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As a short-term injury cover I'd be OK with it but at 34 I'm not convinced he's a significant enough upgrade on Reihana & Kemara to warrant taking a contract off e.g. James White (Cantab NPC 5/8) or going to the pool of guys who miss out on a full Super Rugby contract in November.

CruSadists CEO Mainbridge has stated that JOC (James O'Connor) was signed as backup to Reihana & Kemara: https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/350446451/crusaders-boss-colin-mansbridge-defends-signing-former-wallaby-james-oconnor

Apparently Wyatt Crockett arced up over the JOC (James O'Connor) thing to which CruSadists CEO has responded: https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/350446451/crusaders-boss-colin-mansbridge-defends-signing-former-wallaby-james-oconnor If it's true that JOC (James O'Connor) is there as backup for Reihana & Kemara I'm a little less...

All Blacks released for NPC duty Friday, October 11 Wellington v Counties Manukau – Sky Stadium, Wellington; 7.05pm Wellington: Billy Proctor, Ruben Love, TJ Perenara, Asafo Aumua Counties Manukau: Cam Roigard Saturday, October 12 Bay of Plenty v Hawkes Bay – Tauranga Domain; 2.05pm Bay of...

^ his extraordinary leg drive gets him a long way, literally & figuratively, but I feel he's a bit of a one-trick pony these days & when the leg drive starts to wane he'll fade rather quickly.

^ Ardie turns 31 on Monday & if he's still first pick at 34/ 35 something is seriously wrong.

^ not saying right now but maybe as soon as next EOYT & looking to next RWC: 6. Sititi 7. Lakai 8. Sotutu A loose trio to put the shits up everyone except maybe SA.

No. To take the Sotutu example he'd be eligible for England or Fiji from November 2025* but would need to be released from his NZR contract which runs until the end of 2026 & in the case of England sign with a Premiership club per EngRU rules. For Fiji he'd need the NZR release but could in...

Brett Cameron has had ACL surgery & will likely miss the entire 2025 Super Rugby season. Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens must also be in some doubt as he needed emergency surgery on a fractured neck vertebrae Edit: after 'naki v Mako. More surgery tomorrow & a prognosis next week.

^ you forgot to mention that so too have both Crusaders member Unions ;)

Is that the twin brother of the one forced to commit sepeku after Razor picked TJ, Cane, Havili etc?

How many wins do we think AB need for the tour to be rated a success? Or possibly more to the point, how many losses for it to be considered a fail? I reckon we need to beat two of England, Ireland & France plus Italy to get a pass mark.

Fabian Holland is now AB-eligible thanks to a recent (1 August) WR (World Rugby) Reg tweak, I wonder if he'll be named tomorrow?

I wouldn't have picked Cane but I can see the logic behind doing so. TJP otoh makes no sense to me. Unless you pick Christie you're going with two 9's with sfa experience, one of whom could be learning off TJ. Edit: from the stuff.co.nz live blog; "Scott Robertson confirms Finlay Christie...

Roigard for Hotham the only change from TRC squad. Gotta be a heap of new blood in ABXV, surely. Forwards: Asafo Aumua, Codie Taylor, George Bell, Ethan De Groot, Tyrel Lomax, Fletcher Newell, Pasilio Tosi, Ofa Tu'ungafasi, Tamaiti Williams, Scott Barrett (captain), Tupou Vaa'i, Patrick...

Main squad announcement at 14:00 NZDT today, ABXV tomorrow. Roigard getting through 40 mins should be the end of TJP AB-wise but I wouldn't be surprised to see him in the XV. I think they'll take Cane in the main squad for his leadership, possibly coming off the bench rather than starting...

Interesting NPC QF lineup: Wellington v Counties-Maukau = Jonah Lomu Trophy rematch (not sure if it's up for grabs but Wellys will be wanting payback for their recent pantsing). Taranaki v Waikato = intra-Tribal warfare. Tasman v Cantabs = Crusader bragging rights. Bay of Plenty v Hawkes Bay...

It appears Mighty 'nua tipped over Thames Valley yesterday thereby locking in a Lochore Cup SF, potentially at home if they get past West Coast next week.

Oh well, 'twas fun while it lasted & at least it's gone to someone who's fans gaf about it. Still trying to work out why Mako kept going to the tail of the line-out which only worked once vs getting picked off or at least disrupted multiple times. Dumb footy, that.

1news saying a BP will get Cantabs through so maybe my maths ain't that flash. Again.