Otago 2012 ITM Cup Squad

[Darwin]

I was pretty impressed with Verbakle last year so happy to see him back, seems to have a bit of steel

Breen lit it up for Alambra on the weekend didn't he? seen his name around a bit so hope he gets out there, see how he goes. I wonder if he is related to a bloke i went to school with, Robert Breen

Don't know if 'lit it up' is quite the right term, but he did apparently nail a penalty from near the sideline to steal a 11-10 win over University A in pretty dire conditions.

Peter is originally from Oamaru (he went to Waitaki Boys'). He does have a twin brother called Robbie, so he may well be related to a Robert Breen....

 

[Kiwiwomble]

yeah, that may have been a little exagerated but still keen to see some new faces out there

dickson is solid and no probs with him out there but prefer him at 12 instead of 15

 

[Darwin]

yeah, that may have been a little exagerated but still keen to see some new faces out there

dickson is solid and no probs with him out there but prefer him at 12 instead of 15

I agree, Dickson could have some value at 12 (especially given our likely inexperience at 10 and 13), and I'd predict he will start the season there. It will be interesting to see where they play Breen if he gets a chance - he is playing all his club rugby at 10 at the moment, but I've always thought he is more of a natural fullback (he had a great season for North Otago there a couple of years ago...). If Parker struggles to take control at first-five, Breen might actually get to start at 10, which will certainly be interesting....

 

[Shaggy]

I've cast my unbiased eye over the squad (the other eye is resting under the eye patch), and have come to the conclussion that there aren't enough Southern players selected ... and so ends my in depth analysis

 

[Kiwiwomble]

i've said it before and will do again, just give the OBHS first XV blue and gold jersey's :devban:

 

[Kiwiwomble]

GuTTED!

http://www.odt.co.nz/sport/rugby/highlanders/218334/rugby-joubert-fears-career-could-be-over

Our captain and best loosie gone...really feel for the guy, hope we can keep him on board, even just to carry the water, just for his leadership

 

[Darwin]

GuTTED!

http://www.odt.co.nz/sport/rugby/highlanders/218334/rugby-joubert-fears-career-could-be-over

Our captain and best loosie gone...really feel for the guy, hope we can keep him on board, even just to carry the water, just for his leadership

Definitely bad news for Otago, though in all honesty I expected Joubert to be injured before long. Unfortunately it happened before he even got on the field for Otago this season! If I was Joubert I would be retiring - his body clearly isn't able to handle the rigors of 80 mins of rugby the way he plays. In many ways he is like McCaw the way he seems to throw his body at full speed into every breakdown. He hasn't had it easy the last few years either - in 2010 he had a routine shoulder operation go wrong, which ended up in him being in and out of hospital for 2 months, and an addiction to painkillers (quite an interesting read). When he managed to get on the field he has been pretty inspirational as captain - this will be what will be most missed in my opinion. It will be interesting to see who is picked as captain in his absence, as there aren't really many clear contenders. I've heard Paul Grant and Glenn Dickson mentioned as options, but I'm not sure that either really warrant place in the starting XV.

Hopefully this means that we will get to see lots of Hugh Blake starting at 7, as he looks a very promising young player. If he gets a full season behind him he may well be pushing for a spot in the Highlanders squad (or more likely the wider training squad) by the end of it.

 

[Draggs]

I don't have anything to contribute here, except that the story on Joubert is incredible.
Thanks for posting, Darwin.

 

[Kiwiwomble]

Definitely bad news for Otago, though in all honesty I expected Joubert to be injured before long. Unfortunately it happened before he even got on the field for Otago this season! If I was Joubert I would be retiring - his body clearly isn't able to handle the rigors of 80 mins of rugby the way he plays. In many ways he is like McCaw the way he seems to throw his body at full speed into every breakdown. He hasn't had it easy the last few years either - in 2010 he had a routine shoulder operation go wrong, which ended up in him being in and out of hospital for 2 months, and an addiction to painkillers (quite an interesting read). When he managed to get on the field he has been pretty inspirational as captain - this will be what will be most missed in my opinion. It will be interesting to see who is picked as captain in his absence, as there aren't really many clear contenders. I've heard Paul Grant and Glenn Dickson mentioned as options, but I'm not sure that either really warrant place in the starting XV.

Hopefully this means that we will get to see lots of Hugh Blake starting at 7, as he looks a very promising young player. If he gets a full season behind him he may well be pushing for a spot in the Highlanders squad (or more likely the wider training squad) by the end of it.

Yeah, he really is the kind of player who lead by example...."fine! i'll do it myself" kind of guy...he will be missed

I'm worried we'll give the captains armband to the next best leader even if he is not a first choice player.....i would rather see the best leader of the starting XV given it, fingers crossed

 

[Darwin]

Yeah, he really is the kind of player who lead by example...."fine! i'll do it myself" kind of guy...he will be missed

I'm worried we'll give the captains armband to the next best leader even if he is not a first choice player.....i would rather see the best leader of the starting XV given it, fingers crossed

I agree. If any of Adam Thomson, Tamiti Ellison, or Ben Smith don't make the AB's they may be captaincy options (I'd expect all three to make it, though Thomson is the most likely miss out IMO). Having a look through the squad again probably the best candidate for captain is Jacob Ellison. He is very experienced, has captained Wellington for a season for two, is guaranteed a starting spot (more due to Otago's lack of propping options, rather than he being an exceptional player) - the only issue is that is his first season at Otago, so he may not have the respect of all the players....

 

[Kiwiwomble]

http://www.odt.co.nz/polls/sport/219321/who-has-been-best-player-dunedin-premier-rugby-2012



the odt's club player of the year poll, how do you think the team would go in the ITM cup darwin?

 

[Darwin]

http://www.odt.co.nz/polls/sport/219321/who-has-been-best-player-dunedin-premier-rugby-2012

View attachment 1858

the odt's club player of the year poll, how do you think the team would go in the ITM cup darwin?

Unfortunately I probably haven't watched enough club rugby this season to make a fair assessment of some of these players. As has been mentioned previously, it is unfortunate that Ben Nowell is unavailable for the ITM Cup due to work commitments, as he has clearly been in great form at club level!

 

[Kiwiwomble]

i was thinking the same thing, in the vid Paul laments our shortage of locks. It will be hard to take control of a game with out a decent (at least tight five). i'm going to guess every try we score is going to have to be worked for and that will need to be done on the backs of the big boys

 

[Darwin]

i was thinking the same thing, in the vid Paul laments our shortage of locks. It will be hard to take control of a game with out a decent (at least tight five). i'm going to guess every try we score is going to have to be worked for and that will need to be done on the backs of the big boys

Yeah, that is certainly an area of major concern. Verbakel, Ives, and Franklin should hopefully be serviceable at this level (though are hardly standouts), but if any of those three get injured we are in big trouble (we could well see someone like Paul Grant at lock....).

 

[Kiwiwomble]

ITM Cup pre-season
The scores
Sassenachs XV ... 87
Tony Ensor 3, Buxton Popoali'i 2, Lee Allan 2, Lex Kaleca 2, Matt Faddes, Jayden Spence, Fassiu Fuatai, Peter Breen tries, Breen 11 con
South Canterbury ... 0
Halftime: 40-0
Crowd: 350
Four to shine for the Sassenachs XV Fullback
Tony Ensor: Used his blinding speed to good effect resulting in three tries. Went past the first man easily and cut through a South Canterbury defence which became more jagged as the game went on. Needs to work on his distribution.
Halfback Fumiaki Tanaka: Possesses a sweet pass which gave those outside him a dream ride. Always quick to move the ball on and find his forwards to get them over the advantage line. Has to practise his box kicking.
Flanker Lee Allan: Scored two tries and was constantly in support. Is big enough to make the hits hurt and roamed all around the paddock.
Prop Scott Manson: Made an encouraging start - it is looming as a big year for him. Popped up all over the field, was part of a solid scrum and even showed some deft ball skills.
[HR][/HR] from the odt, better result than i was expecting to tell you the truth. That "0" is a real result, we've all seen lots of games where we rack up loads of points but let in just as many.

 

[Darwin]

Paul Grant confirmed as Otago captain for the season (http://www.odt.co.nz/sport/rugby/221158/rugby-grant-appointed-lead-otago-team-season). Personally I'm not convinced with this, as I don't think he warrants a spot in the starting XV (I would go with 6. Ioane, 7. Blake, 8. Evans). I wonder if we will see 6. Grant, 7. Ioane, 8. Evans early in the season, with Blake coming off the bench....

 

[Hinato]

Tanaka great satisfaction in Otago. It will leave a big season in ITM Cup.

 

[Darwin]

Just been to Otago's pre-season match versus Tasman. Based on that performance it could be a very long season for Otago

I'm not 100% sure what the final score was, as for some reason the scoreboard was turned off at halftime (perhaps in embarrassment?), but I think the final score was something along the lines of 42-22 to Tasman.

The performance of our Japanese internationals Tanaka and Horie was one of the few bright points in our performance. Tanaka started at 9 and was subbed off at half-time, but he gave a very impressive 40 minutes. His passing game is superb, with long flat passes out in front of the players meaning the Otago backline was able to hit the line at pace. He looked dangerous when he ran too, and despite his lack of size looked very solid on defense. He will certainly be the starting halfback this season, and if he can keep up that sort of form could well be backing up Aaron Smith at the Highlanders next season! Horie only came on at hooker for the last 30 minutes, but he was everywhere. He always seemed to shrug of the first tackler, and his handling was great too - he played a big part in Otago's run-away try in the second half. Loosies Paul Grant and TJ Ioane were the other two standouts for Otago. Grant looks like he is finally starting to fulfill his potential, and made a couple of great cover tackles, while Ioane was a beast (as always) with ball in hand - I lost count of the number of tackles he broke.

Unfortunately there were far more negatives than positives for Otago. The scrum was poor (though it wasn't the first choice front row), and the lineout a bit messy. The support play in the forwards was shocking at times - often a forward would take it, get tackled, and not one forward would be there to support the tackled player.....

Backline defense looks like a major concern too - Tasman must have broken through the midfield defense at least 5 or 6 times. Parker was a major culprit on several occasion, but Dickson missed quite a few tackles too. Not only was the defense poor, but they lacked any creativity in attack - Parker stands too deep and doesn't challenge the line, while Dickson does everything in slow motion. I do wonder whether they will start Pete Breen in the 10 jersey at the start of the season, as he may give them the spark they need. Breen certainly wasn't perfect when he came on - he took on the line well, but tried a couple of passes that weren't on, however he looked threatening with ball in hand, and he certainly was solid defensively. Out wide Popoali'i looked dangerous (as usual), but both Faddes and Ensor had very mixed games - both had some good moments with ball in hand (Ensor scored a great individual try), but decision making and defense is an area of concern for these two players.

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

Popoali'i's played 10 before hasn't he? Great to hear your comments too!

 

[Kiwiwomble]

Thanks darwin, a good read

I think playing Buxton at 10 would blunt out outside backs and only possibly Improve 10...

Next traing is full tackle backs v forwards bull rush...that will teach them defence REAL quick!