NZ Super 14 Squads for 2007 named

The squad lists for the 2007 NZ sides have been posted, and include 42 players making their debuts.

There are a couple of interesting/noteworthy swaps and moves which have taken place. I'm an Auckland supporter, so clearly I'm going to focus there. Thankfully the Blues get to retain Sam Tuitupo and Isaia Toeava this year. The Auckland squad contains hardly any imports, with most of the players hailing from either Auckland, Harbour, or Northland. The one exception being Sam Biddles from Waikato. A few Aucklanders have gone elsewhere - notably, Tasesa Lavea heads down to play for the Chiefs, after having pretty average 2006 seasons with the Blues and Auckland. Brad Mika takes another trip out of Auckland, this time to the Hurricanes instead of the Crusaders. He's joined down there by David Smith - it's a shame the Blues can't use Smith, but given their backline options it makes sense. Here's hoping he'll be about for 2008 as he's great to watch. Finally Brent Ward is off to the Crusaders, and it'll be interesting to see how much time on the field he gets. A couple of omissions are Kurtis Haiu (who had a great workrate for Auckland in 2006, and seemed to play an instrumental part in the lineout) and Taniela Moa, who had a much better season for Auckland as halfback than Devine did. Devine is looking old and tired - the Blues need another option.

Moving on to the rest of the NZ teams. Down in Waikato Richard Kahui and Toby Lynn are rewarded for great NPC seasons with promotion into the Super 14. The Chiefs side is looking pretty strong, and should be good to watch. It'll be interesting to see how Lavea goes down there. The Hurricanes have a lot of return faces, including Mahonri Schwalger - wasn't he supposed to be leaving after the 2006 Air New Zealand Cup? It's also good to see Tana having another season with the 'Canes. The Crusaders look like another strong side for 2007. I'm not sure what to say about Otago. The squad has some good players in there, but who knows how they'll perform as a team.

Bring on the 2007 season!

 Print | Posted on Friday, October 27, 2006 12:59 PM |