Canterbury snap up ex-Queensland Red for Mitre 10 campaign
Canterbury Head Coach Joe Maddock has today announced his team for the 2018 Mitre 10 Cup season, including eight new names from the 2017 Premiership-winning squad.
The new squad members include five forwards and three backs, and a mixture of experienced campaigners and emerging provincial talent. Seven players were also named in yesterday’s All Blacks squad for the upcoming Rugby Championship.
“We are excited to name our squad today, as we prepare to kick off our 2018 season next Friday night in Blenheim,” Maddock said.
“In the forwards we have named 20 year-old Tom Christie for the first time, although Tom did feature in last year’s Final against Tasman. H
“He captained the New Zealand Under 20 side earlier this year in the Junior World Championship and is a genuine player for the future in red and black.
“The remainder of our new forwards all bring valuable Super Rugby experience to the group. Greg Pleasants-Tate has played for the Highlanders and has established himself as a strong scrummager who is dynamic around the park.
“Prop Sef Fa’agase joins us from the Queensland Reds, and was a member of the Wallabies extended training squad for the 2017 Rugby Championship. Sef is a player we’re excited to give an opportunity to this year.
“Joining Sef in the front row is the experienced Chris King, who has over 100 Super Rugby caps to his name and previous provincial roles with Canterbury, Otago, Southland and Taranaki. His career has come full circle as he re-joins the Canterbury squad, so we know his experience will be invaluable in 2018.
“Whetu Douglas we know well – he was a crowd favourite with the Crusaders last season and he brings plenty of experience to the side, as well as great character. Whetu is a natural leader and his voice will be important for us this season.
“Sam Beard and Phil Burleigh are two new midfielders this year. Both have played for Edinburgh in recent seasons, and Sam also spent two years with Newport in Wales. We’re confident they’ll bring plenty of stability to our midfield combinations, assisting the younger members of our backline with their vast experience.
“Last but not least is exciting new talent, Ngane Punivai. At just 19, Ngane has come through the schools’ and academy system and while he’s a natural centre, we believe he also has plenty of potential to be a powerful winger for us this year,” Maddock said.
Ngane Punivai is a local Christs College product who represented New Zealand schools in 2016. His professional debut has been highly anticipated as he progresses through the Crusaders system. With the departure of Highlanders midfielder Rob Thompson to Manuwatu, Punivai has the chance to feature in the 13 jersey. His younger brother Isaiah Punivai holds a similar pedigree, who is currently at St Kentigern’s and played centre for New Zealand schools last year.
The 2018 Mitre 10 Cup season was launched at a national event in Auckland this morning, where Canterbury hooker Nathan Vella attended as the team’s representative. Canterbury’s Mitre 10 Cup season will officially kick off on 17 August with a replay of last year’s Premiership Final, against Tasman in Blenheim.
2018 Canterbury Mitre 10 Cup squad:
Name Club
Sam Beard* Burnside
George Bridge HSOB
Phil Burleigh* New Brighton
Brett Cameron Lincoln University
Tom Christie* Christchurch
Hamish Dalzell Lincoln University
Whetu Douglas* University
Mitchell Drummond HSOB
Mitchell Dunshea Lincoln University
Ereatara Enari Lincoln University
Braydon Ennor University
Sef Fa’agase* Darfield
Billy Harmon New Brighton
Alex Hodgman Linwood
Oliver Jager New Brighton
Chris King* Christchurch
Daniel Lienert-Brown HSOB
Caleb Makene Lincoln University
Josh McKay Lincoln University
Greg Pleasants-Tate* Prebbleton
Reed Prinsep HSOB
Ngane Punivai* Lincoln University
Luke Romano Hurunui
Tom Sanders Lincoln University
Siate Tokolahi Sydenham
Nathan Vella New Brighton
*denotes new player in 2018
Canterbury All Blacks:
Owen Franks Linwood
Ryan Crotty New Brighton
Joe Moody Lincoln
Richie Mo’unga Linwood
Codie Taylor Sydenham
Luke Whitelock University
Sam Whitelock Lincoln University
Comments on RugbyPass
Why 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!
3 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 …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to comments