Future Taniwha v Blues u20
Over the years I have often ventured out to watch Northland Development or Under 19 teams play just to get a handle on what’s coming through in my much beloved union and then to find out over half the team pulled out before the campaign started because travel and work commitments and primarily thinking that a prospective pathway to the top side was well and truly blocked once the contracted Mitre 10 Cup team was named.
Heading along yesterday to Bell Park in Pakuranga to watch the future Taniwha’s take on the Blues under 20s has definitely given supporters like myself a huge boost.
The game ended up 24 all after Northland had lead 24-7 at halftime The Blues team had Finlay Christie at halfback, Nerai Fomai at 12 and Taine Plumtree at lock, he moved into the no 6 jersey in the 2nd period, and Jacob Kneepkins entered the game in the 2nd half, it was fair to say he was the most dangerous back on the paddock, he was a threat every time he had the ball in his hands .
Taine Plumtree is an outstanding forward, I am really surprised he was not picked up the canes looks more of a 6 than a lock.
The Blues looked much more of a threat when Cory Evans, another former Northland boy from Kaitaia took the field in the 2nd half, this kid has some amazing footwork for a first five, has been out with injury for the last 2 seasons. 2 other Northland boys were running around for the Blues 20s Ryan Nankivell at fullback and Josh Beehre at lock
Northland with Leka Tuangafasi and Kaliopasi Uluilapeka were outstanding at set piece time. Uluilapeka who has come from Wellington is a monster with ball hand, proving unstoppable close to the line scoring 2 tries but also constantly getting over the advantage line, from what I was told yesterday, he is a very good listener, has incredible strength, breaking the current Northland Bench press record in his first week in the gym. He however is still carrying up 8-10 Kgs which on the plus he still has 3-4 months to address that issue.
It was my first look at Allan Craig who Northland signed last year, has all the core skills if not the size, looks more of a 6 than a lock but I suspect will be more of James Blackwell type player, not a bad thing as mitre 10 cup profile. His looking partner Terepai King is taller and has put 10kgs since last year, could be a bolter for the Mitre 10 cup team.
The player that really put his hand up was Isi Manu, younger brother of Pauliasi Manu, came north last year, but was out of condition. Was very good with ball hand when he slotted into number 8 and more importantly physical on the tackle.
Some boys with Taniwha experience started the game Johnny Cooper,Sam McNamara,Kalani Going,Mason Hohaia and Pisi Leilua and Rob Rush but were all pulled at halftime.
The Blues hit back with 2 tries with in 5 minutes of the restart, but this is where I was most pleased, with mostly their Player Union Development contract players on the paddock, they showed a ton heart to get back in the fight but more importantly defend their arses off.. the front row of Fono and Martin who are only young guys with a bit size I must add did very well at set piece and the 2nd half loose forwards,Sage Hansen, Tom Baker and the 17 year old Zac Shanks who looks special made a lot of tackles and doesn’t mind the contact.
Fritz Rayasi who has made the decision to move up North from Wellington on his own accord looked really good with ball in hand, but will require some conditioning, very big guy. Manny Snooks who is a tall strapping winger is another who I understand the union are investigating heavily in, is only very young is being likened SBW..,he certainly has a similar body shape if not the same height. The Blues I understand are tracking his progress.
Rome Levi who marked Jacob Kneepkins did a really good job under the circumstances forcing him back inside on most occasions, but boy is Kneepkins hard to put down.
Brody Lam on the wing scored a try, but had few opportunities, Like the look of Kingi Herewini when he came on in the midfield, the boy has got some footwork, dazzling at times, but will have to work on his defence.
Was really impressed with the halfbacks on show Ilai Arona has a slick pass and a very good high kick game and did well up against Finlay Christie and young Jayden Kemp could be one to watch moving forward.
Great too see Nikau Graham back in the North, this kid has a very powerful left foot and an accurate goal kicking game to match.
In summary, talking to the coaching staff, they were very pleased with what they saw as was I. I have always said if Northland can define clear pathways for the obvious talent that they generate, anything can happen!
And it’s already got players from one of our next door neighbours knocking on the door, looking at more tangible options as opposed to be player that’s in a group of 45 players that have Player Union Development contracts wondering. Will we ever get an opportunity to play for the top side?
On another interesting footnote, the NZRFU has sent a directive to Unions that they can only have 15 PUDC’s signed..needless to say Auckland are not happy, but to me, this where they need to work with their near neighbours and Blues franchise partners.
@stargazer there’s a lot of young guys in this team , several who played Blues academy along with some boys who were in the under 19s ..only Sam McNamara , Johnny Cooper , Pisi Leilua ,Kalani Going ,Robert Rush ,Fano Funaki and Mason Hohaia have Mitre 10 experience..the later 6 probably have 12 games between them ..
on Kaliopasi he is still a very young guy and had made some adjustments , one thing is for sure , he’s very strong , has already busted a couple of gym records ..Can recall Ofa Tuangafasi at young age having question marks over him, but eventually coming through ..
There’s also some local boys who could come through ..Both Romi Levi and Brody Tamarua are big midfielders , only young , Tamarua has played as a Warriors junior and Levi has been in the Blues academy, built like a brick shithouse ..Jayden Kemp is also an exciting halfback with a great pass and attitude ...
@steven-harris hopefully with the High Performance facility (almost finished) it will assist in retaining/attracting talent.
I see Brady Rush not in there, has he gone to NH or 7s commitments?
@Stargazer I think it is kinda a dev/academy team rolled into 1 with some 'kids' plus some of those already on the fringes of M10 Cup (and a few with a few starting caps too)
@gunner he is with NZ 7's, but thought he might still play in this with no 7s program at present (is there?) but I had heard he was close to going to NH as well.
@gunner Brady Rush is with the NZs squad but has resigned with the Taniwha ..
@bovidae No, the ones that are available are playing for Northland , however from what I understand there will 3 or 4 Players from the Blues squad released to play for the Blues under 20s.
@stargazer said in Northland Future Taniwha Team:
@steven-harris Future Taniwha, is that the Northland academy team or their development team?
By the way, Kaliopasi Uluilakepa was very average for Wellington in 2020.
Watched him in Club rugby against my mob after Covid19 and he was still carrying heaps of extra weight around the middle and only came on midway through the second half. He certainly looked well short of any decent fitness level at that early stage of the season. Got told he came back at least 15kg heavier, and it looked like it too! Come NPC time he had slimmed down a bit, he needed to. He is a Tongan guy that learned his rugby up in Fiji before coming to NZ so that means he might be struggling with the intricacies of front row technique evident in a lot of Fijian trained props. However being Tongan will mean he is immensely strong so there is a good base to build up from. I guess how he eventually turns out will probably revolve around his own personal desires and getting a good propping coach to guide him.
@kiwimurph would have hung around for the 2nd game between Harbour and Auckland but it was the wife’s birthday , lot of young guys running around for Auckland with a sprinkling of Mitre 10 cup guys ..
Auckland unions coverage is disappointing to say the least
@tim Cory Evans could be a really good long term prospect for Auckland , and if I were Auckland I would be all over Taine Plumtree ,heard he comes off contract with Wellington this year ..
@steven-harris said in Northland Future Taniwha Team:
It was my first look at Allan Craig who Northland signed last year , has all the core skills if not the size .., looks more of a 6 than a lock
I made that same comment previously after watching him play at schoolboy level. He wasn't as tall as I thought compared to other locks. You can get away with that at 1st XV level but not at senior level.
@bovidae as I said in my coms, if he’s a similar player to James Blackwell , I will take that especially for Mitre 10 level ..
@duluth said in Northland Future Taniwha Team:
I like the Blues jersey with the hoops
A rugby jersey with hoops and clean lines, who’d have thought something so simple would look so good?
A 5 try burst 10 minutes either side of halftime by the Blues under 20 team was enough to see off a plucky Northland Future Taniwha team 38-17 played at Onewa Domain in Takapuna on Saturday
The Blues Under 20s had a point to prove after being held to a 24 all draw by the Taniwha in the previous fixture , but it was the visitors who would score in the first 2 minutes after an impressive lineout drive and maul , Mason Hohaia picking up the try and Johnny Cooper adding the extras .
Unlike a week ago when the Taniwha dominated at set piece scrum and with possession, it would be the Blues that would dominate possession for much of the 1st half , The Taniwha showing some incredible resilience on defence especially Manny Snooks despite taking a stinger on the shoulder early in the game featuring.
Isi Manu who started at number 8 for the unavailable Sam McNamara was once again a handful in both attack and defence for the Taniwha .
The set piece scrum was solid , but the issue for the Taniwha was most of the game was being played in their own half and the other issue being the quick ball being supplied to the Blues outside backs was creating problems for the defence.
The pressure and possession finally told in the 20th Minute , with the Blues crossing from close range and then adding another 2 tries 10 minutes before halftime .
The Taniwha went into the break 7-21 down with the very real prospect of the hosts posting a large score line and that danger became even more apparent when the Blues introduced 4 Blues squad members in the 2nd half , Taine Plumtree , Emoni Narawa ,Jacob Ratumaitavuki Neepkins and Tanielu Tele’a into the frame , and it would be 3 of this group of players who would feature in the next 3 tries all scored in the first 10 minutes of the 2nd half ..Plumtree throwing a superb offload for one of the wingers to score , and then he was the recipient of an offload himself and finally Neepkins scoring off a Narawa break after a Northland turnover.
At 7-38 down and 30 minutes still left on the clock , it took a few reassuring words from Taniwha head coach George Konia to his charges to sting them into action ,the words had the desires effect with a slight change of tactics using their ball runners to punch holes closer to the rucks .
With Elsie Fono and Kaliopasi Uluilakepa starting to monster their opposites at scrum time setting a much needed attacking platform giving both Jayden Kemp and Brody Tamarua at 9 and 10 an opportunity to showcase their skills .
Kemp looks a really good prospect for the future and Tamarua who plays for Te Rarawa and has come from rugby league has a very good skill set.
Rob Rush who plays with plenty of physicality crashed over after some good work and Felix Rayasi after some excellent ball movement out to the flank touched down for the Taniwha’s 3rd try
For the Futures Taniwha , full credit to Kaliopasi Uluilakepa who played out the entire 80 minutes , Isi Manu on the back of these 2 games has sent a clear message to the Northland coaches that he is the right condition to go to the next level .
Terepai King who has put on 10kgs since last year has also impressed over the last 2 weeks with his lineout work and his effort around the paddock complimenting what will be his locking team mate at Mid Northern Allan Craig for this upcoming 2021 club season.
Not the result the team wanted , but it has been great seeing the next group of young Taniwha players pitting themselves against quality opposition over these last 2 weeks and it would not surprise me if several don’t force their way in the 2021 Northland Mitre 10 Cup squad if they can maintain and improve during the season.
Score
Northland Future Taniwha 17 (3 x tries Hohaia,Rush,Rayasi,con:Cooper)
Blues 20s 38 (6 x tries, 4 x con)
H/T 7-21 Blues 20s
Footnote
Kaliopasi Uluilakepa has been really impressive in these 2 fixtures, with both his scrummaging and work around the paddock, incredible ball skills for a big man , could develop very nicely into a Charle Famauina type player ..
Had a good chat to Pasi, great kid with an even better attitude
Leka Tuangafasi. I suspect will also be right in contention for a mitre 10 cup contract along with Isi Manu who was an absolute beast at number 8 , finally Northland may have a number 8 that’s gives them gainline..
Was also really impressed with Terepai King , has stuck on 10 kgs and if he can keep developing is probably an outside chance for a Mitre 10 contract .