Super Rugby News
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@Wurzel That was late last year, early this year. They wanted him to prove himself during the club rugby season before allowing him an NPC contract. He has obviously done that, otherwise Waikato couldn't have signed him. My guess is that they take it one step at the time and that he now has to prove himself during Mitre 10 Cup.
They have never said that they would never want him to get a contract again, which would have been pretty cruel and hypocrite, by the way, especially after their mental health campaign.
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@JayCee said in Super Rugby News:
radio sport are reporting that Bryn Hall has re-signed with the Crusaders
Confirmed by the Crusaders. Hall has re-signed for one season.
http://crusaders.co.nz/news/1142-bryn-hall-re-signs-with-bnz-crusaders
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Dalton Papalii and Caleb Clarke have signed with the Blues. Unclear for how many seasons.
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@Higgins said in Super Rugby News:
At this rate there can't be many spots open in any of the five NZ squads for anyone that comes from out of the blue in the Mitre10 Cup to compete for.
I find it annoying that increasingly the NPC to Super pathway is being minimised with players being tied up early. A reward for a stellar NPC should be a Super berth, not being chucked into an incase of injury pool and having to wait for the next year to be selected in the squad.
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@Nepia yep, contracts being offered to kids who have barely even played M10 Cup (if at all in some cases) sure there is the odd exception that warrants it, but must be frustrating for some of the 23-25 yr olds who have been playing M10 at a good enough level for years miss out to some kid that gets a contract just so they don't get picked by someone else.
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Clarke and Papali'i are pretty obvious signings. I don't see any problem with young guys working their way through the age group teams and earning a contract.
I don't have sympathy for a 23-25 year old who can't squeeze his way into the top ~200 players in the country. That means not being rated by 5 different sets of selectors. It's not a charity.
The problem is the lack of open spots 1 week into the NPC season. Some franchises have already claimed their roster is almost sorted.. thats a real issue
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@Duluth said in Super Rugby News:
Clarke and Papali'i are pretty obvious signings. I don't see any problem with young guys working their way through the age group teams and earning a contract.
I don't have sympathy for a 23-25 year old who can't squeeze his way into the top ~200 players in the country. That means not being rated by 5 different sets of selectors. It's not a charity.
The problem is the lack of open spots 1 week into the NPC season. Some franchises have already claimed their roster is almost sorted.. thats a real issue**
Agree with this entirely.
The Jock Hobbs National Under 19 tournament is putting 400 players into view every year. Super teams are getting an eyeful of this emerging talent every year and taking punts on players. This is leading to a Mitre 10 Cup performer being ignored.
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@chimoaus said in Super Rugby News:
some sort of transfer window?
That might help.. but the downside is it would make players more vulnerable to overseas offers waiting for the window
I think it might sort it self out over time. The lack of spots seems a lot worse this year.
When franchises miss out on high quality SR players because they didn't leave spots open for NPC breakouts, behaviour will change -
@Duluth I wasn't meaning anyone in particular and tbf there probably aren't big numbers of truly unlucky players but are still a few who do get shut out because so few spots exist due to signing these young guys who might not play in thier first year of a 3 year contract.
Also don't think there is an easy fix...is just guys getting contracted out of school is becoming more normal I guess.
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@Stargazer said in Super Rugby News:
@JayCee said in Super Rugby News:
radio sport are reporting that Bryn Hall has re-signed with the Crusaders
Confirmed by the Crusaders. Hall has re-signed for one season.
http://crusaders.co.nz/news/1142-bryn-hall-re-signs-with-bnz-crusaders
So by my count:
Not yet signed from last year's squad:
Jed Brown
Quentin Strange
Andrew Makalio
Heiden Bedwell Curtis
Mitchell Dunshea
Tim Bateman
Manasa Makaele
Marty McKenzie
Sione Fifita
Sean WainuiNew signings:
Tom SandersSo, still nine vacant slots assuming Richard Knowler is on the ball regarding unsigned players from last year.
Question for Crusaders fans. Do you cut Marty McKenzie and sign a young first five like Cameron or McKay - or stick with him as your third choice for another season given that if you need to actually use someone he'll probably be the best in the short term.
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Question for Crusaders fans. Do you cut Marty McKenzie and sign a young first five like Cameron or McKay - or stick with him as your third choice for another season given that if you need to actually use someone he'll probably be the best in the short term.
I would cut Marty McKenzie. He's a palagi Volavola. Our '3rd first five' position would be much better filled by someone like Josh McKay.
