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This is how Bristol's first XV is shaping up for 2018/19

By Ian Cameron
Bristol revealed 9 players yesterday.

With their bulk announcement of nine players yesterday in what the club dubbed the ‘Signed Up Saturday’ a pretty clear picture of what a potential Bristol first XV will look like is emerging.

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Seven of the nine signings announced yesterday were forwards, suggesting headcoach Pat Lam was eager to bolster his forward pack ahead of next season’s Aviva Premiership.

1 Jordan Lay

The Samoan international will join Bristol from the Bay of Plenty.

2 Harry Thacker

While Thacker may have fallen down the pecking order at Leicester Tiger, his dynamic ball carrying make him probably the most mobile hooker in the Premiership and a real handful for any defence. Will have a battle on his hands with Will Capon and Exeter Chief’s Shaun

3 John Afoa

The All Black who switches from Gloucester still has a couple of good prop years in him and will anchor Bristol’s scrum like few others could.

4 Aly Muldowney

A big loss to Connacht when he left for Grenoble last season, the 6’5, 116kg secondrow adds much-needed experience and grunt.

5 Joe Joyce

Homegrown talent Joe Joyce will hope to prove he has what it takes to operate in the Premiership after a breakout season in the Championship.

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6 James Haskell

While Haskell is yet to sign for Bristol, many see the club as his most likely destination with still no offer on the table from Wasps. A massive addition – both literally and figuratively – if he joins.

7 Jake Heenan

You don’t captain the New Zealand U20s without being a serious operator and has worked with Lam before. The move to Bristol means he’s effectively turning his back on Ireland, who has now qualified to play for through residence. Lam has likened him to McCaw.

8 Steven Luatua

The former All Black is an exceptional athlete and maybe one of the few Kiwi’s to exit his national side that could realistically expect to make a return. Will be an undoubted force in the next year’s Premiership.

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9 Nik Stirzaker

The Australian live wire who qualifies for England comes to Bristol all the way from the Rebels and already has a tonne of experience having won over 50 Super Rugby caps. How he compliments Madigan outside him will be an interesting subplot.

10 Ian Madigan

The Irish man has quickly become the creative heartbeat of the side and combines both place-kicking ability and a ball-in-hand threat. Expect fireworks.

11 Tom Varndell

It’s been nearly 13 years since he won the first of his four England caps but he’s still as deadly as ever. The Premiership leading try scorer will likely be adding to his tally.

12 Will Hurrell

Despite some suggestions that he might leave the club ‘The Hurrellcane’ will be looking make a similar impact in the Premiership as his maiden season in the top flight, where he was easily Bristol’s most effective metre-maker in midfield.

13 Alapati Leiua

Powerful Samoan centre Alapati Leiua provides heavy duty ball carrying, having made thirty appearances for Wasps and having earned 11 caps for Manu Samoa.

14 Luke Morahan

The Aussie speedster is unlucky not to have more than three Wallaby caps considering his pace and proven finishing ability. He and Varndell have formed quite the partnership with Madigan, who supplies them with crossfield kicks galore.

15 Charles Piutau

Touted as rugby’s most expensive player, the former All Black will be eager to live up to his billing. His form at Wasps and Ulster suggest that he will do exactly that.

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J
Jon 7 hours 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”?

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j
john 9 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.

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A
Adrian 11 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

36 Go to comments
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