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Two All Blacks and eight debutants named in Maori All Blacks side to face Moana Pasifika
The Maori All Blacks have named a strong side featuring two capped All Blacks and eight debutants to face off against Moana Pasifika in their historic clash at FMG Stadium Waikato in Hamilton on Saturday.
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Maori All Blacks head coach Clayton MacMillan has blended youth with experience in his match day squad, with hooker Ash Dixon selected as captain for the one-off match.
With 12 appearances for the Maori All Blacks, Dixon stands as the most experienced player in the side, but will be able to call on former 43-test All Blacks loose forward Liam Messam for leadership support in the forward pack.
The 36-year-old has been picked at No. 8 in what will be his seventh outing for the side, and will be joined by tighthead prop Marcel Renata as one of the most experienced players up front.
Adding to Dixon’s and Renata’s vast experience in the front row is Josh Hohneck, the 34-year-old Otago prop who will play in his first Maori All Blacks test since 2015 at loosehead prop after returning to New Zealand from a four-year stint in England.
In the second row, Southland lock Manaaki Selby-Rickit rounds out a memorable 2020 by making his Maori All Blacks debut in the same year he made his first appearance for the Highlanders and featured for the South Island in the North vs South clash.
He will be partnered with Isaia Walker-Leawere in the tight five, while Whetukamokamo Douglas and Billy Harmon have been named as the flankers.
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Experienced halves Bryn Hall and Otere Black have been tasked with steering the team around the park from halfback and first-five, respectively.
The duo will act as a strong sounding board for uncapped midfield pair Quinn Tupaea and Billy Proctor, both of whom will make their Maori All Blacks debuts this weekend.
Out wide, seasoned Maori All Blacks speedsters Sean Wainui and Shaun Stevenson have been tasked with helping ease fullback Kaleb Trask into his first appearance for the team in the back three.
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There are a further four debutants on the bench, with hooker Kurt Eklund, new Crusaders prop Tamaiti Williams, lock Ethan Roots and midfielder Rameka Poihipi all primed for their first matches in the black jersey.
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Pouri Rakete-Stones, Mitchell Karpik, ex-All Blacks halfback Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi and Jonah Lowe are the other inclusions in the reserves.
Hurricanes loose forward Reed Prinsep, the only player from the initial 24-man squad not named in the team for this weekend’s match, has been ruled unavailable for selection.
In a statement released by the Maori All Blacks, head coach MacMillan said he was excited about what his side can offer against a side that will be taking to the field for the first time ever.
“It’s a really proud opportunity for those young men and their whanau and their iwi hapu to represent the Maori All Blacks,” he said.
“It represents a bit of a changing of the guard, we’ve had some real stalwarts that have moved overseas or are unavailable for this particular campaign and that opens up the door for some of those young guys to come in and show us what they’ve got and experience what it’s like to be in our environment.”
MacMillan added the experience provided by the likes of Messam and Hohneck will be invaluable for his young team.
“We felt the likes of Liam and Josh, guys that have been in the jersey historically, gone away and plied their trade overseas, have come back and added real value to their Mitre 10 Cup teams,” MacMillan said.
“It’s a no brainer for us, they are still good enough, but the peripheral stuff they bring, the mana and the knowledge and their ability to set really high standards for young people to follow has been instrumental in pulling these guys together.”
Kick-off for the clash between the Maori All Blacks and Moana Pasifika is scheduled for 7.05pm on Saturday [NZT].
Maori All Blacks side to face Moana Pasifika:
1. Josh Hohneck
2. Ash Dixon (c)
3. Marcel Renata
4. Isaia Walker-Leawere
5. Manaaki Selby-Rickit*
6. Whetukamokamo Douglas
7. Billy Harmon
8. Liam Messam
9. Bryn Hall
10. Otere Black
11. Sean Wainui
12. Quinn Tupaea*
13. Billy Proctor*
14. Shaun Stevenson
15. Kaleb Trask*
Reserves:
16. Kurt Eklund*
17. Pouri Rakete-Stones
18. Tamaiti Williams*
19. Ethan Roots*
20. Mitchell Karpik
21. Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi
22. Rameka Poihipi*
23. Jonah Lowe
* – denotes new cap
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Comments on RugbyPass
Well you’ve made a proper tit of yourself, haven’t you! 😂
173 Go to commentsBen it's beyond their comprehension-
202 Go to commentsThanks Sam. Interesting read. Harder or easier for Parling to come into a completely new setup where performance was abysmal last time out? I’d suggest easier to be better but, as you suggest, will be a lot to do with how much latitude he’s granted. Hopefully all he needs. With hybrids like Holloway, Hannigan, Swinton and Leota as options at 6 we have the basics for a strong lineout. BPA returning means we have good options at 2 also with Faessler, Porecki and Uelese, although Jordan is a scrumming beast rather than a dart thrower. I’m typically a pessimist or realist but that’s never applied to the Wallabies
1 Go to commentsMad how this somehow contained absolutely zero information.
1 Go to commentsI’m looking forward to attending the Twickenham match, I don’t think it will have a bearing on the outcome of the grand prize itself but it will tell us more about each teams’ preparation and game plan. It’s hard to look past one of the big four (I’m including Canada) lifting the trophy in 2025 but sport is a curious thing, there will still be twists and turns in road ahead.
2 Go to commentsThe better side seems to be the losing side a lot these days. As far as narrative goes. Must be the big emergent culture of “participation awards” that have emerged in nanny states. ”It looked like New Zealand would take the game from there but lapses in execution let South Africa get back into the game. New Zealand’s goal kickers left five points out there, including a very make-able penalty on the stroke of half”. Sounds like a chronic problem… I wonder how the better team has lapses in concentration and execution? Or are those not important factors in the grand scheme of total performances? In 2023, the ABs at least didn’t give up a lead to lose. They just couldn’t execute to get the points and take the lead. This Baby AB result points to a choke - letting the game slip through your fingers. In the words of the great Ricky Bobby’s dad - “If you’re not 1st you’re last!” Loosely translated - if you didn’t win, you’re a loser.
9 Go to commentsWith Stuart Lancaster at the helm, Racing 92 looks more and more a mercenaries club like Toulon some years ago and they are not even performing despite all the money on offer.
4 Go to commentsCouple of things BS missed: wind was behind the Baby Blacks in the first half. Baby Boks got points from a scrum penalty in the final quarter against this ‘dominant pack’, and left three points on the park after a missed penalty.
9 Go to commentsSensible thoughts on this, Brett. Also worth considering we’ve sold 60k tickets for a game between the Rebels and the Lions next year. Got to be roughly $10m in ticket and game day revenue there.
5 Go to commentsUnsuccessful bitter ex Ulster player taking a pop shot at a side that isn't including his consistently poor mates up north
4 Go to commentsHis decision to play in France isn’t a petulant decision as this article suggests. I reckon that France is the perfect place to demonstrate that he can mix it in those battles Rassie references. It’s a good decision to try get into the squad. My personal opinion is that he wins more battles than he loses. I don’t have Rassie’s stats machine behind me, but Daymian’s is so strong moving through traffic and in the rip.
4 Go to commentsWow! Argie forward dominance is something I have not read in years….
1 Go to commentsIs the ‘snub’ really why he is leaving? He hasn’t said that has he? You don’t have to stay in SA to play for the Boks, so it’s not that he’s giving up on trying to get into the squad as the case would be in, say, England or New Zealand. Rassie made it clear that the early camps won’t feature all the players to play for the Boks this year so I can’t imagine Dayimani was too offended by being overlooked this time. It just seems like a sensationalist angle to take for a story without really knowing the player’s intentions.
4 Go to commentsWell, it is easily one of the best Irish sides, it’s just that their historical standard is very low.
4 Go to commentsThe Irish side is good. They have lost 2 games in the last 23 tests. In the last 12 months they have have a 60% win rate against the top 5 sides in the world. Over the same period south africa have a 67% win rate against the top 5 teams, and New Zealand are at 40%.
4 Go to commentsOnly 1247 days until RWC 2027 starts Bin Smuth🤣Can’t wait to see how unhinged you’re still gonna get between now & then
202 Go to commentsany chance either team will improve on their u20 world cup performances this time around? I assume both sides will be deeply disappointed with how things went.
6 Go to commentsAnother poor articles by a poor journo, nothing new from Ben, at least you are consistently bad lol, geez I will try and watch the match later, clearly Benny was only looking to one end of the pitch, hard to tell whom the Baby Blacks were playing if it wasn’t in the header 😄😄
9 Go to commentsNz should have won. I didn't watch the game, but the ref was at fault and the bounce of the ball and the Bokke used the Bomb squad and the Bokke slow the game down and the Bokke scrum. They should remove the scrum. The Bokke are to strong. Not fair. Nz should have won
9 Go to commentsProbably the worst article on a rugby match I have ever read
202 Go to comments