Caleb Clarke set for milestone match as Blues unveil team for season opener
New Zealand internationals Caleb Clarke and Angus Ta’avao will reach club milestones on Saturday afternoon when the Blues take on Fijian Drua in the opening round of the new season.
Clarke and Ta’avao have both been named to start in their 50th matches in Blues colours while lock Josh Beehre will debut in his hometown of Whangarei.
The trio form part of the Blues’ First XV for Round One of the new Super Rugby Pacific season, with the team including eight All Blacks in total.
“Naturally, I’m excited to make my debut, seeing my name up on the screen at the team meeting was a bit of a buzz for sure,” Beehre said in a statement.
“I went to school at Whangarei Boys and I remember going to a Blues game in Whangarei when I was young, so for this to come full circle is pretty surreal.
“Hopefully the locals get down to Semenoff Stadium to watch the boys put on a show this weekend.”
Debutant Beehre will pack down alongside Sam Darry in the second-row, while the formidable trio of Joshua Fusitu’a, Kurt Eklund and milestone man Ta’avao make up the rest of the tight five.
Anton Segner joins All Blacks Dalton Papali’i and Hoskins Sotutu in the loose forwards.
“It’s cool, this is the club I looked up to when I was young. I’m an Auckland boy born and bred and I wanted to play for the Blues as a young kid,” Ta’avao said.
“My family has put up with a lot for me to be here. I wouldn’t be here without them.”
In the backs, capped All Blacks Finlay Christie and Stephen Perofeta will link as part of a lethal halves combination, and the players outside of the pair as equally as dangerous.
Playmaker Harry Plummer joins Rieko Ioane in the halves, while Caleb Clarke, Mark Tele’a and Zarn Sullivan make up the rest of the starting side.
There are also two potential debutants on the bench with lock Laghlan McWhannell and outside back Cole Forbes getting the nod from coach Vern Cotter.
The match between the Blues and Fijian Drua kicks off at 4:35 pm NZT at Whangarei’s Semenoff Stadium.
Blues team to take on Fijian Drua
- Joshua Fusitu’a
- Kurt Eklund
- Angus Ta’avao (50th Blues appearance)
- Sam Darry
- Josh Beehre (Blues debut)
- Anton Segner
- Dalton Papali’i
- Hoskins Sotutu
- Finlay Christie
- Stephen Perofeta
- Caleb Clarke (50th Blues appearance)
- Harry Plummer
- Rieko Ioane
- Mark Tele’a
- Zarn Sullivan
Reserves
- Ricky Riccitelli
- Jordan Lay
- Marcel Renata
- Laghlan McWhannell (potential Blues debut)
- Adrian Choat
- Sam Nock
- AJ Lam
- Cole Fobes (potential Blues debut)
Comments on RugbyPass
Danny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
2 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
2 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
2 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
38 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
2 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
2 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
5 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
34 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
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