Comings and goings

Okay, the club season has started and its becoming a little more clear as to who is around from last year and who has gone.
By my calculations 24 of the 37 contracted players from last year are playing club rugby locally or are in the Chiefs or Chiefs Development teams.

Those that I know have left are :-

Joe Tupe. Sadly it seems, after being overlooked for Super rugby, he has taken a contract in Japan.

Te Aihe Toma. Playing in Europe.

Dan Hollinshead. Playing in Europe

Joe Royal. Playing in Auckland

James O’Reilly. Down in Wellington on the fringe of the Hurricanes team.

Callum Retallick. Playing for the Rebels in Melbourne.

The only “ arrivals “ that I know of are :-

Tom Franklin. Lock currently playing for the Highlanders.

Richard Judd. Halfback who played a bit for Counties last year.

Liam Steel. Utility back from Auckland who is in the Chiefs Development I think.

Kane Le’aupepe. Two metre plus lock who played a bit for Wellington last year. Currently playing for Te Puke Sports.

Matt Garland. Utility back who played a bit for Hawkes Bay last year. Currently playing for Wakarewarewa.

I know of other “newbies” who are playing club rugby and there are the usual academy players who will hopefully step up at some stage.

So, some questions :-

Anyone know of any other comings or goings ?

Anyone know what Lelia Masaga is up to ? I hear he has finished his 2 year Japan contract and has been put on stand by for the Chiefs.

Does anyone know where Pingi Tala’aptaga, Matty Axtens, Teddy Stanaway, Hugh Blake, Joe Webber, Regan Ware or Te Rangi Fraser are ?

@Snollygoster

Joe Webber and Teddy Stanaway were both injured at the time of the last World Rugby Sevens Tournament, but - when fit - both will be considered for the All Blacks 7s. I'm certain that Webber, and also Regan Ware, has a 7s contract.

Edited to add that Regan Ware was also named in the Chiefs Development squad a month ago.

regan ware would love to come back to the bay, te rangi has gone to perth I think, pingi is playing for Narbonne (sp) in france at the mo

From memory Hollinshead's European contract has him back in time for the NPC.

@Donsteppa That's correct. It was for injury cover only, so short-term.

Thanks guys. Whats pretty apparent is that there hasn't been a mass exodus from last year. What is unclear however is who is contracted and who isn't and who is/isn't available for this NPC.

I wonder who won't make it again ? Retallick, Tipuna, Mewett and Haimona are all 30 or older so you could argue they are getting past it. Having said that, some of them had a great season last year so its arguable whether their replacements would be any better. I'm sure they would have had a performance review from last year for all players in the team so some will be chopped.

Also worth mentioning is that the same coaches are returning. The pressure is on them to improve. Problems in the backline, inconsistent performances and failure to close out close games plagued the team last year so lets hope they will look for improvement there.

Looking forward to the season...

club rugby write up from yesterday game greerton marist vs whaka , and GM has a old Waikato and nz 7s player

Yeah, I saw that write up also Cpt Kumera. This is the guy they talked about ...

James Lay who was in the Auckland team last year seems to be another recruit. Plays prop and is a Brother of Jordan who was contracted last year but I think never played. Presently playing for Waka.

Whatever recruiting has taken, is taking place - we need a decent five eighth. Haimona and Hollinghead didn't cut it last year. Good enough as back up, but we need some direction around the park.

This guy has come up from Wellington this year and is playing First five for Te Puke. Is a pretty handy kicker and has been given "Player of the day" for his last two games for them.

@Snollygoster Good post - thanks for that, he looks handy. How did he go against T Sports on the weekend? I believe young Trask had a great game for Sports...

@Snollygoster said in Comings and goings:

This guy has come up from Wellington this year and is playing First five for Te Puke. Is a pretty handy kicker and has been given "Player of the day" for his last two games for them.

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Good line in that story

"I stepped past Chase Tiatia, which isn't hard"

@GagaBoy I actually went to the Te Puke Sports - Tauranga Sports game on Saturday. Robertson-Weepu played mainly at fullback (I think he usually plays at first five) and he played well. How he would play at NPC level is anyone's guess and if he would be better than the incombents is also up for debate. My guess is he played in Clayton McMillan's team when he coached down there and hence moved up here after chatting to Clayton. Trask looked quite capable for an 18-19 year old but it would be a big call to put him in the Bay team after just a handful of senior games. He's still a "light weight" at this level but hopefully will make the jump up in the future. Quality first fives seem to be thin on the ground around New Zealand at the moment but I'm hoping that Hollinshead gets another go plus one or two newbies....but I doubt that will happen. The coaches need to take some blame in my opinion for our stuttering back line. On a side note Ajay Mua (playing at No.8 for Tauranga) impressed. He's a rugged hard working little bugger.

Yes, I watched a replay of that game on Vimeo - Trask looked very accomplished. The issue about a jump up to NPC is whether he'll jump to another province if not given the opportunity. I believe we already lost a number of Rotorua Boys to Southland straight out of school. Robertson-Weepu did look good also.

Great that we have a couple of options available to us. I'm not that keen on Hollinshead - he has had 3 seasons already and we haven't had a backline that fires. Having said that, I won't be surprised if he doesn't get another crack given the previous time investment.

Ajay Mua has a future. Great footwork - bit of work on required for ball retention into contact. I hope he gets a shot at NPC this year.

@GagaBoy I pretty much agree with all you say. One of my pet gripes with the BOPRU is the lack of development of our young talent. Considering we are one of the bigger provinces with regard player numbers and also because of our Maori population, we should perform better nationally. Canterbury and Wellington, for instance seem to be a production line for young talent. Hopefully some in our present academy will step up.

Loose forwards and five eights loom as the interesting selections this year.

Thought I would add this. Its a "Barbarians team" selected to play a NZ University team. Its a real mixture of young and old from within club rugby.....a mini Steamers trial...sort of.

WASPS Team:

1. Hayden Anderson (Te Puke Sports)
2. Joe Key (Greerton Marist)
3. James Lay (Whakarewarewa)
4. Baden Wardlaw (Rotoiti)
5. Tim Bond (Te Puke Sports)
6. Henry Stowers (Arataki)
7. Mone Funaki (Paroa)
8. Chulainn Mabbett-Stowerby (Te Puke Sports)
9. Jacob Abel (Tauranga Sports)
10. Kelly Haimona (Whakarewarewa)
11. Matt Garland (Whakarewarewa)
12. Brad Armstrong (Te Puke Sports)
13. Joe Webber (Te Puke Sports)
14. Luke Masirewa (Te Puke Sports)
15. Josh Robertson-Weepu (Te Puke Sports)

Reserves:
16. Angus MacDonald (Te Puna)
17. Jessie Williams (Tauranga Sports)
18. Josh Davey (Mount Maunganui Sports)
19. Lars Morrice (Te Puke Sports)
20. Kayden Budd (Te Puna)
21. Jordy Stone (Te Puna)
22. Reece MacDonald (Arataki)
23. Josh Honey (Tauranga Sports)

Sorry, its a "Wasps" team and not a Barbarians team. Plenty of interest though..

Hayden Anderson was in the Chiefs Development last year playing as a loose forward. James Lay, Matt Garland Luke Masirewa and Robertson-Weepu are all recent imports. Tim Bond played for BOP a couple of years back before going to Japan. Henry Stowers is a 2016 Steamer as is Kelly Haimona and Joe Webber. Webber was in the NZ Sevens team and I don't think has yet pulled on a BOP jersey. Plenty of players from the Academy and other young talent.

Looks like a lot of Te Puke players in the run on side... Looks like a heap of young and imported players getting their opportunity to impress - with Bond & Haimona thrown in for experience. It would be great if someone gives a summary report on the game - for those of us who are unable to make it.

Not sure whether you are aware of this, but if Google translate serves me well and translates the Japan Top League website correctly, then Joe Tupe and Dan Hollinshead have both signed with Coca-Cola Red Sparks. Regarding Dan Hollinshead, I found confirmation in a French article.