Exodus
-
He probably read all the criticism he gets on the Fern and decided to leave.
You have to admit, we are pretty harsh on players until they go and then wish they had stayed. There appears to be little room for a top 100 (but not top 40) player in NZ as far as fans go.
not sure i agree with that. we are harsh on EVERYBODY. The AB captain has been copping it for the previous 2 years. And there are hundreds of posts bemoaning the loss of those 41-100 guys, and the effect on the Super Rugby product.
I don't think Lam has really copped heat for his Super Rugby output, just the fact he wasn't really ever good enough to go a step higher.
If anything, we anoint people "future ABs" after a couple of NPC games, and then try and hold them to that standard.
The reality is, for that 41-100 crowd, the opportunity cost of playing in NZ on the hope of a couple of test caps is just too high. Good luck to him. Bad for NZ rugby, great for Ben Lam
-
Lam attracted a lot of shit early on largely because of his surname. There were people on TSF claiming that Auckland did not want to pick him but Pat Lam forced them too
2015 was his break through year
It's a shame he got injured at the very start of the next SR season. He was extremely good in the Dev game when he got injured.
That wasted a full year of his prime -
-
Rare in this day and age, but it's back to the farm for Tim. Nice for him to leave on his own terms
-
Levi Aumua has signed with Hino Red Dolphins (Top League) with immediate effect.
According to the website of asierugby, former Blues Forwards Coach Steve Jackson is the new head coach of Shimizu Blue Sharks (Top Challenge League, 2nd div in Japan). As Shimizu hasn't posted any news items on its website since October 2019 and not on its social media since January, I have not been able to check this.
-
@Stargazer could cover the midfield,prop and hooker me thinks..!
-
Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Thursday announced the arrest of a New Zealand rugby player for the Top League’s Hino Red Dolphins over the alleged use of cocaine, reports Sankei Sports (Mar. 6). At around 4:30 a.m., an officer took forward Joel Everson, 29, in for voluntary questioning after seeing him behaving suspiciously as he walked in the Roppongi entertainment district of Minato Ward. After Everson declined to voluntarily provide a urine sample, police forcibly took a sample, which gave a positive result for cocaine, the Azabu Police Station said.
-
-
@Tim he was to be The Man at one stage wasn't he?
-
Tumua Manu (Chiefs) joins french club Pau on a two-year deal.
-
@Bovidae It will be interesting to see where some of the older players are going to, who are now off-contract in France. Retiring, returning to NZ, or going to another overseas club.
There's a list forming: Julian Savea, Liam Messam, Tom Taylor, Loni Uhila, and a few that I can't remember right now. I just saw that Tom Marshall has signed in Japan.