AB "What could have been" XV
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Marty Holah got 36 caps. A really good player behind a better one. There's no "what could have been" with him.
Duane Monkley is a different story.
Why not Eric Rush, if he started his career on the wing? He might have been awesome as a youngster.
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@pukunui said in AB "What could have been" XV:
@gt12 said in AB "What could have been" XV:
Off the top of my head:
Afoa
Afeaki
Paterson
Hopa
Holah
Blackie
Luatua
Fotualii
Evans
Nacewa
King
Vidiri
PiutauPretty much all of them stuck behind All Black greats, except Piutau, Luatua, and perhaps Afoa who I think all went too early.
Yeah Afoa is a good one. Maybe Tialata from that same era too.
I reckon we got the most out of what Tialata had to offer.
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@rocky-rockbottom said in AB "What could have been" XV:
Anthony Boric. looked to the manor born for about 10 minutes
Robbie Robinson**. Overshadowed even Cruden at 09 U20 WC.** Looked a star in the making
I think that is a Fern myth and Robinson just had a few loud fluffers. Cruden was World Junior Player of the Year after the tournament in 2009.
Still, it did seem like Robinson was set for a bigger career - maybe the equivalent of his cousin DMacs?
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@mn5 said in AB "What could have been" XV:
@mikedogz said in AB "What could have been" XV:
Joeli Vidiri
Quite a few guys could step Jonah but I'm pretty certain JV was the only one who ran over the top of him when Counties played Wellington. Fuck he was awesome.
Scored a brilliant try for Blues against Brive in 'World Rugby Championship'.
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Jamie McIntosh. Was touted as as a super-talent and then disappeared without trace.
There was a midfielder in the early 2000's who was hugely rated but didn't quite make it - Mark Ranby?
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Anthony Tuitavake is a guy that had a heap of potential that never really cracked it ,
Tamati Ellison another one ,
Good players that may have made it but werent quite needed enough with our depth .
I guess NZ rugby is full of those stories ,
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@kiwiinmelb yeah Ellison another signed overseas just as he cracked it and never came back good enough.
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@act-crusader said in AB "What could have been" XV:
@derm-mccrum said in AB "What could have been" XV:
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Bent
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McCartney
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Ah You
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Hayden Triggs
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Ezra Taylor
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Nepia Fox-Matamua
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Sean Reidy
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George Naoupu
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Gibson-Park
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Joey Carbery
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James Lowe
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Bundee Aki
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Jared Payne
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Pita Ahki
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Isa Nacewa
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Rhys Marshall
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Peter Borlase
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Nathan White
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A. N. Other
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Jake Heenan
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Isaac Boss
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Tyler Bleyendaal
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Ben Te’o
Looks like an ITM cup ‘all-star’ team. Nothing more.
Fruean, Atiga, Whopper are three guys that were there abouts, could’ve been 20+ test players and never kicked on for a range of reasons.
Jeez - no wonder no one complained when they left. Even worse, 5 or 6 of them got an Ireland cap.
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@kiwimurph said in AB "What could have been" XV:
@rotated Anscombe wasnt already signed up for overseas when he got picked up for the Chiefs. He played 2 years for the Chiefs. They played him at fullback cos they had Cruden at 10. A big part of him playing 10 for the U20s was his old man was the coach.
BB was a fullback then as well I think.?
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John Leslie? He was brilliant for Scotland. Surely better than Mayerhofler, Iremia, Ralph et al.
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@cgrant At the risk of being criticised, Bird was too soft. Loved acting like a massive bully at Mitre 10 Cup level though.
To answer the question of this thread though, I'll throw in Regan King and Brad Mika. King was pushed too early and ended up in oblivion (yes I know he was a star up north), and Brad Mika always seemed to get injured at the wrong time.
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@jegga That was a weird time. I remember Philemon Toleafoa was signed by the NZRU because of Sean Fitzpatrick going on about how good he was and how he was a must for the NZRU to sign. He ended up at Waikato, was useless, couldn't get a contract for the Chiefs and was never seen again.
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@african-monkey said in AB "What could have been" XV:
@jegga That was a weird time. I remember Philemon Toleafoa was signed by the NZRU because of Sean Fitzpatrick going on about how good he was and how he was a must for the NZRU to sign. He ended up at Waikato, was useless, couldn't get a contract for the Chiefs and was never seen again.
I was trying to find that guys name, his agent certainly worked overtime getting his name out there and then when he turned up like you said he was very very average.
There was a kiwi called Van Gisbergan the poms hyped around the same time , from memory he simply continued the historical abberation of England never producing a world class fullback.*Apart from Gsllagher who played for New Zealand and Ireland instead of England.
