It's this guy:
Semisi TUPOU TA'EILOA profile and stats
Semisi TUPOU TA'EILOA : bio, stats, play time, birthdate, height, weight...
Not to be confused with this guy:
Sorry, I should've included what I was replying to. I believe I saw Thor Manase listed for a Heartland team
I could be wrong, but I think I saw him listed for one of the Heartland teams
Props
Benet Kumeroa* (Te Atihaunui a Pāpārangi/Bay of Plenty/Hurricanes)
Joe Moody (Ngāi Tahu/Canterbury/Crusaders)
Marcel Renata (Ngāti Whanaunga, Ngāi Takoto/Auckland/Blues)
Ollie Norris (Ngāpuhi/Waikato/Chiefs)
Pouri Rakete-Stones (Ngāpuhi/Hawke’s Bay/Hurricanes)
Hookers
Kurt Eklund (Ngāti Kahu/Bay of Plenty/Blues)
Tyrone Thompson (Ngāti Kahungunu/Chiefs)
Locks
Isaia Walker-Leawere (Ngāti Porou/Hawke’s Bay/Hurricanes)
Laghlan McWhannell* (Ngāti Kahungunu/Waikato/Blues)
Max Hicks (Ngāti Ranginui/ Ta$man/Highlanders)
Tahlor Cahill* (Ngāpuhi/Canterbury/Crusaders)
Loose forwards
Billy Harmon (Ngāi Tahu/Canterbury/Highlanders)
Cameron Suafoa (Ngāpuhi/North Harbour/Blues)
Cullen Grace (Ngāti Whakaue/Canterbury/Crusaders)
Nikora Broughton* (Ngā Rauru, Ngāti Ruanui/Bay of Plenty/Highlanders)
Te Kamaka Howden (Tūhoe/Manawatū/Hurricanes)
Half Backs
Sam Nock (Ngāpuhi/Northland/Blues)
Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi (Ngāti Rangitihi, Ngāti Pikiao, Tūhourangi, Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Awa/Bay of Plenty/Chiefs)
First five-eighths
Rivez Reihana* (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Hine, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Tūwharetoa/Northland/Crusaders)
Taha Kemara* (Te Whānau a Apanui, Te Whakatōhea/Waikato/Crusaders)
Midfield
Bailyn Sullivan (Ngāti Kahungunu/Waikato/Hurricanes)
Corey Evans* (Te Aupouri, Ngāti Kahu/Northland/Blues)
Daniel Rona* (Te Ātiawa/Taranaki/Chiefs)
Rameka Poihipi (Ngāti Whakaue/Canterbury/Chiefs)
Quinn Tupaea (Ngaati Tiipa, Ngaati Amaru, Waikato/Waikato/Chiefs)
Outside Backs
Cole Forbes* (Ngāti Awa/Bay of Plenty/Blues)
Josh Moorby (Ngāi Maniapoto/Waikato/Hurricanes)
Tana Tuhakaraina* (Ngāti Hauā/Waikato/Chiefs)
Unavailable for selection due to injury:
Manaaki Selby-Rickit (Ngāti Raukawa)
Shaun Stevenson (Ngāpuhi)
Jared Profitt (Ngāti Porou)
The team was announced live by Te Ao Māori News and Sky Sport at 11:30am.
He made ground/broke tackles on basically every carry. Decent number of tackles, won the ball on the ground at least once.
I thought Takataka would've made the squad - it looked like he was pretty dominant against the other scrums he came up against.
He always has the dropsies. He plays like he's bathed in baby oil before every game. Slipping through 10 tackles, and then dropping the ball 3 or 4 times.
He was one of the star players for the Chiefs U20 team. I agree he hasn't shown anything at this level, but it would've been very odd if he hadn't made the NZ U20s
I'm guessing these aren't publicly available?
I've rewatched the game in full, now.
It was actually Fihaki (rather than Rova) that set up Springer for his second try.
Crusaders best players were Bell and Springer. Reihana looked good - he was taking the ball to the line and passing quite late, and was able to put players into gaps multiple times. A few loose passes, though.
Moananu made an impact off the bench with some powerful runs, though he needs some tackling practice.
Hannah had a nice involvement for a try at the end, but made too many errors (missed tackles, dropping the ball, penalties). Gardiner and Rova also had a few too many errors.
Scrum was solid - maybe slightly better than Bristol's overall. The lineout throwing was perfect.
Yea, it was Aumua. They switched the jerseys, and the commentators got mixed up.
I lied - one last update.
Marmion scores after a shoddy tackle from Rova.
14-12 to Crusaders. 57 mins in. Apparently a Bristol player got yellow carded at some point.
Reihana set up Bell for a nice run, but he was tackled 5m out.
Rova then kicks out to Springer who steps inside to score. 14 - 7 to Crusaders.
No further updates from me - I've got to head out.
Macca Springer scores after some sustained pressure. Reihana converts - it wasn't an easy kick/
7-7 at HT
George Bell is held up over the line. He looks good on attack.
Fred Davies scores the first try for Bristol from a rolling maul.
7-0. 30mins in now.
Yes, I'd say it is a bad thing if they think Bogado offers more as a starter - I don't think we've seen anything that would suggest they're right (which is not to say Bogado is bad, but more that Tavatavanawai is very good).
I need to update my code before I can do some 2023 stat comparisons, but Tavatavanawai performs very well on every attacking measure. He made 72 tackle breaks last season. This is a ridiculous number, though not for him. He made 73 tackle breaks from 83 carries in 2022 - that means nearly each time he touches the ball he breaks a tackle (on average).
I'd say, based on this, he's pretty consistently exposing defenses that aren't yet tired, as well as those that are tired.
The Crusaders can afford to play him off the bench
If the Highlanders brought over Tavatavanawai to only play him off the bench, they'd deserve every loss they get
[mod edit]Split from the exodus thread[/mod edit]
Lincoln Mclutchie to San Diego Legion
San Diego Legion
Big Signing! @LincolnMclutchie 🛡️⚔️ #WeAreLegion “With the loss of Will Hooley to retirement we are thrilled to have Lincoln come in to fill the void that has been left. Lincoln is a quality player...