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Signings continue for Steamers |
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Written by Jamie Troughton
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Friday, 22 January 2010 |
The signings continue for the Bay of Plenty Steamers, although sevens star Ruki Tipuna isn't yet one of them.
Head coach Sean Horan has confirmed the acquisition of Tasman duo, prop Tristan Moran and hooker Daniel Perrin, along with Waikato lock Luke Katene for this year's squad.
They'll join other big off-season signings in All Black wing Lelia Masaga, Hawke's Bay first-five Dan Waenga and Otago midfielder Brett Mather.
But Tipuna again appears on the outer, despite a dazzling sevens season and his presence in the New Zealand camp in Mount Maunganui this week preparing for the Wellington IRB tournament.
Horan pointed out that incumbent halfbacks Junior Poluleuligaga and Josh Hall were still signed and Tipuna - who played for Wellington last year after missing the Steamers squad - probably wouldn't be offered a contract.
"There's always interest in Ruki - he's too good for there not to be," Horan said.
"We had the opportunity to bring other halfbacks in but we chose not to. Bay of Plenty would love for Ruki to stay up here and play his club footy and have a decent crack because he's one of the best attacking halfbacks around."
The mercurial Rangataua No9 has indicated he may head back to the capital, although much will depend on his sevens fortunes, as he looms as the natural understudy to playmaker Tomasi
Cama.
Bay of Plenty's signing spree may not be over yet either, with Horan indicating they were still talking to several other players.
Thin positions from last season included prop, lock and midfield, although Moran's signing eases the frontrow concerns.
"He plays on both sides and is very good at that. He started last season at loosehead for Tasman and switched to tighthead when Ben Franks went down. He's very hard working - he's not overly big but he's got a really high work ethic.
"We need at least six props here and now we've got the five that we used last year plus him."
Katane was in the 2004 New Zealand Schools side with current Steamers Tanerau Latimer, Jason Hona and Lance MacDonald. The Hautapu lock has since been on a Morman mission.
The contracted players not in the Chiefs have been training for two weeks, joined by the academy squad and a wider training group.
Horan and his assistant, Steve Miln, have also been regular visitors to Chiefs training in Hamilton, while they've also got a meeting with Baywide premier clubs and representative coaches next week to keep them in the loop.
The Bay union won't be allocating players to clubs as in previous years and Horan said they'd learned some good lessons last season.
"We want to improve our communication across the board and, at the end of the day, we represent the clubs and we need them on our side."
Horan is delighted with how his squad has shaped up, six months before they're due to kick a ball in anger.
"We've been able to retain the players we've wanted to retain and recruit players, but we've also been able to invest in the next tier below. We want to get 40 players that can put the jersey on at any stage."
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