Young guns
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There are a number of young players for whom I have high expectations.
LHP : Mafileo. He was very good against Ireland A. Strong scrummager and a good workrate. His versatility is a bonus.
Hooker : Thompson. I hope he will get more minutes on the field this year. This guy has a huge potential. He is built like Malcom Marx. LO is still a worry though.
THP : Mau. Let's see if he can leapfrog Jermaine Ainsley in the pecking order. I hope he has improved in the scrum area.
Locks : McWhannel. Are his injuries really behind him ? He's got a lot of talent and was really outstanding during the NPC. I don't know whether he is good enough for the international scene but I could see him play a lot of minutes in the SR rounds this year.
Lord. Still very young for a capped player. Will he be able to be back in black ?
Loose forwards : Lakai. A FAB for 2024, that's for sure. Not big enough for the Nr.8 position but he was used as an opensider during the preseason. So let's see if he can become a fetcher and run like Josh VdFlier.
Suafoa : he will probably be used as a lock for the Blues but I am convinced he could be a real find at 6 where NZ are not blessed with such powerful players.
Halfback : Cam Roigard. He could be a bolter for the next RWC. Ratima and Hotham should be looked closely too as they have a lot of talent.
1st Five : Not much expectation here as new talents are scarce. This used to be a NZ strength and it has become a real worry.
2nd Five : though he is not that young, Thomas Umaga-Jensen is a player for whom my expectations are great, if he can stay injury-free. He is fun to watch and his brute strength could be used by the ABs. But I have doubts about Foster's inclination to blood new players in a RWC year.
I Hope Riley Higgins will get a good number of minutes as he is one to look for the future.
Centre : No young guns here, which is a worry.
Wings : Springer. Is he the next Ben Smith ?
Full back : Not a young gun anymore but this must be Stephenson's year. He was impressive in 2022 and I expect him to be at the same level in 2023. He is a Chief so why not a call for the ABs ? -
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I'd add George Bell in there as a young gun hooker coming through and obviously Ruben Love as another fullback option.
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@Bovidae said in Young guns:
@cgrant said in Young guns:
Centre : No young guns here, which is a worry.
He is returning from injury but I'm hoping we see Gideon Wrampling on the field for the Chiefs soon. He can play at 2nd 5 or centre, and on the wing.
The (very brief) showing that he had pre-injury looked very promising. Hoping he gets a run of gametime to show what he has.
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@Canes4life said in Young guns:
I'd add George Bell in there as a young gun hooker coming through and obviously Ruben Love as another fullback option.
If Love wants an AB career I reckon he needs to concentrate on 10
ABs 15 option list keeps growing but 10 is a fairly bare cupboard and he would have an experience jump on the youngsters coming through.
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hopefully some new faces will present themselves this year, after 2020, a disrupted 2021 as well, it will have affected development, potentially put a few out of the game, but with the rugby world back on track in 2022, we will start seeing some names reappear
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From Highlanders perspective
Fabian Holland: The kid is exceptional. Just hope he gets some decent time on the park.
Sean Withy: Looks to be getting big and strong over the last couple of years. Can cover all loosie positions, could be a top quality bench option.
Martin Bogado: Will be interesting to see why the bought this guy over
Cam Millar: I'm still not sold on him.
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@SouthernMann said in Young guns:
From Highlanders perspective
Fabian Holland: The kid is exceptional. Just hope he gets some decent time on the park.
Sean Withy: Looks to be getting big and strong over the last couple of years. Can cover all loosie positions, could be a top quality bench option.
Martin Bogado: Will be interesting to see why the bought this guy over
Cam Millar: I'm still not sold on him.
Holland definitely. Looks like a future ABs.
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@Winger said in Young guns:
@cgrant Lakai is height of 1.86 (shorter than Ardie at 1.88) so really needs to move to 7. Good weight for a 19 year old (109). He would be fine at 8 for super rugby but criticized as an AB 8 (as Ardie is)
After seeing him in person in Levin on the weekend, I feel he will have no trouble at 8 at test level. The guy is built like a brick shithouse, and runs bloody hard. I think he will be successful no matter where he chooses to play.
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@Canes4life Is he quick enough to be a 7
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Aiden Morgan isn't to bad
Riley Higgins and Harry Godfrey have some big wraps on them too
