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New Zealand Warriors claim 'unprecedented influx' in rugby union signings
The rise in popularity of the New Zealand Warriors has lead to an ‘unprecedented influx’ in the number of former schoolboy rugby union players signing with the club.
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The club claims to have signed 36 players into their development system with no previous rugby league experience, from rugby union schools where no rugby league is played.
The trend is a shift according to the club, who haven’t been able to secure this number of top union prospects before.
On the list of 36 names publicly stated, 17 are from high profile Auckland schools including St Peter’s College, De La Salle, Sacred Heart and Saint Kentigern’s.
But the reach extends as far as Balclutha in the deep south, while a handful from Rotorua, Hamilton and Wellington are named.
Current New Zealand Warriors starting centre Rocco Berry, son of former All Black Marty Berry, is one of the success stories after attending St Pats Silverstream in Wellington. Tom Ale of Rotorua Boys High is another in the first grade squad.
The news comes as reports of players being steered away from league while pursuing rugby union have surfaced.
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One 1st XV booster who is affiliated with the Warriors academy programme is considering withdrawing support for the rugby union school after players were encouraged to commit solely to union according to The Code.
Roosters star Joseph Manu, who has signed a deal with Toyota Verblitz for a code switch, told the Daily Telegraph he avoided prestigious rugby union schools over fears he would be pressured away from league.
Manu grew up in Tokoroa, the same town as Wallabies star Quade Cooper, and attended Tokoroa High School. He attended Chiefs games regularly.
Manu has of course committed to a code switch with no intention of returning to rugby league at this stage.
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The battleground for talent will always be high performing rugby schools with New Zealand’s system renown as a pipeline for producing players.
Warriors CEO Cameron George believed the influx of rugby union talent to league will continue. Speaking to Jason Pine’s Newstalk ZB show, George believed that league can become the “number one” sport in New Zealand.
He said that they had a “few big surprises” in store in their battle to win the minds of sports fans in New Zealand.
“We’ll never beat the All Blacks, and nor should we,” he said.
“Them and the Kiwis should be the most respected teams in their competitions in their sports.
“I do, I respect the All Blacks like you wouldn’t believe.
“But in terms of week-to-week competitions, Super Rugby and NRL, yeah, we will win and we will get there.
“We’ll keep going. We might be up against six or seven franchises but I can assure you through all of our work, we’ve got a few big surprises over the next few years.”
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Comments on RugbyPass
Save your money. Just learn from the bad stuff and play better next year. Lost loads of key players and had half the team out broken for most of the season.
5 Go to commentsJosh Ioane has been great for opposition teams all season. The sooner the Chiefs unload him to MP the better.
6 Go to commentsMunster have very good back row stocks nowadays, lots of guys with very high potential. Okeke is unlucky not to get a contract. If he came along 10 years ago, he almost certainly would have. Could be very good for Coventry.
1 Go to commentsGreat article! Love that you point out so much that is positive, and back it up with quotes and clips.
1 Go to commentsNo scapegoats. No knee-jerk reactions. Just excuses in an expensive report under file 13. I’ll give the saders some free consulting - no planning after Razor. Just let things fall flat to rebuild. Easy.
5 Go to commentsJosh Bayliss was the early sub for Barbeary
1 Go to commentsHis deficiencies in defence must be major and beyond rebuilding because on attack he has a unique set of skills matched only by a combination of Mark Telea, Shaun Stevenson and Etene Nanai Seturo. His aerial and kicking game is next level and he displays a contempt for one on one situations. We've become obsessed with our no. 11 being a power weapon ignoring the better multi faceted option. Mark Telea is helping to change that mind set, Salesi Rayasi would advance that too.
6 Go to commentsWayne barnes should join the Queen
268 Go to commentsHope both you dirty mutts get cancer and die
41 Go to commentsOqueef was on the saffa pay roll , needs his head stomped
180 Go to commentsChiefs miss a tight 5 of serious grunt. Missing Guzzlers.scrum power and the Blues have spent the last.few yrs nicking their props. Will have to start better than recent matches to stop the Reds.
6 Go to commentsWith the civil war going on over in NZR you have to wonder if these guys can afford to throw money around on consulting firms? Consultants just going to charge them thousands for the privilege of telling them that the brain drain is hurting them, they played like pork chops & maybe some insights gleaned from reading the various rugby blog posts with a couple of graphs thrown in to dicky the report up. My suggestion is they forego the consultants and get a subscription to watch the URC, English Premiership, Top14 and EPCR competitions so that they can learn a bit from all the players and coaches that have left already NZ.
5 Go to commentsI am pleased about the progress of Canada and their recent success. What concerns me slightly is the the PWR league in England has become the breeding ground for other countries’ players with nearly half of Canada’s team playing there. Long term sustainability of good international teams depends on developing their own leagues and systems. They cannot rely upon England forever.
1 Go to commentsShe has a good sense of the perfect fly half but I agree with her mother about the disfiguring tattoos. I shall watch her progress with interest.
1 Go to commentsSurprised Ireland haven’t already nabbed Rayasi. So much competition in the back three in all NZ Super teams that you need a coach who believes in you and will select you regularly.
6 Go to commentsBath Fan acting all innocent, like Hill would just walk up and casually do that without a reason too 😂
3 Go to commentsDrua have been a fantastic addition to Super. Aus now down to 4 teams. Bring the Jaguares back in, they were Finalists in their last season. Super crowds are rising with afternoon KO’s, not having to cowtow to viewer schedules in UK/SA. win-win.
1 Go to commentsHamilton is an idiot. This cringeworthy desperation of journalists to enter the ‘GOAT’ debate. Have they lost the ability to think of something new and interesting to write about ? Its a pointless argument. Even using the eg of McCaw and Carter. One is a back, the other a forward. 2 totally different skill sets. Impossible to compare. Does a player need to win gold to be considered a ‘GOAT’ or is his skill evaluated independently of trophies ? And why compare Dupont, still at the start/mid of his career with 2 players with 150 caps each (approx) ? are Gareth Edwards and Pinetree Meads and Danie Gerber and David Campese not considered because they were amateurs ? Maybe let Dupont have his career first. And then compare him with others in his position, only.
29 Go to commentsJapan deserves better than this.
3 Go to commentsLove watching this kid play. He’ll be wearing black at some stage.
3 Go to comments