Super Rugby Pacific 2023

[Gumboot]

Zarn Sullivan continues to impress.

He sure does.

I still think 10 is his best position, though.

[Grandpa]

Zarn Sullivan continues to impress.

He sure does.

I still think 10 is his best position, though.

I agree.... hopefully the next Blues coach plays him there...

PS. I saw Rieko pass twice today!

[Kiwias]

Zarn Sullivan continues to impress.

He sure does.

I still think 10 is his best position, though.

I agree.... hopefully the next Blues coach plays him there...

PS. I saw Rieko pass twice today!

Oh yes, with Perofeta as his back up. Rieko and his passing is a bit like Akira and his cleaning out at rucks. Blink and you miss it.

[Gumboot]

Chiefs hosting the Reds in Kirikiriroa in QF2. Kicking off in about 10 minutes...

Chiefs: 1-Aidan Ross, 2-Samisoni Taukei'aho, 3-John Ryan, 4-Brodie Retallick, 5-Josh Lord, 6-Samipeni Finau, 7-Sam Cane (cc), 8-Luke Jacobson, 9-Brad Weber (cc), 10-Damian McKenzie, 11-Etene Nanai-Seturo, 12-Rameka Poihipi, 13-Anton Lienert-Brown, 14-Emoni Narawa, 15-Shaun Stevenson
Reserves: 16-Bradley Slater, 17-Ollie Norris, 18-George Dyer, 19-Naitoa Ah Kuoi, 20-Pita Gus Sowakula, 21-Cortez Ratima, 22-Josh Ioane, 23-Daniel Rona

Reds: 1-Peni Ravai, 2-Matt Faessler, 3-Sef Fa’agase, 4-Angus Blyth, 5-Ryan Smith, 6-Seru Uru, 7-Fraser McReight, 8-Harry Wilson, 9-Tate McDermott, 10-Tom Lynagh, 11-Josh Flook, 12-James O’Connor, 13-Filipo Daugunu, 14-Suliasi Vunivalu, 15-Jock Campbell
Reserves: 16-Richie Asiata, 17-Dane Zander, 18-Zane Nonggorr, 19-Lopeti Faifua, 20-Jake Upfield, 21-Kalani Thomas, 22-Lawson Creighton, 23-Taj Annan

[Kiwias]

Narawa waves away a try by pushing the Reds defender

[Kiwias]

Fabulous head-on tackle by Retallick on Wilson there.

[Torquemada 1420]

Zarn Sullivan continues to impress.

He sure does.

I still think 10 is his best position, though.

I agree.... hopefully the next Blues coach plays him there...

PS. I saw Rieko pass twice today!

And one of those was sublime. So that's his quota for the season.

[Gumboot]

Chiefs win 29-20.

Kudos to the Reds, they really made a game of it.

[Kiwias]

Chiefs win 29-20.

Kudos to the Reds, they really made a game of it.

Buggered if I know why they stuck with Lynagh as their kicker when JOC was there but they played a bloody good game. Loved seeing two big hard-running 8s going head to hear.

[Gumboot]

Saders v Drua kicking off shortly in Christchurch...

Crusaders: 1-Tamaiti Williams, 2-Codie Taylor, 3-Oli Jager, 4-Scott Barrett, 5-Quin Strange, 6-Sione Talitui, 7-Tom Christie, 8-Christian Lio-Willie, 9-Mitch Drummond, 10-Richie Mo'unga, 11-Leicester Fainga'anuku, 12-Jack Goodhue, 13-Braydon Ennor, 14-Dallas McLeod, 15-Will Jordan
Reserves: 16-Brodie McAlister, 17-Kershawl Sykes-Martin, 18-Reuben O'Neill, 19-Zach Gallagher, 20-Ethan Blackadder, 21-Willi Heinz, 22-Fergus Burke, 23-Chay Fihaki

Drua: 1-Haereiti Hetet, 2-Tevita Ikanivere, 3-Mesake Doge, 4-Isoa Nasilasila, 5-Ahiwaru Cirikidaveta, 6-Vilive Miramira, 7-Motikiai Murray, 8-Meli Derenalagi, 9-Frank Lomani, 10-Caleb Muntz, 11-Kalaveti Ravouvou, 12-Teti Tala, 13-Iosefo Masi, 14-Selestino Ravutaumada, 15-Ilaisa Droasese
Reserves: 16-Zuriel Togiatama, 17-Meli Tuni, 18-Samuela Tawake, 19-Etonia Waqa, 20-Elia Canakaivata, 21-Peni Matawalu, 22-Michael Naitokani, 23-Eroni Sau

[Kiwias]

Oh yes!!

[Kiwias]

Welcome back, Oli.

[Gumboot]

Really good defence by Mo'unga to shut down that overlap.

[Kiwias]

Really good defence by Mo'unga to shut down that overlap.

Yeah, he did very well

[Kiwias]

The game is really suiting the Drua now, very messy and unstructured

[Kiwias]

If there is one player in red who relishes unbroken play, it is Will Jordan

[Kiwias]

Blackadder off injured. FFS, give the lad a break.

[Gumboot]

QF4 just about to kick off in Canberra...

Brumbies: 1-James Slipper, 2-Lachlan Lonergan, 3-Sefo Kautai, 4-Nick Frost, 5-Cadeyrn Neville, 6-Tom Hooper, 7-Jahrome Brown, 8-Pete Samu, 9-Nic White (c), 10-Jack Debreczeni, 11-Ollie Sapsford, 12-Tamati Tua, 13-Len Ikitau, 14-Andy Muirhead, 15-Tom Wright
Reserves: 16-Connal McInerney, 17-Blake Schoupp, 18-Rhys Van Nek, 19-Tom Hooper, 20-Luke Reimer, 21-Ryan Lonergan, 22-Noah Lolesio, 23-Jesse Mogg

Hurricanes: 1- Xavier Numia, 2-Dane Coles, 3-Tyrel Lomax, 4-James Blackwell, 5-Caleb Delany, 6-Devan Flanders, 7-Ardie Savea (c), 8-Brayden Iose, 9-Cam Roigard, 10-Brett Cameron, 11-Kini Naholo, 12-Jordie Barrett, 13-Billy Proctor, 14-Daniel Sinkinson, 15-Josh Moorby
Reserves: 16-Asafo Aumua, 17-Tevita Mafileo, 18-Owen Franks, 19-Isaia Walker-Leawere, 20-Du'Plessis Kirifi, 21-Jamie Booth, 22-Ruben Love, 23-Bailyn Sullivan

[Sandstorm]

Brumbies hold on to win!!
Hard lines Canes, cracking match

[Gumboot]

I've been under the weather and fell asleep at halftime. Hard luck, Canes. They started to hit their straps towards the end of the season, and have unearthed some good young talent for the future.

Should be a cracking SF. The Chiefs will need to be at their best to beat this canny Brumbies side.

[Ymx]

It was very nearly 4 nz sides, which wouldn’t have been best for the comp.

[Guy Smiley]

As this is a de facto NZ rugby thread, here's an interesting development that while inevitable, clarifies the direction NZR is taking...
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/300 ... le-for-sky

Intellectual property (IP) filings and a new domain name linked to NZ Rugby reveal a new platform which contains a clear potential for an enormous change in the way the organisation behind the All Blacks and Black Ferns manages its games. The new URL is nzrplus.co.nz, claimed by Drew Deakin, digital delivery manager at NZ Rugby on April 11. While not live yet, IP filings for NZR+ provide a window into the organisation’s intentions.

The filings arrived in early April to IPONZ, the government agency in charge of intellectual property. They allow for “broadcasting of rugby matches”, “streaming live sports events”, “sports ticketing”, “subscription broadcasting” and a large number of other potential business verticals. This raises the spectre of a new streaming platform which could allow NZ Rugby to sell access to All Blacks, Black Ferns, NPC or Farah Palmer Cup games via a paid subscription streaming service. Depending on which countries it’s sold in, this could imperil the close relationship between NZ Rugby and Sky, which has held NZ Rugby’s broadcast and streaming rights in New Zealand for decades.

This cannot happen until at least 2026, with Sky’s current deal with NZ Rugby, worth a reported $500m, running through the end of 2025. Sources familiar with the NZR+ project suggest it will launch as a much more modest platform prior to the 2023 men’s Rugby World Cup which kicks off in France on September 9 – less than three months away. The Spinoff understands that its initial incarnation will be a content site, dominated by video clips and short documentary-style footage, focused on getting fans behind-the-scenes with the All Blacks, Black Ferns, Sevens and other national representative sides.

However the filing describes something much more ambitious than a simple fan platform. Along with streaming games, it makes reference to software and platform as a service (SAAS and PAAS), both of which are the underlying technology and business models of subscription streaming. What it looks like is a product which might start as a benign platform for behind-the-scenes footage, but that should properly be understood as a way of building a database of members. They will ultimately become a group to which NZ Rugby hopes to sell NZR+ – a subscription service whereby superfans can purchase access to live and archive matches from across its portfolio of teams.

[Dan54]

Interesting to see how it all develops Guy. I know regardless I am tragic enough to know I will sign up as soon as anything comes on air anyway.

[Guy Smiley]

Interesting to see how it all develops Guy. I know regardless I am tragic enough to know I will sign up as soon as anything comes on air anyway.

As soon as the Silver Lake deal was announced it was clear this would happen... broadcasters have had their day with more and more content moving to online streaming. Netflix and Spotify are the big names but there's a host of others and for a 'brand' like the ABs (NZR) its a logical way to control their product while maximising revenue.... without having to bend to the wishes of a broadcaster.

That last hasn't been a major issue in NZ because NZR bought into Sky... but as you and I know Dan, the Australian situation shows what can happen when your broadcast partner throws you down the pecking order of promotion. SkySport there neglected Rugby Union to the point of abuse and RA suffered as a result.


I think we'll see this new platform steadily develop from small beginnings so that by the time Sky's deal expires it will be a glitzy package that hopefully ticks all the right boxes.

[Gumboot]

Interesting to see how it all develops Guy. I know regardless I am tragic enough to know I will sign up as soon as anything comes on air anyway.

As soon as the Silver Lake deal was announced it was clear this would happen... broadcasters have had their day with more and more content moving to online streaming. Netflix and Spotify are the big names but there's a host of others and for a 'brand' like the ABs (NZR) its a logical way to control their product while maximising revenue.... without having to bend to the wishes of a broadcaster.

That last hasn't been a major issue in NZ because NZR bought into Sky... but as you and I know Dan, the Australian situation shows what can happen when your broadcast partner throws you down the pecking order of promotion. SkySport there neglected Rugby Union to the point of abuse and RA suffered as a result.


I think we'll see this new platform steadily develop from small beginnings so that by the time Sky's deal expires it will be a glitzy package that hopefully ticks all the right boxes.

If it ticks the "lots more afternoon footy and stuff the NH telly audience" box, I'm in.

[Grandpa]

Interesting to see how it all develops Guy. I know regardless I am tragic enough to know I will sign up as soon as anything comes on air anyway.

As soon as the Silver Lake deal was announced it was clear this would happen... broadcasters have had their day with more and more content moving to online streaming. Netflix and Spotify are the big names but there's a host of others and for a 'brand' like the ABs (NZR) its a logical way to control their product while maximising revenue.... without having to bend to the wishes of a broadcaster.

That last hasn't been a major issue in NZ because NZR bought into Sky... but as you and I know Dan, the Australian situation shows what can happen when your broadcast partner throws you down the pecking order of promotion. SkySport there neglected Rugby Union to the point of abuse and RA suffered as a result.


I think we'll see this new platform steadily develop from small beginnings so that by the time Sky's deal expires it will be a glitzy package that hopefully ticks all the right boxes.

If it ticks the "lots more afternoon footy and stuff the NH telly audience" box, I'm in.

Depends which makes them the most money... Sky have said evening rugby brings in more viewers in NZ... so that will be the driver I presume?

[Gumboot]

If it ticks the "lots more afternoon footy and stuff the NH telly audience" box, I'm in.

Depends which makes them the most money... Sky have said evening rugby brings in more viewers in NZ... so that will be the driver I presume?

Yep, just as it's always been. So I'll just keep relying on good ol' streaming sites... as always.

[Grandpa]

If it ticks the "lots more afternoon footy and stuff the NH telly audience" box, I'm in.

Depends which makes them the most money... Sky have said evening rugby brings in more viewers in NZ... so that will be the driver I presume?

Yep, just as it's always been. So I'll just keep relying on good ol' streaming sites... as always.

I prefer daylight games... better conditions generally leads to better games...

[Guy Smiley]

Depends which makes them the most money... Sky have said evening rugby brings in more viewers in NZ... so that will be the driver I presume?

Yep, just as it's always been. So I'll just keep relying on good ol' streaming sites... as always.

I prefer daylight games... better conditions generally leads to better games...

I guess there's a couple of hurdles facing the streaming model... the attraction of live games as opposed to watching at a suitable time for you, and the whole big screen at the pub thing. Nothing to stop a bar from streaming games I guess but there's a cultural shift wrapped up withing this that's going to present some serious challenges.

[Enzedder]

Angus Gardner has the Christchurch game; Nick Berry the Hamilton one

[Grandpa]

Yep, just as it's always been. So I'll just keep relying on good ol' streaming sites... as always.

I prefer daylight games... better conditions generally leads to better games...

I guess there's a couple of hurdles facing the streaming model... the attraction of live games as opposed to watching at a suitable time for you, and the whole big screen at the pub thing. Nothing to stop a bar from streaming games I guess but there's a cultural shift wrapped up withing this that's going to present some serious challenges.

Sky (In the UK at least) will soon be like Amazon, a streaming service, as they look to make satellite dishes redundant. I've watched live matches on Amazon and they are fine. Most tennis seems to be on Amazon these days too. Plus you can watch on catch-up... so I don't think there will be much noticeable difference? Or am I misunderstanding what you are saying?

[Sandstorm]

I prefer daylight games... better conditions generally leads to better games...

I guess there's a couple of hurdles facing the streaming model... the attraction of live games as opposed to watching at a suitable time for you, and the whole big screen at the pub thing. Nothing to stop a bar from streaming games I guess but there's a cultural shift wrapped up withing this that's going to present some serious challenges.

Sky (In the UK at least) will soon be like Amazon, a streaming service, as they look to make satellite dishes redundant. I've watched live matches on Amazon and they are fine. Most tennis seems to be on Amazon these days too. Plus you can watch on catch-up... so I don't think there will be much noticeable difference? Or am I misunderstanding what you are saying?

My brother lives in the States and watches all his cricket and rugby on streaming services. Live or catch-up it’s identical to satellite TV.

[Kiwias]

I guess there's a couple of hurdles facing the streaming model... the attraction of live games as opposed to watching at a suitable time for you, and the whole big screen at the pub thing. Nothing to stop a bar from streaming games I guess but there's a cultural shift wrapped up withing this that's going to present some serious challenges.

Sky (In the UK at least) will soon be like Amazon, a streaming service, as they look to make satellite dishes redundant. I've watched live matches on Amazon and they are fine. Most tennis seems to be on Amazon these days too. Plus you can watch on catch-up... so I don't think there will be much noticeable difference? Or am I misunderstanding what you are saying?

My brother lives in the States and watches all his cricket and rugby on streaming services. Live or catch-up it’s identical to satellite TV.

Here in Japan, I watch all my cricket on streaming services and any rugby not being shown on J-Sport or WOWOW (all SR is live on WOWOW).

[Guy Smiley]

Angus Gardner has the Christchurch game; Nick Berry the Hamilton one

Good luck

My problem with Berry is that he’s a reactive ref who makes snap judgements and doesn’t have the flexibility to reassess.

Gus Gardner can be a little like that but he’s not as bad. He has a different style.

The contrast to both in that way is Ben O’Keefe who is quite relaxed with the players while maintaining his hold on the game.

[Guy Smiley]

Blackadder is out... could be a long break from playing

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/sup ... f-campaign

Blackadder strained his quad within a couple of minutes of being injected into last weekend’s quarterfinal against the Drua, ending the All Blacks’ loose forward’s first match since March in all too familiar fashion.

“Many weeks,” head coach Robertson said of the yet-to-be determined recovery timeline.

“He did a good job, as Ethan tends to do with it. We really feel for him, he trained so hard to get back, just his couple of little touches in that four minutes was pretty amazing...just shows what we’ve missed.”

[Kiwias]

Crusaders squad for semi final named.

[Gumboot]

Blackadder is out... could be a long break from playing

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/sup ... f-campaign

Blackadder strained his quad within a couple of minutes of being injected into last weekend’s quarterfinal against the Drua, ending the All Blacks’ loose forward’s first match since March in all too familiar fashion.

“Many weeks,” head coach Robertson said of the yet-to-be determined recovery timeline.

“He did a good job, as Ethan tends to do with it. We really feel for him, he trained so hard to get back, just his couple of little touches in that four minutes was pretty amazing...just shows what we’ve missed.”

Well that's shit news. The poor bugger just can't catch a break.

Edit: Can probably say the same about Cullen Grace, too.

[Guy Smiley]

Imagine the Crusaders' season if those two had been fully fit?

[Gumboot]

Imagine the Crusaders' season if those two had been fully fit?

This year's ABs might be looking a bit different, too.

[Gumboot]

The uncompromising nature of Blackadder’s on-field intensity was discussed on this week’s Aotearoa Rugby Pod episode, where Joey Wheeler praised Blackadder’s mentality as his biggest strength but also his biggest liability.

“The way he plays the game,”Wheeler said. “That (injury toll) is just a by-product of the style of footy player he is. He is rip, sh*t and bust. He has a complete disregard for his body and I think he is going to be in the triage ward a bit throughout his career.

“But he is the ultimate professional, super resilient and he always comes back bigger and stronger and a better rugby player for it.”

https://www.rugbypass.com/news/ethan-bl ... er-injury/

Yeah nah...hate to break it to you Joseph, but his latest comeback lasted four minutes.