The Maori All Blacks team to take on Japan in Kobe in the first match of its 2014 tour has been named and features 10 new caps.
Coach Colin Cooper said he was pleased with how quickly the team had gelled given the short assembly time with most of the 27 strong squad only coming together last weekend.
“Many players have come off a pretty intense few weekends of rugby so we’ve been mindful to not over-burden them,” he said.
rugby365
“There has been a lot to take in, particularly given how we want to work together blending our Maori culture with our high performance team culture.
“The boys have coped well with the long flight and have quickly settled into their routines here in Kobe.
“We are gradually lifting the intensity of training, but our main driver has been to keep things simple.
“We know we are up for a tough challenge with Japan as the 11th ranked team in the world so it’s important we get the basics right and ensure we gel together as a team very quickly.
“I congratulate the 10 players who will wear the Maori All Blacks jersey for the first time. This is a proud moment for them and I know they and the rest of the team will be working hard to honour our legacy.”
Maori All Blacks: 15 Robbie Robinson, 14 Matt Proctor, 13 Jason Emery, 12 Charlie Ngatai (Captain), 11 James Lowe, 10 Ihaia West, 9 Chris Smylie, 8 Elliot Dixon, 7 Blade Thomson, 6 Sean Polwart, 5 Hayden Triggs, 4 Tom Franklin, 3 Chris Eves, 2 Ash Dixon, 1 Mike Kainga
Replacments: 16 Codie Taylor, 17 Brendon Edmonds, 18 Nick Barrett, 19 Nick Crosswell, 20 Dan Pryor, 21 Jamison Gibson-Park, 22 Marty McKenzie, 23 Nehe Milner-Skudder.
Date: Saturday 1 November
Venue: Noevir Stadium, Japan
Kick-Off: 07:10 SA Time (14:10 Jap Time, 18:10 NZ Time, 05:10 GMT)
Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant Referees: Angus Gardner, James Leckie
TMO: George Ayoub
We won’t have a Live Game Article for this game, so use this thread as the discussion Article for the game while it is on.
Take note, the game starts at 07:10 SA Time!
See you early morning!
Lifting the lid:
“Rugby is not a perfect game. It is played by guys who are trying to cheat … it is normally the team that gets away with it the most that wins the game …”
per Chris Jack, a few minutes ago on Skyrugby Breakdown, much to the consternation of Mr Euphemism Jeff “Push the Boundaries – let’s do it the honest way” Wilson.
{koff, koff – where’s ole ‘I love you bakkiesbotha’ now? 😆 }
Just watched the Maori haka, i wondered how far can RT readers stick out their tongues. Maybe we must put up a thread where each one takes a selfie off his best efforts.
NO one will beat the NZ guys
Farking looooong haka by the Maoris!!
Jeeeeez
Made coffee, ate some rusks…. and they were still busy with it…
1st try to Chris Eves, Maori
NZ Maori 5 / 0 Japan
@ grootblousmile:
Geluk met 12miljoen bruvva !!!!!!!!
Eintlik maar aan die begin gedink ons sou net so n paar ouens wees wat lekker rugby kan gesels, maar die site ruk nou handuit
Lekka man, doen so voort!
Hier kom n Moari pakslae
Lemoenetyd
NZ Maori 35 / 7 Japan
7 @ Pietman:
Dankie Pieta!
Ja, ek kan mos nie dinge halfpad of op klein skaal doen nie, ek veg altyd vir perfeksie en vir verbetering… the story of my life!
By the way, ek sien jy het die SURVEY gedoen op daai ander website wat ek ook design het. Wat dink jy van daai look en feel en design wat ek daar gedoen het?
@ grootblousmile:
Soos ou Maximus gese het, moenie sukkel nie ou seun!
Janee, as n man n ding aanpak moet jy dit reg doen…of liewer dit los vir iemand wat kan. Anders lyk jou werk later soos daai tenderaars in Polokwane se padwerke, pure slaggate.
Mooi ontwerp daai, terloops, lyk n lekker plek vir braai en n paar skuimkoppe slurp daar langs die water, ek traak nie oor die vis nie, hulle kan maar net kyk hoe drink ek, ek sal hulle nie pla nie
Bal spring heeltyd net in Maori se guns, ten spyte van mooi rugby deur Japan.
@ Pietman:
Ja Japan kan nie so swak wees nie, die Maoris doen ook moer goed om die bal stadig te maak.
More almal, wind waai dat die kak spat
Japan moes vir FDP gekies het
Penalty try as Japan MAULS the Maori scrum, what a site!
sight 😕
Stoot daai Janpampoentjies se skrum die Maoris moertoe.. penalty try.
Dis hulle kort beentjies.. hulle kan lekker laag skrum!
Final Score: Maori All Blacks 61 / 21 Japan
Japan #11 ranked rugby team in the world? That must surely be a mistake?
They’ve been destroyed 61 – 21 by the Maori All Blacks, a team probably the equivalent of a NZ D or E team!
And to think that not long ago Japan was ranked above Argentina? FFS, bloody wishful thinking.
Less than a year to RWC2015 the chasm in quality between #1 & #11 in world rugby is astonishing.
Well done, Maori All Blacks. NZ rugby depth is … err … pretty deep 🙂
I only picked the Maori All Blacks to win by 20… right pick, wrong margin!
@ MacroBok:
More bokkie! Ja, wind erg in GooseBay ook.
Hoe het jou kuier in Eden se vallei en tuine afgeloop, het jy daai boom met die slang kon vermy darem
@ Pietman:
haha het hom darem so effens vermy 😆
@ Angostura:
Japan actually played well, the Maoris just punished turnovers severely, Japan will improve, they missed Fumiaki Tanaka badly today.
Not to forget Australia also got 50 points put on them this year… so once off games can easily be taken out of context.
Not that Japan would realistically challenge the top 7/8 teams in the world, just saying that there is something pretty good growing there.
MacroBok wrote:
Durban Poison?
MacroBok wrote:
An inability to handle pressure & a resultant plethora of mistakes is a blue print for failure …
Angostura wrote:
That made me think:
What if we were to (theoretically) select a SA equivalent of the Maori All Blacks, i.e. a squad of SA’s (arguably) best PsOC rugby players without selecting any players from the current Bok touring squad, or from the players selected for today’s Barbarians squad, or from the SA players currently plying their trade abroad?
IMO such a squad would be (theoretically) competitive vs today’s Maori All Blacks; but I must say we need to develop more PsOC props & locks – the cupboard is not well stocked!
I think such a squad could look something like this:
15. Cheslin Kolbe (WP)
14. S’bu Sithole (Sharks)
13. Lionel Mapoe (Golden Lions)
12. Howard Mnisi (Golden Lions)
11. Bjorn Basson (Blue Bulls)
10. Kurt Coleman (WP)
9. Rudy Paige (Blue Bulls)
8. Lubabalo Mtembu (Sharks)
7. Siya Kolisi (WP)
6. Sikhumbuso Notshe (WP)
5. MB Lusaseni (Golden Lions)
4. Lubabalo Mtyanda (Pumas)
3. Alistair Vermaak (WP)
2. Siyabonga Ntubeni (WP)
1. Lizo Gcoboka (EP Kings)
16. Sti Sithole (WP)
17. Bongi Mbonambi (WP)
18. Dayan van der Westhuizen (Blue Bulls)
19. Hilton Lobberts (Griquas)
20. Tim Agaba (EP Kings)
21. Boela Abrahams (Griffons)
22. Elgar Watts (FS Cheetahs)
23. Rayno Benjamin (FS Cheetahs)
WP is still the leading Union as regards nurturing & developing PsOC rugby players. THAT virtually guarantees WP (local) success into the foreseeable future.
@ Angostura:
That team would not be too bad team apart from the tight five, maybe the loose forward combination as well?
“WP is still the leading Union as regards nurturing & developing PsOC rugby players. THAT virtually guarantees WP (local) success into the foreseeable future.”
MASSIVE geographical advantage, but your right.
@ MacroBok:
More a question of a historical-cultural advantage than geographical …
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