Exodus
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Also interesting (although not strictly NZ) according to Christie Doran (usually fairly correct) , Dave Rennie off to Japan to coach Kobe Steelers after WC. He seems to of made statement lat year he was getting his future sorted out by early this year.
(lol as an aside of course like in NZ it starts all the incompetetence of RA etc etc comments)
I actually think if true that perhaps some coaches are more suited to Super'League One etc standard of rugby than test rugby ie Robbie Deans?) -
@Dan54 imo deans international record is decent. Japan league is hard to guage as the clubs have very differing levels of professionalism amongst the locals.
He consistently took nz on at their peak and the wallabies were very competitive.
Aussie just simply doesn't have a lot of depth, they punch above their weight due to great weather developing good backs and alot of pacific genetics.
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@muddyriver fair enough just my thoughts , I was in Aus when they took him on and expressed same opinion before he started, he bloody good coach at super level, but even up until then had not very good reviews with his time with ABs as assistant coach. Even Dan Carter always said he seemed to struggle with players who weren't learners, ie has experience etc, and he was reasonably matey with Deans. I know I heard a few players speak of it, he struggled to communicate etc, and didn't like players having opinions maybe.
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Finally, the official announcement of Kianu Kereru-Symes joining NE Free Jacks.
Free Jacks Sign Hawke's Bay Hooker Kianu Kereru-SYMES - New England Free Jacks
Quincy, MA — January 9, 2023 — The New England Free Jacks are excited to announce the signing of Hawke’s Bay hooker Kianu Kereru-Symes. Hailing from Māhia, New Zealand, Kereru-Symes […]
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Former North Otago and Otago flanker Charles Elton has signed with Seattle Seawolves.
Charles Elton Signed for Back Row - Seattle Seawolves Rugby
Charles Elton, a highly skilled New Zealand defender, has signed on for his first MLR season with the Seawolves for 2023. Most recently he played in Sydney, Australia where he was the Eastern Suburbs RUFC’s 2022 Defender of the Year. In high school, he played for the New Zealand Secondary Schools...
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This one might have even Ken Laban scratching for details but if you are reading this Ken I can't help you with his school (other than it was somewhere in the Auckland region) but whilst he was playing for Otago B for five years he was from the Harbour Club after having previously spent a year at Dunedin's Southern Club playing Colts rugby
Forward making most of chance
Charles Elton winces a little when you ask him about playing lock. The 26-year-old hates the utility tag even more. The North Otago and Harbour...
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@Stargazer said in Exodus:
@Higgins Charles Elton attended Rosmini College.
I'm not sure that's correct. Charles Elton spent his first few years at Westlake Boys and then I was under the impression he was offered a scholarship to a school south of the bridge - but could be wrong.
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@Stargazer said in Exodus:
@Mr-Fish From a quick google search, I got the impression that he moved from Westlake to Rosmini, but to be honest, I wasn't really interested enough to dig deeper.
I suppose I should have also Googled it but apparently I'm even less interested than you are
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Still only a rumour:
Star All Blacks lock Brodie Retallick will bow out of test rugby after this year’s World Cup, but has ditched the idea of hanging up the boots completely.
Instead, Stuff understands the 31-year-old will re-join Japan club Kobelco Kobe Steelers, where he spent his two-season sabbatical in 2020-21.
That now also shapes as a potential reunion with his former Chiefs coach Dave Rennie, who on Monday was sacked as Wallabies boss and had already been linked to the Kobe job for 2024. (...)That has indeed now been weighed up, and Stuff understands Retallick’s Kobe deal will be a three-year one, through to the 2025-26 Japan Rugby League One season, and around the time of his 35th birthday.
Retallick won’t be short on Kiwi company at Kobe. Current All Blacks team-mate Ardie Savea will skip the 2024 Super Rugby Pacific season to play there, former All Blacks team-mate Ngani Laumape is making waves in his first year, while others on the current roster include Gerard Cowley-Tuioti, Michael Little, Richard Buckman and Beaudein Waaka.
Wayne Smith – Rennie’s right-hand-man in his title-winning-days at the Chiefs in 2012 and 2013 – is a mentor at Kobe, while one Kiwi has taken over another as coach, with former Waikato and Chiefs loose forward Nick Holten promoted from assistant to replace Dave Dillon, who has returned to New Zealand to be the Highlanders’ defence coach.
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Otago halfback Kieran McClea has signed with NE Free Jacks.
https://freejacks.com/featured-news/free-jacks-sign-otago-scrumhalf-kieran-mcclea/
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Plenty of rumours, but nothing official about Retallick, so not posting that.
This is official:
From the media release (link in tweet):
All Blacks Test and Highlander’s centurion Aaron Smith has announced he will spend time playing overseas at the end of 2023.
Smith and Beauden Barrett have signed with the Toyota club in Japan and while Smith has committed to a long-term contract, New Zealand Rugby is working with Barrett on a return to playing on home soil.
