NPC 2023
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Auckland 22 - 5 Northland at half time.
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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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@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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@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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@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.
