2022 NPC

[Umaga's Witness]

Been watching quite a bit of this. Will be an interesting comp with more players having had super rugby and test experience following the introduction of moana pacifika. Otherwise always interesting to see the new super rugby hopefuls play before they either make it or go overseas, plus some old layers coming back in the twilights of their careers.

Canterbury smashed Wellington without actually looking that much better - they were just well oiled and did the basics right with good decision making.

Otago look pretty good - hope nareki is ok as he has to be one of if not the greatest entertainer in the comp. The new ten, already forgot his name, looks good. Will be interesting to see what game time each of that guy and Josh ione and Sam Gilbert get. @Kiwiwomble did you catch what Ben smiths role is? Gilbert certainly looked a bit Ben smith ish at times. Loving ray nu'u.

Surprised northland and counties have been so competitive.

Should be a good comp.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

Forgive a possibly dumb question, but are the NPC sides aligned to the SR sides and, if so, is this an indicator of how good a SR side might be in a few years time? Or do players routinely move about between SR sides with no allegiance to where they were developed?

 

[Umaga's Witness]

Forgive a possibly dumb question, but are the NPC sides aligned to the SR sides and, if so, is this an indicator of how good a SR side might be in a few years time? Or do players routinely move about between SR sides with no allegiance to where they were developed?

A long time back they used to be aligned; it used to be the case that each super rugby side had first choice of 24 players from provinces in their region, and the the rest went into a draft system. Now they are just franchises, so provinces mean zilch except you might get the super rugby coaches and managers trying to encourage their players to play for local provinces or picking more from those provinces so as to make the team feel more regional for the fans; and players will often move to live where they are playing super rugby so will want to play provincial rugby nearby. Also, the crusaders have the philosophy of investing in players and hoping that they will pay them back by playing for the crusaders if chosen - so canterbury and tasman, along with Lincoln university, are seen as crusaders academies and there is knowledge sharing from the crusaders down to these teams, as I understand it.

 

[pagliaccio_euforico]

due to my following of New Zealand comedy I'm following the turbos and Tasman cause they get talked about a bit. caught the replay of the turbos getting their asses handed to them and Tasman has had two close ones.

 

[Umaga's Witness]

Hawkes bay has players in every NZ super rugby team except the blues, plus players in moana pacifika and a player in the rebels.

Canterbury has players in all NZ super rugby sides

 

[Umaga's Witness]

due to my following of New Zealand comedy I'm following the turbos and Tasman cause they get talked about a bit. caught the replay of the turbos getting their asses handed to them and Tasman has had two close ones.

New Zealand comedy?

 

[pagliaccio_euforico]

New Zealand comedy?

guy and Paul Williams do a really funny NBA podcast that I came across in round about ways. Then I got into Taskmaster New Zealand.

 

[OllyM97]

May not be a popular opinion but having watched both comps for a number of years now I actually prefer the NPC to Super Rugby. I think most games are exciting and it's always good to see the talent of the future being given a chance. There's also a fair few upsets each season, ala Taranaki beating Canterbury today!!.

 

[Umaga's Witness]

May not be a popular opinion but having watched both comps for a number of years now I actually prefer the NPC to Super Rugby. I think most games are exciting and it's always good to see the talent of the future being given a chance. There's also a fair few upsets each season, ala Taranaki beating Canterbury today!!.

Last week almost every game was an upset. It's been pretty entertaining. I've been catching a few games or parts of games but watching at least the highlights of all games. Apart from manawatu and Southland, all the teams look competitive.

 

[Umaga's Witness]

Good stuff from Wellington, much better performances by the Wellington loosies than their all blacks XV counterparts

 

[OllyM97]

Good stuff from Wellington, much better performances by the Wellington loosies than their all blacks XV counterparts

I thought Canterbury would grind out a win but Wellington's pack really came to the party and outmuscled Canterbury - that's something you don't write very often. Canterbury lose a finals game at home for the first time in what feels like an absolute age.

 

[Umaga's Witness]

I thought Canterbury would grind out a win but Wellington's pack really came to the party and outmuscled Canterbury - that's something you don't write very often. Canterbury lose a finals game at home for the first time in what feels like an absolute age.

Yeah, it was the whole pack, you are right. Wellington completely dominated but still failed to run away with it, always felt like canterbury could just have a few clinical moments and snatch it

Great comp with a lot of competitive teams, although slightly disappointing that the two teams with all the super rugby players ended up in the final.