'We probably did get in there right under the noses of the Hurricanes'
Despite the loss of key figure Damian McKenzie to Japan, the Chiefs will enter 2022 with an improved squad from the one that was pipped by the Crusaders in this year’s Super Rugby Aotearoa final and that’s thanks in part to the arrival of some young age-grade talents.
Tyrone Thompson is such a talent, having cut his teeth with the 2018 New Zealand Secondary Schools side and earning a spot in last year’s Under 20s training programme which was eventually canned due to the pandemic.
Thompson, however, isn’t like fellow Chiefs newbies Gideon Wrampling, Samipeni Finau and Cortez Ratima, who all hail from the Waikato. Instead, he’s been plucked out of the Wellington NPC team and whisked into the squad as a young replacement for the retiring Nathan Harris.
While he won’t be expected to immediately clock up too many minutes, backing up new All Black Samisoni Taukei’aho and experienced Super Rugby operator Bradley Slater, Thompson does loom as an excellent long-term prospect for the team.
“Nathan Harris, who has been an absolute warrior for the Chiefs, Bay of Plenty and All Blacks, has obviously signalled that he’s retired from the game. It’s always sad to lose players, particularly to injury, but his retirement has opened the door for Tyron to come in,” Chiefs head coach Clayton McMillan said following the unveiling of the new squad for next season.
“I actually played with Tyrone’s dad many, many, many moons ago. He was a lot smaller; he was a halfback. But a bloody good man.
“I actually first saw Tyrone play for a Hurricanes Under 20s team that played New Zealand Under 20s in a trial match and I thought he was the best player on the park. He was pretty dynamic with ball-in-hand. He’s a big boy, he’s only going to get bigger.
“We just think in terms of bringing on some young blood in behind Soni, who’s made every post a winner with the All Blacks, and Bradley Slater, who’s had a great season with Taranaki, but also being part of the furniture here for a couple of years, [Thomposon] is a great young prospect to bring in.”
Taukei’aho’s long stint with the national side this season could see the wrecking ball of a hooker sit out a few matches in the opening rounds of the competition, which would allow 21-year-old Thompson to chalk up some appearances off the bench.
The Hurricanes will likely be in a similar position, with both Dane Coles and Asafo Aumua members of the All Blacks squad that travelled to Europe this year. In all likelihood, Hurricanes coach Jason Holland would have had Thompson pencilled in as a man to fill in for those two absentees at the beginning of the season but the Chiefs evidently presented the young hooker with a more compelling package to lure him north to Hamilton.
"I’m not too sure I’ve actually been in a changing room that has felt so morbid. It was at that point that I could feel the heavy weight of disappointment and expectation." #SuperRugbyPacific @ChiefsRugby
Clayton McMillan speaks exclusively to RugbyPass.https://t.co/QhwV7YgJD3
— RugbyPass+ (@RugbyPassPlus) October 6, 2021
“It’s a competitive market out there and you can’t really sit on your hands and just expect that people that may have had a pathway through your development programmes are still going to be there when it comes to signing players,” McMillan said. “Tyrone’s just one of those players who we’ve tracked for a couple of years now and the stars aligned to be able to offer him an opportunity.
“I think we probably did get in there right under the noses of the Hurricanes and that’s just the nature of the beast really. Sometimes moving early pays dividends and other times it doesn’t so you’ve just got to back your homework and do your homework.”
With the Hurricanes also losing Ricky Riccitelli to the Blues, they’ll be relying on the relatively experienced James O’Reilly to back up their All Blacks rakes.
For the Chiefs, however, Thompson is an excellent recruit that could forge a long career in the jersey and his move to the franchise shows great succession planning for the still young Taukei’aho and Slater.
Comments on RugbyPass
Let’s not forget about Ardie Savea just yet.
4 Go to commentsThe URC and the Euro Championscup can’t run at the same time, basically dilutes both competitions.
1 Go to comments“While Sotutu should start at No.8 for the All Blacks against England, but it’s only in that arena that he can prove just how good he really is.” And that my friends is where simply hasnt shone despite multiple opportunities. Even in this performance you can see what did him in in the test arena..he almost always still runs at the opposition almost ramrod upright making him easier to stop than it should be.
4 Go to commentsShould have been 0-0 and a message from SR CEO to both teams - “don’t worry about turning up next year”.
4 Go to commentsGreat work Owen Franks. A great of this team, scoring his first try for the Crusaders since 2010.He was beaming, justifiably. A fine win, he and the rest did the job up front.
1 Go to commentsDanny 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.
4 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
4 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.
4 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
4 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 comments