Ngati Porou East Coast Starting Line-Up
Vs Hawke's Bay.
McLean Park, Napier 3pm

1 Perrin Manuel
2 Jorian Tangaere
3 Raniera Whakataka
4 Richard Green
5 Riki Waitoa
6 Hone Haerewa (C)
7 Tanetoa Parata
8 Will Bolingford
9 Sam Parkes
10 Terangi Fraser
11 Teina Potae
12 Tawhao Stewart
13 Tutere Waenga
14 Fabyan Kahaki
15 Verdon Bartlett

16 Jody Tuhaka
17 Maia Fox
18 Pera Bishop
19 Jack Richardson
20 Tanira Tamanui Nepia/Trent Proffit
21 Hamuera Moana
22 Rapata Haerewa
23 Tipene Meihana

Travelling reserves:
Mo Mato
Kyah Hollis
James Henderson
Jesse Rye
Te Aho Morice
*Correct at time of post

TAB has the line at -99.5

So will HB put over a hundy on them?

@stargazer I wonder if this is a pointer that Toala might get some runs at fullback this year?

Thankfully, it looks like we're not going to bring Kurt Koro Baker this year.

This would have been a good opportunity to take this game to Ruatoria.

@bovidae Their ground is too small, I think. They're expecting a crowd of 3 to 5k. I also don't know what state the pitch is in after the recent rainfall.

@nepia Kurt Baker is at the Olympics; fingers crossed that means indeed that he won't come back.

I think Toala will cover fullback as injury cover, with both Falcon and Makene apparently still not fit. A few months ago, they said that Makene was expected to be available from round 2-3. Don't know about Falcon.

Lolagi Visinia plays fullback, too, so fortunately there's more cover. I'm more worried about 10 cover; probably also Toala and Ili.

@stargazer said in Hawke's Bay v Ngāti Porou East Coast (RS):

@bovidae Their ground is too small, I think. They're expecting a crowd of 3 to 5k. I also don't know what state the pitch is in after the recent rainfall.

They'd fit that number of people in. Just don't expect to be seated.

@stargazer said in Hawke's Bay v Ngāti Porou East Coast (RS):

@nepia Kurt Baker is at the Olympics; fingers crossed that means indeed that he won't come back.

I think Toala will cover fullback as injury cover, with both Falcon and Makene apparently still not fit. A few months ago, they said that Makene was expected to be available from round 2-3. Don't know about Falcon.

Lolagi Visinia plays fullback, too, so fortunately there's more cover. I'm more worried about 10 cover; probably also Toala and Ili.

Worry no more. I am up home at the moment and will be taking my boots (and mouthguard) to the game with me just in case of a late call up!

Being so excited about today I could hardly sleep last night with excitement and woke very early this morning. Higgins' first ever appearance at a home Shield defence as was simply too young to be taken to those of the 1960s (was old enough to be at the 1971 HB v British Lions game though). Kind of like Christmas as a young 6 year old kid and being allowed to stay overnight at your girlfriends place for the first time when you were 17 all wrapped up in one!!!!!!!

It's pretty chilly here in Napier this morning and very cloudy so if anyone is coming from out of town for the game they had better bring proper winter warm clothing and not just HB winter warm clothing.

@higgins Enjoy your day! Good chance there will be a huge NPEC presence at McLean Park! I hope the black & white will still be in the majority though!

Match highlight already - great simultaneous Haka with NPEC on the charge to set the tone. Go the Coast !

I'm liking Enari's pass so far

The Bay going at a run a minute but the Coast just scored a try. Give them the shield now!

So weird that I can watch the Farah Palmer Cup but can't watch this.

@nepia Its live on sky 52 now!

@stockcar86 said in Hawke's Bay v Ngāti Porou East Coast (RS):

I'm liking Enari's pass so far

I second that. Also an elusive runner. A big step up from McLeod.

@nepia said in Hawke's Bay v Ngāti Porou East Coast (RS):

So weird that I can watch the Farah Palmer Cup but can't watch this.

Fingers crossed they're also going to post this full match on YT.

@daffy-jaffy said in Hawke's Bay v Ngāti Porou East Coast (RS):

@nepia Its live on sky 52 now!

Even though my TV has decided my Apple TV is Sky NZ (it's very strange), we don't actually get Sky in Oz.

If I could watch it on Sky I'd be at the ground.

FT: Magpies 93 - 5 Ngāti Porou East Coast

Some awesome tries scored in this game. I know it's only East Coast, but passes still have to stick. I loved that try from Pouri Rakete-Stones after Gareth Evans made that break, offloaded to Jonah Lowe, who offloaded in the tackle to Rakete-Stones, who then showed he has good speed for a big man.

Our starting locks were great, Gareth Evans looks very, very keen, Enari - as said earlier in the thread - looking good, Tuitavuki being a pest for the opposition on the left wing. While McClutchie forgot to put on his goal kicking boots in the first half, he had a very good game; good game management and - apart from one missed touch finder - a good kicking game. Kereru-Symes's line-out throwing was excellent and shows he's really formed in the Dixon mould with his line-out mauls.

I was a bit disappointed that Dennis Tapusoa didn't get to score a try at the end. If I wanted one man to score on debut, it's him (for those not in the know: his young daughter passed away, last month).

One more preseason game to go, next week. IIRC against Counties Manukau.

Can't say much about the NPEC players, as I don't know know them, apart from one. Former Magpies hooker Jorian Tangaere scored the only try for the East Coasters. Still a great player, who strangely enough hung up his boots a few years ago due to continuing eye problems (he risked getting blind if he continued playing), but laced up the boots again last year, when he debuted for East Coast after a season for Clive.

@stargazer
I gotta say Stargazer, your passion and knowledge provincial rugby is excellent. Keep up the interesting posts. (p.s. Bridge still sucks - haha)

@nepia said in Hawke's Bay v Ngāti Porou East Coast (RS):

@daffy-jaffy said in Hawke's Bay v Ngāti Porou East Coast (RS):

@nepia Its live on sky 52 now!

Even though my TV has decided my Apple TV is Sky NZ (it's very strange), we don't actually get Sky in Oz.

If I could watch it on Sky I'd be at the ground.

Youda thunk Stan would pick up all rugby that Sky broadcasts. Not that I want to watch but just scrolled through and couldn't find it, but as you say Otago Spirit v Auckland Storm.

Viewing the replay, it reminded me that Higgins has a bit of Buckman about his play as well as his look. If we need a starting 12, at this stage I'd still have Toala or Fomai ahead of him, but shows some promise

@stockcar86 He stepped nicely off his left foot a couple of times in the first half to easily get past his opponent and there was a very nice flick on of the ball when under pressure to create space for the player outside him later on. I agree with you, he shows promise but you have to take into consideration the amateur level of the opposition, particularly their ability to fall off tackles when tiredness set in. In addition our guys would probably have had at least 80% of possession. A clear case of professionals v amateurs in this case.

I would have expected the Shield Defenders to utterly slaughter the challengers given the difference in personnel available to each team but that did not really happen. I know that might not make sense when 93 points were raked up but I got the impression that the Magpies were holding an awful lot back that they might not have wanted video analysists of upcoming opponents to see. For example I would have expected the scrum to shunt the Coast backwards big time every scrum (they did not) and to swing the ball wide showing off Harlem Globetrotter like plays way more than they did. We must also consider that it was nowhere near the complete Bunnings Cup team on the field at the same time at any stage so Messrs Ozich and Syms were keeping things under their hats to a certain degree.