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'Emerging Player of the Year' misses out on Super Rugby squad selection
The man who steered Taranaki to NPC glory has surprisingly not made it into a Super Rugby Pacific squad. Instead, Josh Jacomb will spend the 2024 season tantalisingly close to the Super Rugby action as a member of the Chiefs’ wider training group.
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The 22-year-old had a breakout year with the Taranaki outfit, taking home the Cup after an exhilarating 22-19 victory in the final over Hawkes Bay.
In a competition with an abundance of former and aspiring All Black talent, it was Jacomb who was awarded the No. 10 jersey in the 2023 NPC Form XV, and rightly so as the Sacred Heart College product owned the first five-eighth role and combined with fullback Stephen Perofeta to inspire his side to seven wins from 10 matches.
The high praise of the youngster continued from former All Black James Parsons, who awarded Jacomb the “Emerging Player of the Year” award on the Aotearoa Rugby Pod‘s awards show.
“I’ve gone with Taranaki’s first five Josh Jacomb,” Parsons explained. “He is something to watch, I really enjoyed watching him over the NPC.
“I don’t know if he’s in a Super (Rugby) squad, but man, if there’s a 10 that goes down, I’d love to see him up in the Blues.
“He’s got a great relationship with Stephen Perofeta, obviously from Taranaki and he was schooled in Auckland.
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“He’s got a bright future, he is really, really good. All around. He can carry hard to the line, he’s got a kicking game, he got a number of 50/22s. He was outstanding.”
In the NPC semi-final, Jacomb almost single-handedly outscored Canterbury, racking up 125 metres with the ball in hand in a 23-16 victory that sent the serial winners packing.
It was an elimination of the young Aucklander’s favourite team, despite his region of birth.
“I was Crusaders for one man only, Dan Carter,” Jacomb told Stuff the week of the final. “My dad, he is a very hard-out Blues supporter, so when the Blues always played the Crusaders at Eden Park when I was a bit younger, we’d be going to those games and whoever won got bragging rights.”
Finishing the competition with the sixth most points scored, Jacomb provides an exciting reserve option should the Chiefs lose the services of Damian McKenzie, Josh Ioane or Kaleb Trask.
“I definitely am feeling comfortable out there (at this level),” he continued. “I think it’s a mix of just making sure I’m preparing throughout the week, so I am just going out there with a clear mind of how I want to play and what I feel needs to happen for us to play well as a team.
“Just having the mindset of not coming off the field, leaving any what ifs or any stone unturned. I just want to leave it all out there, whether it’s 40 minutes, 60 or 80.”
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Comments on RugbyPass
Not sure the Bulls need another average utility back in their ranks. Chamberlain has been ok for the Sharks but is by no means an X-Factor player. Bulls bought several utility backs which they barely use. A typical example would be Henry Immelman who plays mostly Fullback. The Bulls however have rarely played him this year and he has played wing or centre. Bulls want to build depth but seems like they have too many surplus players
1 Go to commentsABs lost against a side playing without a hooker - The guy playing, had one shoulder. Line outs were a gimme for the ABs, and the last 8 minutes 14 played 14 against a team that had been smashed 3 weeks in a row… Yet with all that possession, with all that territory, with all the advantages they actually had, especially in the last 8 minutes, they couldn’t buy a point. Those last 8 minutes determined if they outplayed the Boks or not. History will show that the Boks completely outplayed the ABs, especially in those last 8 minutes, the business end of any rugby match
225 Go to commentsWould’ve, could’ve, should’ve, didn’t.
225 Go to commentsKok will become a fan favourite
1 Go to commentsI am really looking forward to Leigh Halfpenny playing his first Super rugby game for the Crusaders Playing a long side his former Welsh and Scarlets team mate Johnny McNicoll.Johnny has been playing great, back in a Crusaders jersey.The attack has strengthened big time. Also looking forward to David Havili at 10. David is a class act, it also allows Dallas McLeod to remain at 12. A good thing.
1 Go to commentsIf he had stopped insisting on playing in the backrow, instead of wing, where everyone told him he should, he would have been a Bok years ago….
11 Go to comments‘Salads don’t win scrums’ 😂 I love that.
19 Go to commentsCan’t wait for the article that talks about misogyny in Ireland. Somehow.
16 Go to commentsI would like to see a rule change, when the attacking team is held up over the try line, by allowing the defensive team to restart a goal line drop out releases the pressure for the defensive team, but what if the attacking team had to restart a tap 5m out from the defensive team it gives the attacking team to apply more pressure, there are endless options for the attacking side and it will keep the fans in suspence.
2 Go to commentsLess modern South African males predictably triggered.
16 Go to commentsMy heart is with Quins, but the head is convinced Toulouse have too much. Ntamack is back, his timing and wisdom has been missed.
1 Go to commentsWow, what a starting line up for the Sharks) Tasty up front,kremer vs Tshituka or venter …fiery ,,Lavannini ,,will he knobble etzebeth? Biggest game for belleau?
1 Go to commentsIt was rubbish to watch, Blues weren’t even present. Did what they had to do, nothing more. Should be better next week against canes.
1 Go to commentsI’ve just noticed that this match has an all-French refereeing team. Surely a game like this ought to have a neutral ref? Although looking at the BBC preview of the Saints game, Raynal is also down as reffing that - so there may be some confusion about who is reffing what.
1 Go to commentsIf Havili can play anywhere in the back line, why not first 5. #10.
11 Go to commentsThe dressing room had already left for their summer break before they ran out in Dublin that year, and that’s on the coach. Franco Smith has undoubtedly made progress, particularly their maul, developing squad players and increasing squad depth. And against a very tight budget too. That said they were too lightweight last year and got found out against both Toulon and Munster in consecutive games. Better this season so far but they’ve developed something of a slow start habit occasionally, most notably losing at home to Northampton who played them at their own game. Play offs will ultimately show whether there has been tangible progress on last year, or not…!
2 Go to commentsAustralian Rugby has been a disaster, by not incorporating learning from previous successful campaigns. QLD Reds 2011 - Waratahs 2014. Players, coaches and administrators appoint there representatives for scheduled meetings, organisation’s agreement’s assessments and correspondence. This why a unified Rugby Union under one entity works. Every Rugby nation has taken that path. Was most difficult in the Northern hemisphere with over 100 years of club rugby before the game become professional. Took a lot of humility for those unions to eventually work together.
7 Go to commentsThough Wilson’s sacking was pretty brutal, it wasn’t just down to that Leinster game; Glasgow had a lot of 2nd half collapses that season, in the URC and Europe, and only just scraped into the playoffs. Franco Smith has definitely been an improvement, some players are delivering far more than they did under Wilson.
2 Go to commentsjesus - that front 5!
1 Go to commentsShould be an absolute cracker of a game! Will be great to see DuPont & Ntamack in tandem once again🔥
1 Go to comments