NPC 2023
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@Canes4life said in NPC 2023:
think Canterbury and Wellington will top their pools
There are no pools in the NPC this year. Just the one single table.
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@Stargazer that's good, I found that tables setup a little odd.
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My prediction of the table at season's end:
- Canterbury
- Wellington (RS)
- Auckland
- Waikato
- Ta$man
- Bay of Plenty
- Hawkes Bay
- Otago
- Taranaki
- North Harbour
- Northland
- Counties Manukau
- Manawatu
- Southland
I'm predicting Canterbury to beat Wellington in the final. I think defending the Shield all year and also defending their title may be too much of a tall order for the Lions. Hope I'm wrong.
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@Canes4life said in NPC 2023:
@frugby lol how are Wellington so far down? They've kept the majority of their squad from last season. The only team I can honestly see them losing to is Canterbury at the end of their storm week which consists of two Ranfurly Shield defences.
I can certainly see them losing to Ta$man. Midweek Shield games against good opposition have a history of being shockers... add in a defeat against Otago, which I don't think is that unreasonable under the roof, and I get what I got. Have them winning 7 games, just it is tight AF, and the way I had bonus points working out. If you have them beating Otago, they take 3rd, and Otago slip to 6th, and not much changes.
Interesting take, but I can't really see it panning out like this. BOP and Otago are way too high IMO. I can't see Counties getting the Shield either, especially without Roigard.
BOP have a good pack, though I agree might not do so well. They went well last year though, and might get Narawa which will be a big plus.
As for Counties and the shield, I sort of think they match up quite well against Ta$man, who I'm picking won't be the best in the forwards.
I think Canterbury and Wellington will top their pools, and then win their semis to meet in the final down in Canterbury again.
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@frugby it really depends on who Ta$man have available. If they have the likes of Havili, Blackadder etc for that match then yeah it will be a dog fight mid-week. But if they don't then I just don't see them having the firepower.
I think Wellington will play a weaker team against Southland and then save their best for Ta$man before sending a B team to Canterbury. I have Wellington beating both Ta$man and Otago. The only team I have Wellington losing to is Canterbury (twice).
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@Canes4life Dane Coles in the Auckland departure lounge....
"Hey where's Tyrel?"
"And where's Will? And Frizz? And Ethan? And Finlay? And Leicester?
Fozzie....you caaaarnt!!!!"
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Wellington XV confirmed to take on Taranaki:
Wellington XV:
Cameron Orr – Western Suburbs
Joyner Gaualofa – Tawa
PJ Sheck – Tawa
Caleb Delany – Old Boys University
Hugo Plummer – Tawa
Brad Shields – Petone
Sione Halalilo – Oriental-Rongotai
Keelan Whitman – Marist St Pats
Kemara Hauiti-Parapara – Tawa
Aidan Morgan – Marist St Pats
Pepesana Patafilo – Tawa
Peter Umaga-Jensen – Wainuiomata ©
Losi Filipo – Petone
Ethan Webster-Nonu – Paremata-Plimmerton
Ruben Love – Wainuiomata
Josh Southall – Petone
Senio Sanele – Upper Hutt Rams
Josiah Tavita-Metcalfe – Northern United
Akira Ieremia – Tawa
Filo Paulo – Hutt Old Boys Marist
Dominic Ropeti – Oriental-Rongotai
Sam Howling – Pōneke
Kyle Preston – Old Boys University
Isi Saumaki – Tawa
Tjay Clarke – Petone
Chicago Doyle – Marist St Pats
Sam Clarke – Paremata-PlimmertonNotable players not selected / unavailable:
- Du Plessis Kirifi
- Anthony Pettett
- Asafo Aumua
- Xavier Numia
- Siale Lauaki
- Dominic Bird
- Billy Proctor
- Logan Henry
- Riley Hiiggins (Injured)
- TJ Perenara (injured)
- Connor Garden-Bachop (injured)
- James O'Reilly (Injured)
- Julian Savea (Injured)
- Ardie Savea (All Blacks)
- Dane Coles (All Blacks)
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Result preseason game:
Counties Manukau 29 - 19 North Harbour
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My hopes.
Otago makes the semi finals. Our promising young players have good seasons.
Wellington loses the Ranfurly Shield and misses the semi finals.
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@SouthernMann no chance mate.
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You will be 1 from four after the first four rounds, and the shield will be in Nelson.
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@SouthernMann no chance mate.
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A lot to like about Josh Whaanga. I reckon he will be playing a lot of NPC.
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Preseason results:
Canterbury 24 - 47 Ta$man
Otago 31 - 7 Southland (HT: 5 - 7) -
@Snollygoster-0 said in NPC 2023:
Does anyone have details of the location and starting time for the BOP v Manawatu game this weekend ?
Already been played:
Friday 28 July 2023 - 12.30pm - Owen Delany Park, Taupō
Manawattū v Bay of PlentyI haven't seen the result.
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@Stargazer From BOP Facebook page -
Good result at the Steamers pre season today with a 33-7 win against Manawatu. -
So there were two games being played at Owen Delaney Park at pretty much the same time? Even for the SR U20 competition they only use the main ground.
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Preseason result:
Waikato 31 - 38 Hawke's Bay -
Auckland 22 - 5 Northland at half time.
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Auckland won 39-19 against Northland
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Full time - Auckland 39 - 19 Northland.
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Taranaki bt Wellington 49 - 22. Not surprising considering all the players not available for Wellington.
Interesting that I saw the Proctor brothers at a cafe in Petone a couple hours ago. I wonder if Matt’s available for the NPC.
I guess we’ll find out when the squad is made official.
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Steven Harrisreplied to Daffy Jaffy on 29 Jul 2023, 23:52 last edited by Steven Harris 30 Jul 2023, 00:30
@Daffy-Jaffy Good performance from Auckland, took every opportunity that came their way
Looked to have a really good attack pattern which saw them get on the outside of the Taniwha , often exploiting the visitors lack of pace
Really liked the look of Zarn Sullivan at first five , his left boot often carved off massive metres and not to afraid to take the line on when required
Based on what I saw of the halfbacks , Kalani Thomas starting , I would start with Funaki looked much more assured
Northland put a ton of heat on Thomas and at times his service to Sullivan was average
The Forward battle was a bit more even with both teams cancelling each other out ,
Ekuasi started at 8 and was always a handful on the carry , all the starting front row were very good
On RTS at fullback , there was some good and not so good doesn’t have a kicking game in fact looks awkward kickingGreat to see Faletoi Peni get a run , did most things right and showed some awesome stepping ability and on one occasion running directly over Scott Gregory look alike Ross Gladish who was a late call up from club rugby
Had a chat to him at games end , he did say the pace was way higher than club level .He will be staying with squad a few more weeks as Tanielu Tele’a has an injury
Tangitu and Rayasi looked sharp on the wings , but I have got to say I was really impressed with Corey Evans when he came on in the 2nd half , slotted into fullback and looked like he had played their all his life.
It definitely looked like one team that had already played one warm up game and another playing their first
Just a shame Northland had few bodies unavailable especially in the backline , I will update their injuries on the Northland Forum -
@Canes4life said in NPC 2023:
Taranaki bt Wellington 49 - 22. Not surprising considering all the players not available for Wellington.
Interesting that I saw the Proctor brothers at a cafe in Petone a couple hours ago. I wonder if Matt’s available for the NPC.
I guess we’ll find out when the squad is made official.
Where was Matt playing most recently? Will probably have some bearing on whether he wants to have an extended rest.
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PUJ, Billy Proctor, Riley Higgins and the other two up and coming midfielders. Does WRFU need to spend extra money on another midfielder.
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@SouthernMann said in NPC 2023:
PUJ, Billy Proctor, Riley Higgins and the other two up and coming midfielders. Does WRFU need to spend extra money on another midfielder.
The real question is do they have any money to spend? A quick look at their 2021 Financial Report (the last one I can access) shows a loss of over $830,000.00 and I have heard whispers that a similar situation occurred in 2022, albeit to a significantly smaller amount (but still of a major concern).
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It is very concerning one of our major unions has put itself in a position like this. The story is all too common over the last 10 to 15 years. NZ rugby needs Wellington, especially with its player pools in Porirua, the Hutt and Kilbirnie to stay strong. It would be interesting to understand what is causing the losses. From my understanding it runs a pretty lean staff operation, with a fair few people in cross over roles with the Hurricanes. This isn't just a Wellington problem. It is a national issue. However, Wellington may be the shop window to financial failings at the moment.
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@SouthernMann Try this to see if you can sort out answers to your question https://www.wrfu.co.nz/fileadmin/Annual_Reports/WRFU_Annual_Report_2021_FINAL.pdf
You will need to scroll through to about page 36 for details.
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Scrolling through on my phone, it reads as high performance rugby is too expensive. Community rugby is covering itself. Incomes from external sources aren't overly consistent. Not living within its means. Is it the right decision to continue to play at Westpac for fixtures where there are small crowds?
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@frugby over in the UK somewhere but not 100% sure. He’s obviously back until he joins the Rebels so it’s a possibility. If Canterbury can bring back Crotty there’s no reason why Welly shouldn’t go after Matt, he’s from here at the end of the day.
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@Stargazer said in NPC 2023:
Preseason results:
Canterbury 24 - 47 Ta$manThat score surprises the hell out of me.
I was expecting it to be the other way around, and worse!
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@Chris-B pre season always brings results like this. Nothing new. Has little to no bearing on the actual season.
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There should be some good valued odds in the early rounds. I don't think Ta$man is as strong as previous seasons. Will multi up my boys at the Warriors with a cheeky hundyish on Friday for some spending money down in Dunedin on Saturday.
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My money on Auckland
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@Canes4life said in NPC 2023:
@Chris-B pre season always brings results like this. Nothing new. Has little to no bearing on the actual season.
Sometimes - I'd be interested to know what the score was at halftime and how much the teams changed for the second half.
On paper, the starting Canterbury XV was very strong, and the Mako ran out a B team.
We should have been thumped!
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@Chris-B interesting, I thought Wellington would have done better against the Naki aswell. Maybe keeping things on ice and running through the motions.
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Canterbury ran out a lot of non squad members from their B squad in the 2nd half
And still had a number of player to come back for Rd1 Grace,Dunshea,Christie,Jager,Drummond,
Burke,BrewisMoody,McLeod,Ennor may all be back
Plus Gallagher and Darry should be back for Rd 3
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