Fijian Drua vs Hurricanes
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@Canes4life said in Fijian Drua vs Hurricanes:
@Duluth interesting no Godfrey or Higgins named at all. Plenty of changes, hope it doesn’t bite us.
Godfrey isn't it seems seen as the backup FB to Love. Moorby seems to be.
Higgins seems to be on the outer a bit now. Also surprised to not see PRS in the 23. Iose might not be available this week
Rayasi gets another start, He looks ordinary now
Im keen to see how Lauaki goes. And Grant
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@Winger not too sure if it means they (Godfrey and Higgins) are on the outer as such. Higgins was very good when Barrett was on suspension so they will have a plan for both players I'm sure. Both players may have picked up niggles last week, we don't fully know so I guess no point speculating. They've both proven they can play well at this level, I'm sure we will see them again, potentially against the Tahs when they return to Welly. By then the likes of Barrett, Moorby etc will probably be rested.
Will be interesting to see how Grant goes, he looks to be a big lad so if they can get him involved in a few games this year, it will give us even more depth next year (pending who we sign). Lauaki is another player that looks to have a big future, he's pretty much the player we thought Alex Fidow might be. Instead Lauaki can actually scrum but has that devastating ball running ability aswell.
Good to see Sullivan back in the frame, hopefully he can have an injury free run for a while.
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@Winger said in Fijian Drua vs Hurricanes:
Ben GRANT (Benjamin William GRANT) is a 25-year-old Australian rugby player standing at 2.05 m tall (6 ft 9 in) and weighing in at 118 kg (18 st 8.15 lb; 260.15 lb) , who currently plays for Hurricanes in New Zealand as lock.
Immediate dislike.
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@Duluth said in Fijian Drua vs Hurricanes:
Grant played 8 games for Harbour last year. The pack went ok but I can’t remember anything about him other than he was a beanpole.
He played in the MLR aswell for the same team as Ma'a Nonu and Richard Judd.
Some highlights of the big man, he looks to have gained a couple kegs in the last year. Kind of looks like a taller and slimmer version of Jeremy Thrush.
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@Canes4life reminds me a heck of a lot of Chris Jack. Got some acceleration for a lanky fucker.
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Siale Lauaki for a 20 year old is a big lad. At 125kg and 1.94m, he's taller and will most likely be heavier than Lomax in the next year or so. Hopefully he can learn off Lomax in the next four or five seasons and can take over once he moves on.
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@Bones haha he looks extra lanky in those picks VS the pre-season games playing for the Canes. Could be a solid lock if he can put 5-10 more kg on that frame of his.
The Canes have definitely flipped the script by signing extra tall locks versus the hobbits from the last few seasons.
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@Canes4life big locks? What a novel idea!
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120kg is still 120kg. Putting on more weight may not be beneficial if he doesn't have the engine for it.
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@Mr-Fish said in Fijian Drua vs Hurricanes:
Ben Grant and Siale Lauaki both have to be All Blacks options for the mid-year Tests too, naturally. Don't care if Grant's technically not eligible yet.
I'll wait to see how they perform in this game first
But what are the details on Grants eligibility? And if he was good enough maybe Aust is the better option for him. Esp with the Lions getting close
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@foobaNZ said in Fijian Drua vs Hurricanes:
@Canes4life big locks? What a novel idea!
Thankfully in the past now. And hopefully Razor can keep Holland in check with any strange ideas he might have
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Since the start of the 2023 season the Drua have played nine times in Fiji. They've won 8 of those matches
They lost in April last year against the Blues. In the other matches they have beaten: Crusaders, Rebels, Hurricanes, Pasifika, Reds, Crusaders, Waratahs, Force
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@Duluth said in Fijian Drua vs Hurricanes:
Since the start of the 2023 season the Drua have played nine times in Fiji. They've won 8 of those matches
They lost in April last year against the Blues. In the other matches they have beaten: Crusaders, Rebels, Hurricanes, Pasifika, Reds, Crusaders, Waratahs, Force
We shouldn't take this game lightly then. Put the best team on the park and get the points
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The forecast for tonight's game in Suva is for rain so not sure who that will benefit. I'd like to think it will benefit the Canes with the way our tight five have been performing but with the changes I'm a little unsure. We also lose some of that tactical kicking advantage with Moorby at fullback instead of Love but hopefully we can atleast bank 4 points to put a bit of a buffer on the chasing pack.
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