Hurricanes 2019 Discussion
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LOCK SCOTT SCRAFTON JOINS HURRICANES ON A TWO-YEAR DEAL
The Hurricanes have strengthened the depth of their forward pack after signing imposing lock Scott Scrafton on a two-year deal from 2020. The 26-year-old will join the Hurricanes from the Blues until at least the end of the 2021 Investec Super Rugby season. A former New Zealand Schools and Under-20 representative, Scrafton made his provincial debut for Auckland in 2014 before being named in the Blues for the 2016 season when he made his debut against the Waratahs. The 2 metre second rower impressed with his development over the next two seasons and looked on track to become a regular fixture in 2018 before a serious knee injury left him sidelined for close to 12 months. He returned to the starting line-up in May for the Blues and impressed with his performances. Hurricanes head coach John Plumtree was looking forward to welcoming Scrafton to Wellington later this year. "He is the sort of player who we think can quickly establish himself in our squad and become someone who fits in to the way we really want to play," he said. "Scott has shown he has got a really strong work ethic, he's a big man with a real presence on the field and he's obviously a really good lineout option." Hurricanes general manager of rugby Ben Castle was also delighted Scrafton had chosen to head south for the next stage of his career. “Scott has really impressed us with his professionalism and desire to succeed which are two critical assets for us and I'm really confident he will be a valuable addition to the Hurricanes club." -
The Canes are making some pretty good pick ups. They’re one of the few teams which look like they’ll be better next year (assuming Barrett stays) or the following year (assuming a one year Barrett sabbatical).
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@gt12 said in Hurricanes 2019 Discussion:
The Canes are making some pretty good pick ups. They’re one of the few teams which look like they’ll be better next year (assuming Barrett stays) or the following year (assuming a one year Barrett sabbatical).
Agreed - they seem to be shoring up their problem areas (tight five).
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@Nepia said in Hurricanes 2019 Discussion:
@Machpants said in Hurricanes 2019 Discussion:
Yeah he seems to be stuck in 15 behind Cruden in the 1st XV, so make sense to try somewhere else. And moving to the big smoke is pretty cool when you're that age- even if Palmy to Welly isn't exactly life shatteringly different!
He’ll yes it is!
Word to this post Neps, what the fuck was @Machpants smoking when he wrote that ?
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@antipodean Players like Aumua, Fidow, Numia, Lomax and Walker-Leawere will all benefit playing finals footy this year. Looks like a very promising tight five moving forward, something the Canes have rarely had.
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@MN5 said in Hurricanes 2019 Discussion:
@Nepia said in Hurricanes 2019 Discussion:
@Machpants said in Hurricanes 2019 Discussion:
Yeah he seems to be stuck in 15 behind Cruden in the 1st XV, so make sense to try somewhere else. And moving to the big smoke is pretty cool when you're that age- even if Palmy to Welly isn't exactly life shatteringly different!
He’ll yes it is!
Word to this post Neps, what the fuck was @Machpants smoking when he wrote that ?
We can only assume @Machpants has never visited Palmy.
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@Machpants said in Hurricanes 2019 Discussion:
Or possibly that I've visited a fuck load of cities, and the difference between palmy and welly, is nothing compared to the difference between palmy and Vienna/Istanbul/Berlin/London/etc. It's still NZ.
But it’s still huge because Palmy is a hole and everyone knows that.
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@MN5 I don't, seeing as I have never been there, one day I might get there and makeup my own mind...
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@taniwharugby said in Hurricanes 2019 Discussion:
makeup my own mind...
No, no, no. Everything on here is true and should be believed.
Just quietly, Palmy probably isn't a bucket list destination.
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So 19 players from Hawk'es Bay, 16 from Wellington, 6 from Manawatu, 3 from Poverty Bay, 2 from Wanganui and one from both East Coast and Horowhenua-Kapiti. Reasonably good reflection of the strength of school rugby in the provinces.
Let's wait and see how that translates in NZ Schools selections later this year.
Edit: Interesting to see the name of Treyah Kingi-Taukamo in that list, considering he is/was the player from last year's Napier Boys 1st XV who was poached by St Kent's (and, therefore, not allowed to play all 1st XV games this season for SKC, incl finals). Didn't he go? Or can he still be selected if he's playing in another region?
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@taniwharugby said in Hurricanes 2019 Discussion:
@MN5 I don't, seeing as I have never been there, one day I might get there and makeup my own mind...
It might be pretty impressive to someone from Whangarei I guess.
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@Machpants said in Hurricanes 2019 Discussion:
yeah trueHahaha. Extremely well played.
One thing I will say about Palmy, their KFC service was about the best I've had when I went through there. Other classier, nicer, prettier places could take note.
I didn't even have crook guts afterwards like I usually do.
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@Machpants said in Hurricanes 2019 Discussion:
yeah trueIt’s just a pity you have to drive through Whangarei itself to get to Whangarei heads, the nice bit.
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@Machpants said in Hurricanes 2019 Discussion:
@MN5 Jeez that's a miracle! Having a partner who was a food inspector, the nightmare stories (rat infestations, free flowing sewerage on the property) you hear about KFC means I never eat it.
Yeah but when you're on the road as much as I am at the moment sometimes you think it's better the devil you know if you know what I mean ?
I trust it more than a homemade pie from old mates dairy on the side of the road although it's hard to beat a pepper steak pie from the servo.
