Crusaders 2024
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@taniwharugby Yeah Kemara does deserve a decent Crack I feel. I do feel for him a bit coming in straight after Mo'unga when the spotlight is gonna be heavily on him but he'll be better for the run.
Havili at 10 would be nothing more Than a stop gap measure and a short sighted move. Penney is right putting his faith in his current options.
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@African-Monkey said in Crusaders 2024:
Havili at 10 would be nothing more Than a stop gap measure and a short sighted move
But with Reihana and Burke due back in a month or so there's a real argument than Havili as the stop gap is what's needed.
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@KiwiMurph Fair argument, but if they see Kemara as their man for the future, why not give him a fair crack now and see what he's about? A bit of short term pain for long term gain?
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I don't remember Havili being a huge success at 1st 5 either. I think it would have been better to partner Kemara with a more experienced halfback against NSW. They are doing that this week.
And just to put it into perspective. Kemara is only the no.3 1st 5 for Waikato, so is still learning his trade.
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@Bovidae said in Crusaders 2024:
I don't remember Havili being a huge success at 1st 5 either.
Only one start at SR or NPC level. It was a against the Chiefs in 2020. He was very good in the first and then had a few errors in the second half
He looked promising though. When you look at some of the other names they've used since I presume he doesn't want to play there
You can see a couple of his involvements here:
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@Bovidae said in Crusaders 2024:
And just to put it into perspective. Kemara is only the no.3 1st 5 for Waikato, so is still learning his trade.
And when Dan Carter was Kemara's age he hadn't yet played any games of first class rugby - but was close. Started with Canterbury when he was 20 and Crusaders when 21.
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I’m preparing myself for a 96-esque season. The transition from Razor and a number of very key players from previous successful campaigns all at once will take time to overcome.
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@ACT-Crusader Oh come on that's taking it to the extreme a bit. There's only been 3 games gone and you guys haven't even played in Chch yet.
You only have to get to the playoffs and then it's all on.
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Crusaders for the NZ wooden spoon this year? Perhaps Razor is Jesus after all.
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But help is on the way in the form of Burke, who Penney confirmed was “really close” to getting back on the park.
“He is right on the cusp of coming back, he is training fully now, integrated. He just needs to get his athletic performance up, but he's close."
As for other sidelined players, Blackadder and McAlister are on track to return against the Waratahs in Sydney on April 12, while Taylor will rejoin the team at the end of April with an eye on playing against the Reds in Christchurch on May 4.