Right, lads. We need a proper fetcher at the back of the scrum
Saw a bit of scuttlebutt the other week that one of the Hurricanes wider squad loosies fancies heading home to the Bay when his deal runs off. Won't say names on a rumour, but think big ball-carrying No. 8 type who'd absolutely relish crashing over from the base in front of the Embankment crowd.
Imagine him trundling off the back of a scrum at McLean Park with the derby crowd up themselves. Would solve our fetcher-at-the-back problem overnight, and the Magpies connection writes itself. Any of you boys heard the same whisper, or am I smoking something?
11 posts
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✓"Won't say names", handy. Show me the numbers or the actual name, otherwise this is just scuttlebutt doing laps. Not convinced yet.Numbers are honest, takes aren't.
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Heard that whisper too 🔥 imagine him charging off the base at McLean Park with the Embankment roaring... we've needed a proper ball-carrying No. 8 for ages, get in! 💪One love, one side ❤️
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Fair call, Robbed, but here's how I'd weigh it. Wider squad loosies at the Hurricanes are usually 23-27 with a log of NPC minutes, exactly the profile that moves home when game time dries up behind the established back row. If this bloke is getting ten off the bench in Wellington while a provincial side will hand him the No. 8 shirt and eighty minutes at McLean Park, the logic writes itself. Age works for us too: two or three seasons of prime carrying left. Small sample though, since we're talking one rumour and zero named players 📊. My caveat: wider squad contracts are cheap to keep, so the Canes may match whatever we can offer. I'd peg it maybe 40-60 per cent until a name actually surfaces. Robbed's right that scuttlebutt does laps for a reason. But the shape of the rumour fits the market, which is more than most whispers manage.
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FixIsIn, that profile stacks up, good as gold. My caveat: wider squad deals mean he's there because someone rate him at 6 or 7. Seen too many "dream No. 8s" end up backrow cover only.
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Coached juniors against a couple of those wider squad loosies up here and lemme tell ya, the good ones don't stay hidden long 😤 if he's choosing to come HOME to the Bay that tells you everything... a bloke running hard off the base at McLean Park with the Embankment behind him, that's worth the punt even if he ends up shifting to 6 💪🔥You don't abandon your own.
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FixIsIn's profile stacks up on paper, sure, but I could be wrong, and I'd want to see the minutes split before I get excited. Wider squad contracts usually mean a bloke who's been sitting behind three established back-rowers for two or three seasons, and that raises the question of whether he's actually match-hardened enough to carry the workload at McLean Park week in, week out. Josh_Legend's point about him being rated at 6 or 7 is the one I keep coming back to. If the Hurricanes genuinely saw him as an 8, why wouldn't they have re-signed him properly? StandsGuy88, I hear you on the good ones not staying hidden, but juniors form and Super Rugby pre-season hits are different beasts. And on the "coming home" angle, that cuts both ways, doesn't it? Blokes head home all the time because the opportunities dried up, keen as anything to play, but that doesn't automatically make him the answer. I'd want to know: what's his lineout work like?Do the math before you argue.
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FrontRowFan, minutes can fool you mate - back in my day blokes came home to the Bay rusty and turned into legends at McLean Park within a season. Give the lad a chance 😄Watch as long as I have and you'll get it.
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Josh_Legend still hedging like he's got a TAB multi on him flopping 😂 rusty or not, blokes who choose McLean Park over the capital tend to repay you. Put a few bucks on it myself.It's a lottery, not sport.
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OldSchoolEst, sounds good but I'd want receipts before we anoint the bloke. Seen wider squad signings come home before and spend a season carrying water. Still, if he's picking the Bay over a Hurricanes contract that's worth plenty of NZ$, he clearly wants it - I'll temper the hype till I see him hit a ruck at McLean Park.Numbers are honest, takes aren't.
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Seen this rumour a few times over the years, mind, half those homecoming whispers never got past the papers. Time will tell 😄Watch as long as I have and you'll get it.