Super Rugby News
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Super Rugby squads: Winners and Losers from a bonanza #SuperSigningDay
All five New Zealand 2019 Super Rugby squads have been released today, with some surprises, some expected movements, and some unanswered questions. What were the best signings, big omissions, and most puzzling head-scratchers?
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This would be my best of the rest team:
C Tiatia, S Reece, J Nareki, Q Tupaea, O Leger, KTrask, J Booth, T Ben-Nicholas, J Parete, M Jacobsen, J Tucker, M Selby-Rickit, R Wright, J Thwaites, J O'Reilly
Res: M Lansdown, S Gregory, J Stratton, M Taramai, H Matenga, M Tamoaieta, S Prattley, G Pleasants-Tate.
I exclude recent arrivals from overseas, and include a few backs that should make sevens squad. I struggle with the Chiefs choosing 3 overseas players when talented locals miss out, and am glad to see the Blues have not followed suit.
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@arhs said in Super Rugby News:
This would be my best of the rest team:
C Tiatia, S Reece, J Nareki, Q Tupaea, O Leger, KTrask, J Booth, T Ben-Nicholas, J Parete, M Jacobsen, J Tucker, M Selby-Rickit, R Wright, J Thwaites, J O'Reilly
Res: M Lansdown, S Gregory, J Stratton, M Taramai, H Matenga, M Tamoaieta, S Prattley, G Pleasants-Tate.
I exclude recent arrivals from overseas, and include a few backs that should make sevens squad. I struggle with the Chiefs choosing 3 overseas players when talented locals miss out, and am glad to see the Blues have not followed suit.
Surely there is a better halfback that missed out? He's in my top 5 worst halfback performances on McLean Park, and I saw Chris Eaton play more than 5 matches there.
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@nepia i almost miss those Chris Eaton rants. And the trolling opportunities they presented
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@mariner4life said in Super Rugby News:
@nepia i almost miss those Chris Eaton rants. And the trolling opportunities they presented
It takes effort to work them into posts these days now that he's no longer around, but I'm trying for at least one every three months.
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@stargazer said in Super Rugby News:
@arhs Of that list of players, there are a few who will be in the sevens picture though. Reece, Nareki, Gregory, possibly Tupaea, Trask and Lansdown, too.
Yeah I reckon Booth would be a good one to look at in that regard as well.
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A run through the Super squads shows over 50 contracted players who did not appear at all in the recently completed National Provincial Championships and 11 who appeared once, and perhaps 13 who played two or three times (often released by ABs for match-play). So, I make it at least 75 players 'rested' from NPC.
It annoys me to see a lot of form NPC players missing out on Super contracts, while so many others are given a 'free pass'. How do TSF folks feel about this? Is the NPC brand being harmed? Or, is it all perfectly acceptable in the name of player welfare? I think our national rugby product is being diluted, and the trends are alarming. The contracting system, the draft system and the relativity of earnings for domestic and overseas contracts are all complicating factors. Have we got it right for the long-term good of NZ Rugby?
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@arhs said in Super Rugby News:
A run through the Super squads shows over 50 contracted players who did not appear at all in the recently completed National Provincial Championships and 11 who appeared once, and perhaps 13 who played two or three times (often released by ABs for match-play). So, I make it at least 75 players 'rested' from NPC.
It annoys me to see a lot of form NPC players missing out on Super contracts, while so many others are given a 'free pass'. How do TSF folks feel about this? Is the NPC brand being harmed? Or, is it all perfectly acceptable in the name of player welfare? I think our national rugby product is being diluted, and the trends are alarming. The contracting system, the draft system and the relativity of earnings for domestic and overseas contracts are all complicating factors. Have we got it right for the long-term good of NZ Rugby?
results say yes, absolutely. ABs are dominant. Super sides are dominant. It looks suspiciously like the system works.
I think if we let go of the idea that the NPC is the cornerstone of the game in NZ, as it was in the past, and embrace it for what it really is, a third-tier, semi-pro comp for the lesser Super players and the best club players, then we would see our system is as perfect as it can be given the realities of the situation.
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@arhs said in Super Rugby News:
A run through the Super squads shows over 50 contracted players who did not appear at all in the recently completed National Provincial Championships and 11 who appeared once, and perhaps 13 who played two or three times (often released by ABs for match-play). So, I make it at least 75 players 'rested' from NPC.
It annoys me to see a lot of form NPC players missing out on Super contracts, while so many others are given a 'free pass'. How do TSF folks feel about this? Is the NPC brand being harmed? Or, is it all perfectly acceptable in the name of player welfare? I think our national rugby product is being diluted, and the trends are alarming. The contracting system, the draft system and the relativity of earnings for domestic and overseas contracts are all complicating factors. Have we got it right for the long-term good of NZ Rugby?
Is that counting ABs? Because if you are then the rest of your argument is nonsense because those guys aren't getting a 'free pass', they're performing at a higher level.
Who are these form NPC players missing out on Super contracts? Off the top of my head the only two I can think of are Sevu Reece and Evan Olmstead. Olmstead presumably has missed out because his an international player in an area of depth (and also because the blues recruitment is a bit useless) while Reece has had off field issues that have likely impacted on his availability.
As @mariner4life has said until our super rugby and international sides start to perform poorly and there are a heap of talented guys missing out on contracts and going overseas, or our non-international super rugby players are all skipping the NPC then there just isn't an issue.
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Without checking the squad lists, I can only think of two players where you can question their selection: Marty Banks and James Marshall. Both come from overseas clubs, haven't played NPC and - I think - won't play NPC next season.
Of the signed SR players who haven't played NPC - or not more than one or two games - are:
All Blacks on Rugby Championship duty;
Signed SR players on short-term stints in Japan after years of loyal service;
Injured players;
and the two guys I mentioned. -
@stargazer said in Super Rugby News:
Sunwolves' signings for the 2019 season:
Dan Pryor
Craig Millar
Hencus van Wyk
Jason Emery
Michael LittleSurely this hybrid team of everyone else’s off-casts could be based somewhere closer to the rest of the teams to cut down on travel fatigue?
