Northland Rugby NPC Trial Teams
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A good mixture of contracted players ,
South Zone looks the stronger of the 2 teams , some interesting names..great to see Chris Apoua back in the fold after spending a couple of seasons down at the Stags ..a player that I am really excited about is Salimoni Tukunia played for St Kent’s, plays on the left wing and built more like a flanker , is a cousin of Joeli Vidiri … -
@steven-harris I see Noah Cooper is in the mix again as well....always thought he could be a NPC regular. Not sure what he is like now....
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And Hawkins is in the mix
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@steven-harris said in Northland Rugby NPC Trial Teams:
@kev there’s some awesome talent coming through and that’s not even counting the ex Northland boys that they have been tagged from around the country ..unfortunately I have to keep those ones hush 😜
You are the messiah when it comes to knowing everything about Northlands talent pool. Welcome home boys 😀🙏👍
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@taniwharugby said in Northland Rugby NPC Trial Teams:
And Hawkins is in the mix
I know - he really is a great team man, but standing too far behind the gain line, the slowness to get his kick away ( turning to the side to kick ), and the lack of distance are difficult things to ignore.
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@taniwharugby said in Northland Rugby NPC Trial Teams:
@kev just noticed no Nikau Graham either, although he didnt play for Kamo on the weekend so possibly picked up a serious injury?
Has some work ons, but looks to have some talent.
I must admit to not being able to keep up with the talent coming through school boy rugby into senior rugby. Keeping them in our structures and moulding a team is always the challenge but we seem so much better off now.
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Nikau Graham starting for Kamo today, so no idea why he isn't in the trial team.
Offers alot going forward, can kick distance but very inconsistent with his kicking accuracy and distance from hand, certainly a coachable skill.
Wellsford have named Ranger at 10 today against top of the table OBM.
Also have to assume Matich has made himself unavailable?
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@taniwharugby the problem for Nikau he has not been turning up at the HP camps which is disappointing given there’s the opportunity with that 3rd spot still open , I suspect Hawkins will be re signed because he is experienced and the fact we have 2 inexperienced 1st fives at the minute
Next cab off the rack would have been Ryan Nackivell…there are whole lot of young boys , but extremely young in the grand scheme of things ..Tama Anderson , Cullen Gray,Jade Stewart and TK Parkinson .. -
@steven-harris said in Northland Rugby NPC Trial Teams:
Nikau he has not been turning up at the HP camps
well if thats the case, then yep doesnt deserve a spot.
But Hawkins, jeez, if he is in the squad we know our coaches will give him a run!!
Yea are a few boys coming through the Auckland schools, have seen the work ethic of a few and it is impressive.
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Northland supporters may be interested in this:
Northland Rugby Union
Come down to Semenoff Stadium tomorrow and celebrate the Northland Rugby Union Centenary by catching THREE amazing games!. 10:30am: Gates open 11am: North vs South Women's Farah Palmer Cup Trial...
Come down to Semenoff Stadium tomorrow and celebrate the Northland Rugby Union Centenary by catching THREE amazing games!.
10:30am: Gates open
11am: North vs South Women's Farah Palmer Cup Trial
1pm: North vs South Johnny Isaacs Under 21
3pm: North vs South Men's National Provincial Cup Trial
Tickets: http://www.taniwha.co.nz/NRU-Centenary-Celebrations-2021
The Centenary Games will be live streamed on the Northland Rugby Union Facebook Page, tune in from 11:00am tomorrow to watch the live action!
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Livestream:
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went along and watched the NOrth v South Game (NPC Trial) with the south winning 38-19 I thnk it was.
Was a bit messy in patches, especially in the 1st half, but also some good bits.
For the South, Ranger was easily the best back (at 12) and showed a bit of pace to run down a winger in the 2nd spell.
JOrdan HYland was also full of running, but went off at half time (only recently back from injury so just managaing his load) Pisi Leilua again showed his class at this level, Pat Elia (YC aside) showed some nice touches at centre.
Faukafa and Manu probably the pick of the South Forwards until Olsen came on late in the 2nd spell and was all over the park!!
Byrne put in some good work too! South had a little Fijian winger, looked very much like Fero Lasigibivau, and certainly has something about him, unlikely to get selected, but looked sharp.
The North pack had the edge at scrum time, and Uluilakepa has shown enough IMO to be given a spot in the main squad.
Noah Cooper easily the best back for the North side, had a handful of minutes for Northland in 2019 I think, could be an option at FB, Rob Rush was busy, but was mainly in the tight.
Terepai King is an old school lock, with a bit of fitness, he could make the step up.
Ryan Nankivell came on for the south late in the 2nd half, had a few touches, and looks like someone with a future, big lad too!
All in all, I guess was as you can expect given these guys were all with thier club teams last week so had this week to prepare.
I think most of those I expected to do well, did (altough Johnny Cooper was quiet) and a few surprises.
@Steven-Harris will no doubt pop in with his thoughts after commentating the game and the 2 earlier ones.
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A weekend of centenary celebrations with 3 fixtures rolled in on Saturday were the perfect tonic for many Northland rugby supporters of all levels of the game to get along to Semonoff Stadium to take in a marathon of rugby that started with the North v South Womens FPC trial game , followed by the North v South under 21 Maori Johnny Isaac‘s memorial and finally the NPC North v South trial game
The opening fixture between the respective North Zone v South Zone in the FPC squads highlighted the talent that Northland Kauri coaches Cheryl Smith and Susan Dawson have at there disposal and will no doubt lead to some lively debate especially in and around several newcomers
However it was one of the more established performers who takes her game to another level each year , the multi skilled Krystal Murray who opened the scoring early in the piece and was on hand to take a return pass to touchdown in the final minute who was the star for the North Zone , in all touching down on 4 occasions, highlighting her power from close range , support play , with a bit of speed across the ground and throw in a conversion which iced a 41-12 victory over a plucky South Zone team.
For the North Zone,Murray along with fellow Kauri Tyler Nankerville were all class, Timara Leef was a perfect pivot between backs and forwards ,Tuira Stowers who bagged a double showed plenty of promise with some determined running on the wing
Number 8 Hikitia Wikiara was constant handful for the defence with her powerful runningFor the South Zone, nobody tried harder than the Skipper Stacy Tupe constantly sparking many of her teams attacks , in the forwards Belinda Edwards was always a willing carrier and Paige Turner Rau coming off the bench was always a threat with ball in hand.
Final score North Zone 41 South Zone 12. Halftime 12-0
The 2nd game of the afternoon reignited the Johnny Isaacs memorial trophy that in the past was played on a senior format between the respective North and South Zone teams for Maori Rugby supremacy.
This was the first occasion that the much respected trophy has been played under this particular format and boy did it deliver with the respective under 21 North v South Zones laying on an absolute thriller which came down to an amazing touch line conversion from Cyrus Broughton handing his team an unlikely 40-38 victoryThe South Zone team lead 24-14 at halftime on the back of 4 well taken tries, classy first five Kingi Herewini having hand in 2 of the tries and looking a player of immense promise and when they added 2 more tries with 20 minutes left on the clock to lead 38-21 , one could be forgiven for thinking they would pull away , but nobody told the North Zone team , head coach Shaun Haynes rang the changes moving Zion Going into halfback ,Flanker Zac Shanks who plays his premier rugby for Mid Northern moved into the midfield which added some much needed punch in defence Haynes also got some good mileage Remus Leef a force with ball in hand and good shift from Rai Samson who bagged a double off the bench.
The North needed to be the next try scorer and they duly obliged with prop TJ Waitai Robert’s crashing over from close range and with 10 minutes to play replacement hooker Remus Leef scored after an excellent offload from impressive lock Kiritopa Allen , surprisingly Broughton showed that he was human by missing the conversion from close range but still there was plenty of time pull off what would been an unlikely win and it would be that man Cyrus Broughton with his vision with a long pass to fullback D’angelo Tahitahi who managed to slip out of tackle and send winger Andrew Nimmo in at the the corner for the match levelling try.
Talk about a grandstand finish and with more drama to come , enter Cyrus Broughton from right out on the touch line and the rest was history with the conversion sailing high between the sticks to seal what was an incredible comeback
Broughton who plays for Eastern in the North Zone comp looks to be player of huge potential with a skill set to match playing in the unfamiliar position of centre , there was one particular moment when he was impersonating Nani Laumape with a powerful run on the cutback which was only just halted with some desperate defence .
Broughton who normally plays halfback stood up and ran the cutter from the centre position moving closer in as the game came to an exciting climax
Nurtured in the right direction Broughton has all the skills to one day represent the Taniwha at senior level .
Other players to impress for the North Zone were the two Bay of Islands locks Colt Edwards and Kiritopa Allen who were immense at lineout time and showing out prominently around the paddock ,loose forwards Reece Dephoff ,Oliver Hilton Jones and Zac Shanks were full of energy .
Lively hooker Puru Aboagye was everywhere as was replacement Remus Leef when he entered the fray .
Fullback D’Angelo Tahitahi was willing runner and winger Andrew Nimmo was always looking for extra work .
For the South Zone who played their hearts out , no one impressed more than Sage Walters Hansen who represented the Northland Taniwha Futures team earlier in the year , the Wellsford Premier player was a handful with ball in hand and physical at breakdownLoose head prop Javahn Repia who scored a try was never far from the action and a menace with ball in hand as was number 8 Canaan Hapeta Te Kura .
In the backs Kingi Herewini who also looks like a future Taniwha player was balanced and very comfortable with ball in hand sparking many of the South Zone attacks ,offering up plenty of opportunities to his strong midfield pairing of Liam Shae Tumai and Jacob MonaghanTalking to both head coaches Shaun Haynes and Sonny Shelford ,both were really pleased with their charges , pleased with the spirit and nature in which the players entered into what was a special occasion with so much of their Whanau and friends on hand to watch.
It was a special day North Zone manager Te Rangi Allen who had his son Kiritopa come out on the winning side of the ledger .
Both Haynes and Shelford would have loved to have selected a team from these particular squads and taken them away for a couple games to keep players engaged.
All in all a wonderful day not just for Northland Rugby but also Northland Maori RugbyFinal Score North Zone 40 South Zone 38 Halftime 14-24
In the final game of the day , the South Zone in the Men’s NPC trial proved too strong for the North Zone coming away with a 38-19 victory after leading 19-7 at halftime.
Rene Ranger showed he is set for a big season setting up a try for busy flanker Jared Byrnes in the first half and helping himself to a try midway in the 2nd half.
In the forwards OBM number 8 Isileli Manu was handful as was Western Sharks lock Tevita Faukafa who grabbed a brace of tries.
Faukafa who has transfered from Taranaki has also been in impressive form for his Dargaville based Sharks team and would have given Northland forwards coach Graham Dewes plenty to ponder on .
What would have pleased Dewes a former Fijian international prop was the performance of all of the props on show with neither packs wanting to yield at scrum time .
For the North Zone Kaliopasi Uluilakepa was always a hand full with ball in hand landing a try from close range in the first half
And in the backs Blake Hohaia like Ranger was in top form picking up a try in the 2nd half and also being a central figure in many North Zone attacks.
Noah Cooper who made one scything run also put in a good shift from fullback doing most things right .
Full credit to the South Zone who never really allowed the North Zone to team to claw back into the game.Final Score :South Zone 38 North Zone 19
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@steven-harris Didnt realise Belinda Edwards was back playing, I think her and her husband have only recently returned North from Invercargill (assuming its the same Belinda Edwards)
Think her daughter was selected in a national schoolgirls 7s squad a year or 2 back?
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@taniwharugby just off the team sheets , don’t really know her by face ..interesting on the boy Colt Edwards who played in the colts game, he might be heading to Waikato to study , hope we are all this
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