rlno1 Posted July 18, 2020 Share Posted July 18, 2020 On 16/07/2020 at 20:38, kiwis 13 6 said: Tana Umaga played for Wainuiomata in Wellington and made the Jr Kiwis he was signed to Newcastle and briefly moved there but was homesick and quickly came back to Wellington and played Union. John Kirwan played rugby League as a kid think is was for Marist as his dad had played league, then at the end of his career he signed for the Warriors. More recently Nehe Milner-Scudder played under 20's for Canterbury then came back to NZ and made the All Black. Ngani Laumape played for the Warriors then switched to Union with the Hurricanes and Made the All Blacks. I really have to congratulate him on that move as he has clearly done better in Union than he was likely to in League. Kirwan's grandfather Jack toured with the 1926-27 Kiwis to the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rlno1 Posted July 18, 2020 Share Posted July 18, 2020 4 hours ago, Eddie said: Thanks for this @kiwis 13 6, brilliant. And while things may be declining as you say, there are still loads more competitions and clubs than I’d have expected. The strength of competition is declining which is understandable as a huge amount of players go to Australia looking for contracts and opportunities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwis 13 6 Posted July 18, 2020 Share Posted July 18, 2020 Wasn't aware Kirwans grandad played for the Kiwis. Another Guy I forgot who recently switched from league to Union is Matt Duffie played for Melbourne Storm, one test for the Kiwis, now plays for Auckland Blues, played two test for the All Blacks. Here is Tana Umaga in action as a teenager playing for Wainuiomata In the Sydney Sevens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unapologetic pedant Posted July 18, 2020 Share Posted July 18, 2020 17 hours ago, kiwis 13 6 said: Yeah Zone thing is a bit of a weird administrative system. Zones are Northland, (Auckland's due to population is divided into) Akarana & Counties, (Wai-Coa-Bay) called Upper Central, Mid central (Manawatu, Hawkes Bay, Taranaki), Wellington, South Island. You have permission to laugh at this. You might already have inferred from the omission of a hyphen in a previous post, that I thought Wai-Coa Bay was somewhere on the East coast of the North island. But not labelled on the map. Just as you don`t see "Counties" on a map of South Auckland. My interest in NZ League dates back to the eighties, when there were more Kiwis than Aussies playing over here. The fragments of info I picked up about the players made me want to know more about the Leagues and clubs they came from. I used to order the NZ yearbook alongside the NSWRL one. Also had a subscription to "Rugby League Week", and they started sending me the NZ edition, which included some domestic coverage. So, I`ve got a reasonable baseline knowledge yet still make a cock-up as per above. Somebody coming completely new to the subject would struggle to get a handle on NZ league. The NZRL site and social media are not the best. The Auckland operation is far better, more features, more up-to-date, plus the livestreams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwis 13 6 Posted July 19, 2020 Share Posted July 19, 2020 Don't worry most people in NZ never heard of Wai-Coa-bay just an acronym used in the past to name Waikato/Bay of Plenty combined side. Yeah the NZRL Annual used to cover every region of the game, needs to be revived. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rlno1 Posted July 19, 2020 Share Posted July 19, 2020 Is there anywhere I could find a list of past Taranaki Lile Shield winners? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwis 13 6 Posted July 19, 2020 Share Posted July 19, 2020 Heres a video I found interesting former Kiwi Ron O'Regan talking about his Rugby league career from early days to playing for Barrow in the UK and making the Kiwis, Being paid $10K to play in Auckland and using that money to put a deposit on a house,walking a away from a well paid development officer and coaching job, thoughts on current robotic nature of the modern game to current career training greyhounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unapologetic pedant Posted July 19, 2020 Share Posted July 19, 2020 2 hours ago, kiwis 13 6 said: Heres a video I found interesting former Kiwi Ron O'Regan talking about his Rugby league career from early days to playing for Barrow in the UK and making the Kiwis, Being paid $10K to play in Auckland and using that money to put a deposit on a house,walking a away from a well paid development officer and coaching job, thoughts on current robotic nature of the modern game to current career training greyhounds. Lot of good moments in this. Great character. Couple of points. When he said about how as a coach he wanted to sign his own players. It`s always amazed me over here the role that owners and chairmen have in recruitment. The reference to hunting and fishing being part of his family`s life growing up in (I think he said) Avondale. I would imagine that with urban growth, those rural or semi-rural aspects won`t be the same these days in West Auckland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rlno1 Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 For those who were interested in Tana Umaga's league career, there is this series on Youtube that interviews past great Wellington rugby league players. For Widnes fans there is also an episode with Emosi Koloti. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rlno1 Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 Also if you are interested in some league history from NZ checkout the Turangi Dambusters RLFC page on Facebook. Plenty of info from 1970's and 80's also of the Midland rep team. https://www.facebook.com/Turangi-Dambusters-Rugby-League-Club-168284926573134/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unapologetic pedant Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 There`s a video on Stuff , " The river town that refuses to die" about post-earthquake Kaiapoi, that includes the re-build of the Northern Bulldogs clubrooms. Like fellow Canterbury club Aranui Eagles who changed their name to Eastern, the Bulldogs changed from Kaiapoi to Northern. I suppose they know what they`re doing, but I don`t like this tendency. It`s reminiscent of the Sydney Roosters, Sydney Bulldogs, Sydney Tigers, chaos of the nineties. Does "Northern" mean anything much to people in Kaiapoi? It certainly gives them no distinctive identity outside their region. It`s on a massively different scale, and the social dynamics aren`t the same, but even so there`s no way Tottenham would rebrand themselves as North London or Chelsea as West London. Though their title is of only one London district, each club retains its clear identity and lets people outside the immediate area work out which is their team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwis 13 6 Posted July 30, 2020 Share Posted July 30, 2020 NZRL call in April to cancel all tournaments for 2020 was made very early & could be a convenient opportunity to save money? Zone system needs restructuring 7 administrative zones seems like to many. 4 zones would seem to be more natural regions of the country... Auckland, Upper North Island, Lower North Island, South Island. https://nzrl.co.nz/about-us/zone-map/ .NZRL web site needs more press releases, draws and results from all provincial matches. When worldwide Covid situation permits NZRL needs to get international sides touring and playing games in regions who haven't played an international side in decades, NZ Residents needs to do overseas tours again. NZRL needs to work with NRL, ARL, Sky TV, Maori TV and sponsors to make a national semi professional competition happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rocket Posted July 30, 2020 Share Posted July 30, 2020 1 hour ago, kiwis 13 6 said: NZRL needs to work with NRL, ARL, There was talk of the NRL/ARL provided some annual funding for NZRL. It seems no a no brainer to me. There looks like there is so much to work with. A couple/few million a year would be very handy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwis 13 6 Posted July 30, 2020 Share Posted July 30, 2020 3 minutes ago, The Rocket said: There was talk of the NRL/ARL provided some annual funding for NZRL. It seems no a no brainer to me. There looks like there is so much to work with. A couple/few million a year would be very handy. Yeah I read Shane Richardson recommended NRL making an annual grant out of the profits it makes from NZ TV rights back into the game in NZ. By the ARL i was meaning Auckland Rugby League. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rocket Posted July 30, 2020 Share Posted July 30, 2020 4 minutes ago, kiwis 13 6 said: Yeah I read Shane Richardson recommended NRL making an annual grant out of the profits it makes from NZ TV rights back into the game in NZ. By the ARL i was meaning Auckland Rugby League. That`s were I heard it . ARL,NRL it gets confusing. I hope you don`t mind me asking you this unrelated question but do you know what the word in N.Z. is about how many Australian Super Rugby Teams they are going to allow in your comp. As a dedicated Australian Rugby Union Deathrider the less the better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwis 13 6 Posted July 30, 2020 Share Posted July 30, 2020 3 minutes ago, The Rocket said: That`s were I heard it . ARL,NRL it gets confusing. I hope you don`t mind me asking you this unrelated question but do you know what the word in N.Z. is about how many Australian Super Rugby Teams they are going to allow in your comp. As a dedicated Australian Rugby Union Deathrider the less the better. I have read that NZRU offered Australians 2 spots but ARU turned that down. The Idea of 5 NZ sides and 5 Australian Sides apparently has an investor willing to pay $20 million for UK Super Rugby rights. I am glad you mentioned this as Super Rugby Aotearoa has got the crowds back in attendance and people talking in NZ. All Rugby League in NZ has to offer with the NZ Warriors in Australia is watching a train wreck of a season on TV and local park footy to watch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unapologetic pedant Posted July 30, 2020 Share Posted July 30, 2020 35 minutes ago, kiwis 13 6 said: Yeah I read Shane Richardson recommended NRL making an annual grant out of the profits it makes from NZ TV rights back into the game in NZ. By the ARL i was meaning Auckland Rugby League. Is there a reason why NRL Sky TV ratings for NZ are never published? Without their home audience added to the Fox ratings, it makes the Warriors look a poorly-rating club. Even though the figures are crude, this must affect the NRL`s sense of responsibility towards NZ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rocket Posted July 30, 2020 Share Posted July 30, 2020 25 minutes ago, kiwis 13 6 said: Super Rugby Aotearoa has got the crowds back in attendance and people talking in NZ. We keep on hearing about it over here as well, OZ rugby writers trying to convince us how good rugby can actually be. Because the local product is unrelenting rubbish. Hope you have a second team, as a Dragons fan it pays to have a couple, one of them is the Warriors, unfortunately I have had to resort to my second second favourite team this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwis 13 6 Posted July 31, 2020 Share Posted July 31, 2020 11 hours ago, The Rocket said: We keep on hearing about it over here as well, OZ rugby writers trying to convince us how good rugby can actually be. Because the local product is unrelenting rubbish. Hope you have a second team, as a Dragons fan it pays to have a couple, one of them is the Warriors, unfortunately I have had to resort to my second second favourite team this year. over the last 5 years or so due to Kiwis and Warriors poor performances ive found myself watching a bit of Super Rugby, ive never really given a K-rap about rugby union despite it being everywhere in NZ, but i guess im now what you call a casual fan of Hurricanes & Super Rugby Aotearoa but I still dont watch any other rugby union including the All Blacks unless friends are watching it then i just focus on the beers im drinking... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rocket Posted July 31, 2020 Share Posted July 31, 2020 5 hours ago, kiwis 13 6 said: over the last 5 years or so due to Kiwis and Warriors poor performances ive found myself watching a bit of Super Rugby, ive never really given a K-rap about rugby union despite it being everywhere in NZ, but i guess im now what you call a casual fan of Hurricanes & Super Rugby Aotearoa but I still dont watch any other rugby union including the All Blacks unless friends are watching it then i just focus on the beers im drinking... If you had to watch unjon, then Kiwi union would be the union of choice. The quality of the backline play is not much different to League. If they had a ten metre rule then the forward play could be interesting as well. It always shocks me when League forwards go over to Union and they play them in the backs, often centre. Blokes like Sam Burgess and even Andy Farrell, who was an out and out prop forward played centre in union. Not enough room around the forwards for them to show their skills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedfordshire Bronco Posted July 31, 2020 Share Posted July 31, 2020 1 hour ago, The Rocket said: If you had to watch unjon, then Kiwi union would be the union of choice. The quality of the backline play is not much different to League. If they had a ten metre rule then the forward play could be interesting as well. It always shocks me when League forwards go over to Union and they play them in the backs, often centre. Blokes like Sam Burgess and even Andy Farrell, who was an out and out prop forward played centre in union. Not enough room around the forwards for them to show their skills. Too difficult to learn the skills for rucking, mauls and scrums If a league player has never cleared out before in his life then it would take too long to pick it up. Scrums would potentially be very dangerous Centre really does make sense for league forwards in union. Less responsibility at rucks and more room for plays/carries Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwis 13 6 Posted July 31, 2020 Share Posted July 31, 2020 With all NZRL tournaments cancelled for 2020, no Kiwis Test organised yet... what are the NZRL actually doing in 2020 besides administration tasks? Who knows how long NZ could be in Isolation for due to Covid-19? The highest level of Rugby League in NZ is held at local parks where people walk there dogs and jog. While Super Rugby is being played in packed stadiums! Everything at the top level of Rugby League in NZ has been based on Australian competitions. With Super Rugby Aotearoa regaining lost interest & NZ Basketball getting a TV rights deal with ESPN. NZRL must be able to see the opportunities that a modest nationwide semi professional competition could bring to the game in NZ in the current climate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unapologetic pedant Posted July 31, 2020 Share Posted July 31, 2020 1 hour ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said: Too difficult to learn the skills for rucking, mauls and scrums If a league player has never cleared out before in his life then it would take too long to pick it up. Scrums would potentially be very dangerous Centre really does make sense for league forwards in union. Less responsibility at rucks and more room for plays/carries Not convinced that "clearing out" is such a mysterious art. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rocket Posted July 31, 2020 Share Posted July 31, 2020 2 hours ago, kiwis 13 6 said: bring to the game in NZ in the current climate? The Warriors are doing their bit . Great win tonight, only heard it on the radio but sounded like a high quality game, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwis 13 6 Posted July 31, 2020 Share Posted July 31, 2020 44 minutes ago, The Rocket said: The Warriors are doing their bit . Great win tonight, only heard it on the radio but sounded like a high quality game, this year the Warriors achieving there usual 10th -13th overall placing will actually mean something considering the circumstances Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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