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All Blacks flanker Dillon Hunt named captain of North Harbour squad powered by 12 Super Rugby players

By Online Editors
Dillon Hunt. (Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images)

The North Harbour Mitre 10 Cup side is bucking the trend once again by selecting a squad with home-grown roots and plenty of history in the province.

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In the 32-man squad confirmed today, a total of 16 players attended high school in the North Harbour region and many have family links to the team.

The squad has retained the majority of players from 2019 when they finished fifth in the Premiership, but have also gained through a number of players earning more experience in Super Rugby teams and wider training groups.

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Dillon Hunt and Bryn Gatland were at the Highlanders, Shaun Stevenson featured at the Chiefs, while Murphy Taramai was at the Hurricanes, having previously played for the Blues and also the All Blacks Sevens.

At the Super Rugby Aotearoa winning Crusaders was 22-year-old loose forward, Ethan Roots along with halfback Bryn Hall.

Hall has 78 appearances for North Harbour and is one of a group of seven players in the squad who have played over 30 times for the province.

The Blues had a number of Harbour players featuring strongly with the likes of Gerard Cowley-Tuioti, Karl Tu’inukuafe and Sione Mafileo mainstays of the side while 22-year-old Jacob Pierce put in some hard-hitting appearances as well. Pierce is a potential star of the future at over two metres tall and in excess of 115kg. His father, Scott was a North Harbour player during the 1980’s and 90’s with 74 appearances for the team.

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Of note is that there are three sets of brothers in the squad; Cowley-Tuioti, Gerard and Xavier, Lotu and Fine Inisi as well as the Roots, Ethan and Jimmy.

Captain for the 2020 season is Highlanders flanker Hunt, who has a busy time coming up with the North vs South game before returning to his home province to lead the team.

“It’s a fairly young side. Guys have been rewarded for what they’ve done in clubs,” said 25-year-old Hunt. “We’ve retained a pretty solid group of core leaders, it’s a pretty exciting squad and I’m keen to see what we can do. Even last year we didn’t have as many big names as the other teams, but we were able to compete with them and that’s a lot down to the way we were preparing and the way the buy into it and the young guys fitting in.”

For Hunt, the ‘home’ factor and provincial pride represent a lot to him and to the players in the squad.

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“It means a lot to people growing up here who have watched the team when they were younger are now part of it. I think it’s pretty special to get guys from the region or have been in the region in the past. It shows there is a clear pathway. I’m very proud…to be a leader in the team, I got a bit of experience last year and I’m looking forward to it, I’ve got some great guys around me who will help me out. I’m pretty excited about where we can take this team over this year and the next couple of years.”

Head coach Kieran Keane is pleased with the group he has assembled and how fresh and keen they are to get on the field and represent their province.

“I think it’s nice they have come from the region, it’s their home and their education was here and representing the flagship team means something. We’ve managed to return the core of the team, but with some freshness as well. We’ve picked the players who are available to us locally and hopefully they get the support from the community,” said Keane.

“There is a settled element to this team. Other provinces like to target big names, we like to grow them. We could surprise a few people with what we can do.”

The home matches for Harbour are the opening game of the season against Canterbury on Friday 11 September as well as against Mitre 10 Cup champions, Tasman on Sunday 4 October, Hawkes Bay Sunday 11 October, the Battle of the Bridge, Saturday 24 October and Counties Manukau Saturday 7 November.

North Harbour stalwart, James Parsons is unavailable due to concussion symptoms.

QBE Insurance continue their support of North Harbour Rugby as principal partner, with Kennards Hire NZ, Barfoot & Thompson, Paladin, Westie Pies, Benefitz, Ritchies Coachlines and North Harbour Ford as major partners of the Union. Their support alongside our other partners is critical to the ongoing success of the team and organisation.

North Harbour Mitre 10 Cup Squad:

Forwards:

Hooker

Luteru Tolai (Northcote), 16 caps
Zane Turner (Silverdale), 0 caps

Prop

Sione Mafileo (North Shore), 53 caps
Nic Mayhew (Northcote), 33 caps
Teague McElroy (Northcote), 0 caps
Jimmy Roots (East Coast Bays), 2 caps
Karl Tu’inukuafe (Takapuna), 27 caps

Lock

Gerard Cowley-Tuioti, (Massey), 56 caps
Xavier Cowley-Tuioti (Massey), 1 cap
Jacob Pierce (North Shore), 17 caps
Mitchell Ryan (Northcote), 0 caps

Loose forward

Tate Evans (East Coast Bays), 2 caps
Dillon Hunt (Marist), 17 caps
Lotu Inisi (Takapuna), 9 caps
Tamarau McGahan (Marist), 0 caps
Ethan Roots (East Coast Bays), 10 caps
Tim Sail (Northcote), 0 caps
Murphy Taramai (Northcote), 41 caps

Backs:

Halfback

Lewis Gjaltema (East Coast Bays), 21 caps
Bryn Hall (Northcote), 78 caps
Brad McNaughten (North Shore), 1 cap

First five

Kade Banks (Takapuna), 0 caps
Bryn Gatland (Takapuna), 31 caps
Jack Heighton (East Coast Bays), 0 caps

Midfield

Fine Inisi (Takapuna), 4 caps
James Little (North Shore), 8 caps

Outside back

Tomas Aoake (East Coast Bays), 5 caps
Walter Fifita (Massey), 0 caps
Ngarohi McGarvey-Black (Marist), 0 caps
Jared Page (East Coast Bays), 3 caps
Shaun Stevenson (Northcote), 30 caps
Asaeli Tikoirotuma (Northcote), 9 caps.

– North Harbour Rugby

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J
Jon 38 minutes ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

32 Go to comments
j
john 3 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

15 Go to comments
A
Adrian 5 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

15 Go to comments
T
Trevor 7 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

21 Go to comments
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