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Seven Steamers into the Chiefs |
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Written by Jamie Troughton
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Wednesday, 11 November 2009 |
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Seven Steamers have bolted into the 2010 Chiefs squad while another is waiting in the wings.
Coach Ian Foster revealed his 28-strong squad today, which included All Blacks Mike Delany and Tanerau Latimer, New Zealand junior prop James McGougan, Samoan test halfback Junior Poluleuligaga, No 8 Colin Bourke and rookies Luke Braid and Culum Retallick.
Poluleuligaga, openside Braid and lock Retallick have all made the squad for the first time, while wing Jason Hona will be included in the wider training group and is likely to feature in the early rounds of the Super 14 next year.
The only incumbent Bay player to miss out was prop Joe Savage. It’s the most Bay of Plenty players picked for the franchise since nine played in the 2005 season.
Foster was delighted with the players he’d retained from the team that lost this year’s final to the Bulls, particularly pleased with having fought off a strong campaign by the Blues to take Delany to Auckland.
“We had a squad we were very happy with last season and one of the key focuses was to retain that core group,” Foster said. “We’ve fought hard to hold Mike in our franchise and while he didn’t get the starts he would have liked, he played a really important part both on and off the field. We’ve been delighted to see him go away and play so well for Bay of Plenty and then get rewarded as an All Black.”
That in turn has created something of a headache for Foster, who in Delany and Stephen Donald now has two All Black first-fives to squeeze into his playing roster.
“It’s great – I’m under a lot of pressure there and we are considering options at 12. With the new game and the amount of kicking, Mike ends up playing a lot of the game at 15 anyway in general play. There is that option, particularly with Mils (Muliaina) unavailable for the first three weeks.”
Muliaina’s absence, along with a neck injury to wing Lelia Masaga, has given Hona his chance, with Foster indicating he could see some game time during pre-season and in the first three weeks of the competition.
“We’ve been really impressed with Jason’s growth in the Air New Zealand Cup - he started slow but he’s really starting to learn the art of wing play. He’s physically strong and he’s probably one of the best aerial wings in the country. He really defuses kicking games and that’s something that’s pretty essential for the back three these days.”
In all, 20 of last year’s squad have been retained, while Waikato prop Nathan White returns after a year out with injury. Among the seven new Chiefs are prop Ben Afeaki, lock Romana Graham, loose forward Jarrad Hoeata and Counties-Manukau’s Tim Nanai-Williams.
Hoeata grew up in the Bay and attended Tauranga Boys’ College but has been featuring as a No 8 or lock for Taranaki in recent seasons.
Poluleuligaga, who is currently in Europe with the Samoan team, needed dispensation from the NZRU to be selected as he’s not eligible to play for the All Blacks.
Foster had to convince the national body to allow the move, which allows rising Waikato star Tawera Kerr-Barlow to be groomed in the wider training group.
“He’s been around a while and is an experienced footballer and I love the way he’s grown over the last three or four years,” Foster said of the Steamers No 9. “He was a dominant player for Bay with his leadership and he was a key factor in the form of Colin and Mike. He thoroughly deserved the effort that we put in to keep him.”
Afeaki has been drafted from North Harbour and his inclusion cost Savage his place, while the Steamers prop also suffered through injury during the Air New Zealand Cup season.
Muliaina will be the Chiefs captain for the second season, while Craig Stevenson and Keith Robinson will again fill the assistant coaching roles.
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