Championship Semi: Hawke's Bay v Taranaki
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HAWKE'S BAY
15 Kurt Baker
14 Lolagi Visinia
13 Stacey Ili
12 Neria Fomai
11 Jonah Lowe
10 Caleb Makene
9 Folau Fakatava
8 Devan Flanders
7 Solomone Funaki
6 Marino Mikaele-Tu'u
5 Tom Parsons
4 Geoff Cridge
3 Joe Apikotoa
2 Ash Dixon (capt)
1 Pouri Rakete-Stones16 Jacob Devery
17 Jason Long
18 Namatahi Waa
19 Isaia Walker-Leawere
20 Gareth Evans
21 Connor McLeod
22 Lincoln McClutchie
23 Ollie SapsfordBrendon O'Connor not recovered from head knock v Wellington. Ollie Sapsford fit again and returns to bench. No mention in HB Today of why Kianu Kereru-Symes is not in the 23.
Forecast for tomorrow is 25 degrees.
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@Number-10 I assume Kereru-Symes is injured? Devery will be seriously undercooked. I guess Dixon will play the full 80, if needed. Funaki was great, last week, so good to see him get the 7 jersey again in the absence of O'Connor. I hoped to see McClutchie back at 10 and I keep hoping to see Makene in the 15 jersey, but I guess it's not going to happen. No Danny Toala.
Putting IWL and Evans on the bench, in almost every game, seems a tactical decision. Maybe to have some leadership on the field when the other subs come on, and some added punch against tiring opposition? Maybe McClutchie on the bench is a tactical decision, too? He's a better 10 than Makene, although the latter hasn't been bad in the last few games.
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Magpies head coach Mark Ozich pointed out Funaki's selection ahead of Evans is the result of a combinaton of two factors - Funaki's impressiver form and the top job Evans is doing as an impact player while managing his return from a niggly ankle injury collected while playing for the Hurricanes.
Ozich agreed it was a tough call naming All Black Sevens squad member Ollie Sapsford as the substitute outside back ahead of Hurricane Danny Toala.
"Ollie performed well during the early part of the season and will bring a lot of physicality on both sides of the ball."
As expected Ozich has shifted Geoff Cridge (pictured below) back to a locking berth after playing at blindside flanker in last weekend's win against Taranaki in Inglewood. Jacob Devery has been given the substitute hooker's role after last weekend's skipper Kianu Kereru-Symes failed to shake off concussion symptoms.
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@Stargazer said in Championship Semi: Hawke's Bay v Taranaki:
Magpies head coach Mark Ozich pointed out Funaki's selection ahead of Evans is the result of a combinaton of two factors - Funaki's impressiver form and the top job Evans is doing as an impact player while managing his return from a niggly ankle injury collected while playing for the Hurricanes.
Ozich agreed it was a tough call naming All Black Sevens squad member Ollie Sapsford as the substitute outside back ahead of Hurricane Danny Toala.
"Ollie performed well during the early part of the season and will bring a lot of physicality on both sides of the ball."
As expected Ozich has shifted Geoff Cridge (pictured below) back to a locking berth after playing at blindside flanker in last weekend's win against Taranaki in Inglewood. Jacob Devery has been given the substitute hooker's role after last weekend's skipper Kianu Kereru-Symes failed to shake off concussion symptoms.
Would be a surprise if Kereru-Symes non-selection was due to anything other than some kind of injury.
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@Number-10 Yeah and the only reason he's had relatively little game time is because Ash Dixon has been so great and influential. In many other teams Kereru-Symes would be a starter.
It was interesting hearing James Parsons talk about him a few weeks ago during the radio commentary (it may have been the game against Wellington, but not sure). He was really impressed with Kereru-Symes when he replaced Parsons in the Blues' squad, earlier this year. He really rated him as a player, and also said he fitted in immediately. A quiet guy who doesn't say much, works hard, does his job and gets along with everyone. Parsons thought he deserved a Super Rugby contract. It's a pity that his limited game time may result in that not happening.
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over 100 seconds to get away from that scrum
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good to see a decent crowd in too
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@taniwharugby said in Championship Semi: Hawke's Bay v Taranaki:
good to see a decent crowd in too
I think it's free - sponsors paid for tickets.
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@Nepia people still need to go though!!
I think they do better giving people free tickets as opposed to saying it's free
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@taniwharugby said in Championship Semi: Hawke's Bay v Taranaki:
@Nepia people still need to go though!!
Jesus, are things that bad up north that people wouldn't go to a free match.
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Hoeata's gunna Hoeata
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@Nepia well it was free for kids in Kaikohe last week, and there was only about 1000 there.
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@taniwharugby said in Championship Semi: Hawke's Bay v Taranaki:
@Nepia well it was free for kids in Kaikohe last week, and there was only about 1000 there.
That would be all the kids on Kaikohe wouldn't it?
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Give us that for the one they stole last week from Funaki
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balance of probability you'd say he had to have touched the grass, but the evidence is inconclusive he got it down to me
Funaki gets Magpies No 7 jersey for semifinal
