NPC - news, injuries etc

[Stargazer]

Ta$man Mako Squad Naming | USA Exhibition Tour to Houston and Seattle.
Great mix of non Super contracted Mako players and future Mako:

.

No Tim Perry.

[Stargazer]

.

https://www.facebook.com/HoustonSaberCats

[Stargazer]

[Stargazer]

Livestream Houston Sabercats v Ta$man Mako

[Chris B.]

@Stargazer Great try by Sam Briggs at 67 minutes.

Rips the ball from a Sabrecat and runs 70 metres stepping three defenders on the way.

Pretty sure Sam's dad is former Nelson Bays captain and prop - Gavin - who wasn't really noted for his mobility!

[Chris B.]

...and the Mako win 29-19.

I only watched the last 20 minutes, but it was actually pretty entertaining footy - open with lots of ball movement and the Baby Sharks looked pretty sharp.

The coverage was excellent - pretty much Mitre10 Cup standard.

Houston probably good Heartland rugby standard - maybe a bit better?

[Stargazer]

@Chris-B Yes, that was an awesome try! Deserved man of the match!

[Chris B.]

@Stargazer Yeah - he looked good. Not often a reserve gets MoM!

[Stargazer]

@Chris-B Yeah, about Heartland level, at least this team. Maybe the team they field in competition games will be a bit stronger.

Someone in the comments suggested a game between the MLR champions and the SR champions. I was just thinking about how to word it nicely that that would be a blood bath, when - fortunately - someone else replied that that would be a step too far and that playing the Shute Shield champions would be a better fit.

[Chris B.]

@Stargazer One of the slight problems with these sorts of tours - the promoters want to play up that the Mako are New Zealand's national provincial champions, while playing down that there's only a handful of squaddies on tour.

[Stargazer]

@Chris-B It will be interesting to see how the Baby Mako go against the Seatle Seawolves.

The Sabercats finished 7th in 2019 (there were 9 teams); the Seawolves are the reigning MLR champions.

[Chris B.]

@Stargazer Whoever worked out this match-up did pretty well to get two well-matched teams.

Baby Mako will need to improve if Seattle are a step up.

[Dice]

Ouch. So Dalton Papali'i has signed for Counties.

Now @crucial is going to act like Dalton is his favorite player.:smiling_face_with_open_mouth_smiling_eyes:

[Yeetyaah]

Home | Counties Manukau RFU

CMRFU Counties Manukau Rugby Football Union Steelers Heat

[Bovidae]

Faiane next?

[Duluth]

@Dice said in Mitre 10 Cup - news, injuries etc:

Ouch. So Dalton Papali'i has signed for Counties.

Now @crucial is going to act like Dalton is his favorite player.:smiling_face_with_open_mouth_smiling_eyes:

Would've preferred to keep him, but it does ease up the loose forward log jam at Auckland

In practical terms I don't think it will matter much. IMO Papali'i is the best blindside in NZ. He should only play NPC if he's coming back from an injury

[Dice]

@Duluth Yeah, they might not see much of him.

On a positive note, the Blues still have him for at least the next 3 seasons.

[Duluth]

@Dice

I see Papali'i said he wants to play 7. That's not his best position IMO...

Auckland was much more likely to play him at 6 if he was available. We have more options at 7 & 8 than at 6

[Steven Harris]

@Duluth I am really surprised he’s gone to Counties Manukau given that they struggled big time in this years Mitre 10 Cup..I know he’s the sort of player who will stand out regardless of whom he plays for, but I can’t help but think it would have been a backwards step..maybe with an up and coming team like Hawkes Bay or even dare I say it Canterbury would have been a much better option to critique his game..even staying with Auckland was doing him no harm..I just don’t get it, to me it can only be a culture issue to why he’s leaving ..

[African Monkey]

@Steven-Harris A lot of players seem to go back to their home provinces these days. Don't mind it personally and it gives someone else a chance to come through I guess. I assume Choat will be back this season?