Waratahs bid farewell to 4 players
Playing their last game for the Waratahs on Saturday were Paddy Ryan and Taqele Naiyaravoro, while the team also farewelled squad members Andrew Kellaway and Irae Simone – report Rugby 365.
Tighthead prop Ryan played his last game for the Waratahs in the finals series match against the Lions at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.
The 29-year-old Ryan played his 106th Super Rugby game and 109th match for NSW to end a stellar Super Rugby career that started in 2011 and include a Championship winning title in 2014.
Ryan has been a stalwart of NSW Rugby since making his debut coming off the bench against the Chiefs. Since then, he joined the special centurions club of players who have played 100 games or more for the State.
His performances were also recognised at national level and he ended up playing three international matches for the Wallabies.
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“In Paddy Ryan we have a player who has been part of our set up for over a century of games, and that speaks volumes for his endurance and commitment to the State,” said NSW Rugby and NSW Waratahs CEO Andrew Hore.
“Paddy is very passionate about the game but also how he can make a difference off the rugby pitch as well, and that’s why he has been an important mentor and ambassador for Batyr.”
Also farewelled is Naiyaravoro, the left wing who has set Super Rugby alight this year with his record-breaking try-scoring feat. Naiyaravoro will join Northampton Saints.
The humble Fijian-born wrecking ball first put on the Waratahs jumper in 2014 when he replaced Adam Ashley-Cooper in the match against the Lions of South Africa. Since then he has played 52 matches for NSW Rugby and 50 Super Rugby games for the State team, including Saturday’s finals series encounter in Johannesburg.
“There’s not a helluva lot more I can say about Big T. He has rewritten his own rugby story of grit, determination and a drive to succeed, and we have seen that this year. His journey is well documented and I salute him for the hard yakka he has done to farewell New South Wales on a record-breaking note,” Hore said.
Also departing NSW are Andrew Kellaway and Irae Simone. Kellaway joined the Waratahs in 2016 and made his debut against the Rebels that year. He has gone on to represent the State in 22 games while Simone has been part of the Waratahs set up since 2017 and played 10 games.
“You never want to farewell any player because they all have, in their own way, contributed to the performance of team. In spite of setbacks, either through injury or form, Andrew and Irae have always been team players, supporting their mates on the training paddock or delivering for their club sides in Shute Shield. We wish them the very best as they embark on the next chapter of their careers,” Hore said.
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Ultimately it is the entire NZR board who should be sacked. Foster wants to be the ABs coach, you can't blame him for that. NZR appointed him in what was a terrible process for actually finding the right candidate, more of a coronation based on the false assumption of "continuity" - it was clear from the BIL tour in 2017 which direction the ABs were heading, continuing that seemed crazy by they decided to do it anyway. They then reappointed him before he had faced a true test before the NH tour of 2021 which was a disaster. They could have sacked him then. They could have sacked him after the Ireland series where it was clear the ABs were well of the pace. They could have done it after the tests in SA which despite being 1-1 were not in the least bit convincing. Basically they have backed the guy every year, but now in the lead up to the world cup they have decided he's definitely not the right guy, yet he remains the coach.
Go to comments"taking the land they felt had been stolen from them during the colonial era" the land had been stolen, and the requisitions were entirely justified. I'm very sorry that Negri's family were hurt but this article is basically just propaganda for apartheid.
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