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David Havili set for Ranfurly Shield clash as 12 All Blacks released to NPC

Tasman players celebrate with the Ranfurly Shield following the round five Bunnings Warehouse NPC match between Hawke's Bay and Tasman at McLean Park, on September 07, 2024, in Napier, New Zealand. (Photo by Kerry Marshall/Getty Images)

Of the 12 members of the All Blacks’ Rugby Championship squad that have today been released to represent their Provincial Unions in the sixth round of the NPC, three will be available for Saturday’s Ranfurly Shield defence at Lansdowne Park.

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As seen on social media, David Havili went berserk last weekend when Campbell Parata slotted a long-range penalty goal in Tasman Mako’s 25-24 win over Hawke’s Bay. Tasman had never won the prestigious Ranfurly Shield before, but that last-play kick was enough to make history.

Havili was swarmed by fellow Tasman representatives Will Jordan and Ethan Blackadder as the three All Blacks began to celebrate the province’s achievement from Cape Town. But, after returning to New Zealand, Havili will look to play a part in another famous match.

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Tasman will look to defend the shield for the first time when they come up against the table-topping Wellington Lions in Blenheim. Billy Proctor and Ruben Love have also been released, with the pair set to bolster a squad already riding a wave of confidence.

Match Summary

0
Penalty Goals
2
4
Tries
4
4
Conversions
3
0
Drop Goals
0
178
Carries
149
4
Line Breaks
6
8
Turnovers Lost
13
3
Turnovers Won
4

On Wednesday, Wellington won a thriller down south against Otago, with PR Sheck scoring what ended up being the match-winner with three minutes to play. The visitors won 32-28 at Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium to maintain their unbeaten run from six matches.

In the other matches, All Blacks front-rowers Ethan de Groot and George Bell will likely come up against one another after being released to play for Southland and Canterbury respectively. The two teams will go head-to-head in Invercargill on Friday evening.

Towering lock Josh Lord is available to line up for fifth-place Taranaki when they travel to Tauranga Domain for a clash with fourth-placed Bay of Plenty. The Bay will welcome back powerful prop Pasilio Tosi for the round six clash.

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In the only other fixture on Saturday, backrowers Samipeni Finau and Luke Jacobson have both been made available for Waikato. Waikato will host Hawke’s Bay at Hamilton’s FMG Stadium in the late game.

On Sunday, George Bower will be available for Otago when they take on Counties Manukau at Navigation Homes Stadium in Pukekohe. Playmaker Harry Plummer and Blues captain Patrick Tuipulotu are also available for Auckland’s clash with Northland in Whangarei.

All Blacks released for provincial duty

Friday 13 September

Southland v Canterbury

Southland: Ethan de Groot; Canterbury: George Bell

Saturday 14 September

Bay of Plenty v Taranaki

Bay of Plenty: Pasilio Tosi; Taranaki: Josh Lord

Waikato v Hawkes Bay

Waikato: Samipeni Finau & Luke Jacobson

Sunday 15 September

Counties Manukau v Otago

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Otago: George Bower

Tasman v Wellington

Tasman: David Havili; Wellington: Billy Proctor & Ruben Love

Northland v Auckland

Auckland: Harry Plummer & Patrick Tuipulotu

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Comments

2 Comments
T
TO 194 days ago

Is David Havili in the ABs? How, when, why? is this guy anywhere near the squad? Does he hold bags, water bottles for his Crusader mates who were injured all year only to be rushed back in to the All Blacks short of fitness, game time and form. The Blues and Chief's dominated the comp and have 7 forwards between them. The Crusaders came last and have the same amount. So glad it's paying off for us, Freedom Cup gone, Rugby Championship gone - what next Bledisloe?

Not alot of break dancing going down.

S
SM 194 days ago

Yeah Blues and chiefs rock, hahaha 😆 at least the media that propped up Foster agree with you 👍

J
JW 195 days ago

Awesome, can't wait for all these clashes!!

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JWH 41 minutes ago
'Matches between Les Bleus and the All Blacks are rarely for the faint-hearted.'

Do you hear yourself? Do you have any concept of world view? Have you tried looking into why people call Ireland ‘arrogant’? Obviously not.


We started calling you arrogant when you called our captain a ‘shit Richie McCaw’. In New Zealand. On our turf. Don’t think that kind of behaviour really calls for respect, does it.


NZ don’t really talk ourselves up, if anything the rugby does it for us. No kiwi goes in the media and says: ‘We are gonna win the RWC’. However, I have found many instance of IRISH media saying that the Irish should win, without a doubt. THAT is disrespectful.


The All Blacks have played good rugby, even some of the best rugby ever, at many points in history, but I don’t think you could find a single instance of one of those players, or the NZ media, saying that they should whitewash their opponents. Ever.


Now, onto your analysis. Ireland DID choke the QF. They beat the champions, they were ranked first coming into it, a lot of players at the peaks of their powers. Its hard to say that they didn’t choke. Obviously, their preparation was just not as good as NZ, and thats all there really is to it.


If Ireland had repsected that ABs team and that QF more, maybe they would’ve prepared properly for it and won. But they didn’t.


Maybe if Ireland had won their QF last RWC, they wouldn’t have to be in the same pool as SA and Scotland. I mean, its called a draw for a reason. NZ got third last RWC, so of course they should get a reasonable pool, and they were ranked pretty highly too. If you want to talk about easy pools, look no further than Pool 3 with England, Australia, Fiji, and Georgia I think?


Now, obviously you don’t remember how that QF ended, so I’ll go ahead and rectify that. Ireland reclaimed the ball off kickoff and marched for 20ish phases into the opposition half. Savea then won a turnover, but the referee refused to give it, so play went on. Finally, at the NZ 22, after not giving up a single penatly in 25 phases of hard defense, Sam Whitelock, the most capped All Black of all time, wins the game with an incredible steal.


Now, NZ players having a go at Ireland. Do you cry when you get hit after making the first swing? We all know Sexton is a prick on the field, its just the truth. And Ioane never backs down from a clash, so he thought he should humble a player who has never won an international knockout game who thought he was all that. Don’t really see the issue, its poetic justice really.

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