Exodus 2017
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@Crucial Mo'unga has now had two great seasons in NPC and his first season of SR was surprisingly good as well. I think he has more chance of wearing the black 10 jersey than DMac, but don't think he's a threat to Cruden or Sopoaga yet. It will be interesting to see how he goes in his second year. If he has a good season, he may claim Dmac's spot in the squad, not Cruds', especially with Jordie there to cover fullback.
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I don't think it'd renmotely be surprising to see Cruden go given the size of cash on offer. Wilkenson & Carter have shown the value of the superstar 10 in France (so long as you ignore Quade & co showing the flipside), its why so many teams were waving huge cash at George Ford, who is basically the Brit Cruden, without the track record.
I'd be more shocked to see Fekitoa go given I can't believe he is being offered life changing amounts. While Dagg surely has already signed something that kicks in the second the Lions are gone.
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@gollum said in Exodus 2017:
I don't think it'd renmotely be surprising to see Cruden go given the size of cash on offer. Wilkenson & Carter have shown the value of the superstar 10 in France (so long as you ignore Quade & co showing the flipside), its why so many teams were waving huge cash at George Ford, who is basically the Brit Cruden, without the track record.
I'd be more shocked to see Fekitoa go given I can't believe he is being offered life changing amounts. While Dagg surely has already signed something that kicks in the second the Lions are gone.
I also don't think it would be surprising for Cruden to go. I just think the story posted that he signed up while on tour is wrong.
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I wouldn't be that surprised to see Fekitoa take the money, to be honest. I'm betting he would've fancied his chances to get a starting spot after Nonu and Conrad left, yet he's still sitting on the bench or in the stands and SBW isn't even back yet.
Dagg I can't really see going though, not after he earned his way back into the team and the 14 jersey (which at this point, I wouldn't take away from him even when NMS is back).
But we'll see, hopefully they all re-sign.
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@Siam said in Exodus 2017:
I would have thought Lima might be a hot target.
Disgruntled or determined?
Not at all. Wait for Cruden to sign for Montpellier, and heh presto he is the AB bench 1st-five. He is still young and his later earning potential would be massively enhanced by more than a handful of mostly token AB caps. If Cruden doesn't sign, then put out another big season for the Highlanders, put pressure on Cruden, and there may be injuries too.
I'm finding it weird that everyone feels Fekitoa is flaky and won't be surprised if he signs off-shore, while an ageing Cruden, who is no longer the AB starting 10, and has been offered massive money from Montpellier is likely to be loyal and stay.
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Is there still a minimum number of test caps required to receive a visa for non-PI and European players?
If so, Lima might not meet that requirement with only 6 caps.
I think Cruden will go next year after the Lions series. He's got nothing left to accomplish in NZ with 1 RWC winners medal and 2 Super titles. And his coaching mentor is also leaving NZ.
Dagg and Ben Smith also have big decisions to make.
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@Billy-Tell said in Exodus 2017:
@Siam said in Exodus 2017:
I would have thought Lima might be a hot target.
Disgruntled or determined?
Not at all. Wait for Cruden to sign for Montpellier, and heh presto he is the AB bench 1st-five. He is still young and his later earning potential would be massively enhanced by more than a handful of mostly token AB caps. If Cruden doesn't sign, then put out another big season for the Highlanders, put pressure on Cruden, and there may be injuries too.
I'm finding it weird that everyone feels Fekitoa is flaky and won't be surprised if he signs off-shore, while an ageing Cruden, who is no longer the AB starting 10, and has been offered massive money from Montpellier is likely to be loyal and stay.
Sopoaga's still young but Cruden's ageing? There's only two years difference between the two FFS.
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Jeepers the Chiefs fans on the forum are very precious about Cruden.
I hope he stays. I won't be surprised if he goes. NZ rugby will survive without him if he does go. Might be a different matter for the Chiefs.
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@Billy-Tell At the very very strong risk of proving your first point, I argue your last one!
D-Mac may just be the perfect Super Level first 5.
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@Billy-Tell said in Exodus 2017:
Jeepers the Chiefs fans on the forum are very precious about Cruden.
I hope he stays. I won't be surprised if he goes. NZ rugby will survive without him if he does go. Might be a different matter for the Chiefs.
I'm not sure why having a different pov than you do is being precious. Maybe some of us have followed the guy a little closer in the past and have picked up things about his personality that we think are relevant.
Sopoaga has spoken openly before about his church based support network in Dunedin that he credits with giving him a good life balance. That would be a factor for him in any overseas ideas.
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Problem isn't just the coach though is it....
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@taniwharugby I really doubt Rennie would tolerate the politics.
Mitchell was mentioned previously. Are the Boks ready for a new journey?
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Hurricane Loni Uhila has signed a one-year (+ 2 years optional) contract with Clermont!
http://www.asm-rugby.com/actus/le-pilier-des-hurricanes-loni-uhila-à-clermont
