is not eligible.
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@Canes4life said in Hurricanes 2019 Discussion:
@Nepia 11. Lomu 14. Howlett/Roks and 15. Mils would be fairly deadly.
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@Nepia said in Hurricanes 2019 Discussion:
@Canes4life said in Hurricanes 2019 Discussion:
@Nepia 6+ + Coles is pretty darn good.
Would there be any other better backline than that? Maybe the Blues??
Not sure - I don’t think so, there’s no midfield to compete with the Canes, even if Smith gets injured, Tana and Nonu would still dominate. No back three could compare either.
Had a go at a Crusaders backline and was stuck between SBW and Dagg on the left wing. Carter the only position where the Crusaders are clearly better.
Possibly in 10 years we'll be able to challenge it, depending on the careers of Goodhue, Bridge, Jordan and Ennor.
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Didn't want to continue the discussion about the Hurricanes' props in the Hurricanes v Rebels thread, so I'll post this here.
Toby Smith is 30 and his contract expires at the end of the season.
Eves is 31 and May is 36. I think they'll be off-contract, too.So - with JT-A (28) leaving, that leaves the following props if the older guys are not re-signed:
Fraser Armstrong (27) - LH
Alex Fidow (21) - TH
Xavier Numia (20) - LHThat's many gaps to fill.
Who are the young props in the provinces:
Hawke's Bay:
Tim Farrell (21) - LH (2017 NZU20 and 5 NPC games in 2017)
Pouri Rakete-Stones (21) - TH (2016 and 2017 NZU20; 18 NPC games in 2017-2018). Has also played in the 2 jersey.
Josiah Tavita-Metcalfe (20) - TH (1 NPC game in 2018) - was in 2019 NZU20 camp, but not picked. He has played LH, too. A big lad.Wellington:
Kaliopasi Uluilakepa (20) - TH (2018 and 2019 NZU20; 2 NPC games in 2018)
Don't know whether Joel Hintz (13 NPC games in 2017-2018?) and Sitiveni Paonga (LH & hooker?) are SR material. I think Paonga has been playing for Wellington for a while?Manawatu:
Sione Asi (almost 21) - TH (2018 NZU20; 10 NPC games in 2017-2018)Have I missed someone?
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@Higgins said in Hurricanes 2019 Discussion:
You are not going to win a super rugby championship with props aged 21 or 22.
Probably not. Then again, we won a final with May, Uhila, Eves and Kainga. You just need to find props who are good enough. A great prop is handy but probably won't win you too many games. A shit scrum can cost you games though. With younger props you do risk getting penalised off the park. An older prop should have enough nous to come out of a worse match-up without giving away too many penalties.
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@Stargazer Tamati Williams but I think the Crusaders are looking at him for next season
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@Higgins But you do need to get them in the SR environment and develop them, so they'll be ready in a few years. Development contracts, game time off the bench in low-risk games etc at least for some of them. Farrell trained with the Canes during 2018 preseason. If he has a good M10 Cup season, he seems an obvious choice.
But yes, they definitely need to find some experienced players. Finding good ones in NZ, is a problem.
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@Stargazer said in Hurricanes 2019 Discussion:
@Higgins But you do need to get them in the SR environment and develop them, so they'll be ready in a few years. Development contracts, game time off the bench in low-risk games etc at least for some of them. Farrell trained with the Canes during 2018 preseason. If he has a good M10 Cup season, he seems an obvious choice.
But yes, they definitely need to find some experienced players. Finding good ones in NZ, is a problem.
Why is Farrell being promoted (on here) more than Rakete-Stones who has more experience at U20s and NPC?
Although I'd be happy for the Canes to pick up either but preferably both for full time contracts.
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Yeah the Canes need to look outside the catchment area for more experienced props. The problem is there aren't many in New Zealand so best bet is to go looking overseas or try and get someone like Uhila back to NZ.
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@Nepia I wasn't promoting Farrell more than Rakete-Stones. I was pointing out a fact: that Farrell has trained with the Canes last year. I can't recall R-S training with the Canes during preseason.
As you'll have noticed, I listed them both in my earlier post.
R-S didn't have great NPC season last year; I have no idea why, but he wasn't picked very often (they picked Apikotoa instead) and as long as May is in our squad, it will be hard for him to get starts. And now he'll have to look over his shoulder, too, with Tavita-Metcalfe coming up. Competition is good; May blocking their progress not so much. Although it has to be said that without May's weight, we struggled big time in the scrums last season.
