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Round-up of the Bay players that is! This is just a quick summary of how the Bay players got on in their Super 12 season.
The stats were
Davison 4 starts, 2 subs
Lutui 5 starts, 6 subs
Ormond 4 starts, 7 subs
Castle 4 starts, 5 subs
Upton 7 starts, 4 subs
Senio 2 starts, 9 subs
McQuoid 2 starts, 4 subs
Cashmore 3 starts, 7 subs
Latu 2 subs
which shows that 8 Bay players were integral members of the squad yet none of them pinned down a starting position for the whole season. Easily the most successful was Bernie Upton who vaulted ahead of Hohneck in the lock standings and never lost his starting spot once he was promoted from the bench. Despite not being the tallest lock, he won his share of ball when the throwing was on target and was a workaholic around the track.
The props had respectable seasons but it was clear that Foster was prepared to give all 4 props a decent amount of game time and that was fair, as there were no standouts. Davison's best game was probably against the Blues while Castle came into his own later in the season including a try in the corner against the Brumbies.
Lutui had his moments with ball in hand and was always a willing worker but his lineout throwing became dodgier and dodgier until Foster was forced to revert to the missing Linklater.
Ormond started as the holder of the number 6 shirt but lost it after the woeful performances against the Waratahs and Crusaders and never made the starting XV until Lauaki started struggling. Certainly he didn't have the impact he had for the Bay in 2004, here's hoping he has lots in hand for the challenges ahead.
McQuoid was also a victim of the opening 2 games, losing his 12 shirt and becoming a bench fill in after that. His defence was shown up badly, although playing outside Hill at 10 must be a worry after being used to Jacko. Once Hill had gone to 12 and the new lad from Counties came in to 13, McQuoid disappeared altogether.
Senio had as much game time as expected as backup to Kelleher. He suffered through being picked to start the Reds nightmare and then subbed at half-time but came back to play a starring role against the Highlanders.
Cashmore played well all season, and in my opinion was unlucky to be forced to the bench when Sivivatu came back from injury. He still has decent pace and a great head for the game.
Latu didn't get a chance with Holah playing every game.
As for the other 2 Bay players in Super 12, Bourke began on the bench for the Highlanders but then disappeared without trace while Filise had a serious injury for the Blues against the Chiefs.
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