Championship XV vs. Maori All Blacks

[Larksea]

Can't see a thread on this, was a pretty good game. Championship team had the momentum to start with and looked pretty good, forwards in particular. But the Maori's broke them down and ended running away at the end.

Gibson-Park really impressed me, did a little too much at times but was genuinely dangerous.
Willie Repia looked good, a worthy selection.
Romana Graham had a big game and got stronger as the game went on, has some haters here but he is a genuinely big and very athletic lock. May very well be considered the #1 lock in that squad now. At least on a level with Hoeata and Eaton.
The other suprise selections from Waikato - Trent Renata was also very good. O'Donnell too.
Dixon impressed again.
Shane Christie was a bit of a beast at the end.

 

[TRF_Cymro]

Thought the Championship XV were a credit to themselves. Stuck it out well for parts of the game. Sadly the difference of quality of the league that the Maori boys play in was a big difference.

 

[Larksea]

I totally Agree, they were really impressive for what would be like an ITM cup selection (non-super rugby players) in NZ. Though that said I still think you could build a very competitive super rugby side from players who missed out on super contracts in NZ (semi professional players). I expect it's the same in the UK.

Scrum and lineout were good, the 13 showed a great set of feet. Good effort for a side with little time to prepare.