Chiefs sign Nanai-Williams for another year

[TRF Mr Fish]

http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,3824_9320651,00.html

...Which is not a very long length of time and somewhat worrying.

 

[Draggs]

So he will be off to Ireland next year then?

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

Well he is uncapped and only 24, so....

 

[nzlizard]

Good to see he is here for at least another year.

Hansen said earlier in the week he was disappointed with players not prepared to do the hard graft and wait out for an All Blacks call up, he said going overseas was the easy option.

I think he needs to reassess the process they have, take Andrew Hore, I said after the last world cup we need to be looking at hookers for the next world cup as it will be problem area. Yet they persist in taking these old boys on end of year tours, Ali Williams or Brooke were treated the same, had nothing to offer yet taken in the place of young blood, so when you do this you send a clear signal out that there is still a bit of a old boys club.

The AB coaches need to understand that if they expect people to wait and take their time for a spot, then those players like Hore who have been consistently average for a few years now need to be dropped earlier and bring another player into the frame, show the young fringe players that you are prepared to be a bit more ruthless and then they may hang around.

 

[Darwin]

So he will be off to Ireland next year then?

He has played 7's for New Zealand so no. France or Japan would not be out of the question in 2016 though....

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

He has played 7's for New Zealand so no. France or Japan would not be out of the question in 2016 though....

Whoops. I thought that might've been the case but I thought I saw his name in an article about Super Rugby players currently eligible for the island teams.

 

[nickdnz]

I really hope we cap the guy, not only to keep him but I genuinely think he could do a great job at fullback for the ABs.

 

[steblin]

He's a great utility player, can do a very good job on either wing, full back or 13. Sadly that would probably work against him in ever nailing down a starting AB's spot. A guy with that versatility is such an asset off the bench.

Edit - For the record, I think he's a cracking player, don't want my above statement coming off like I think he's "just" a utility player.

 

[nzlizard]

He's a great utility player, can do a very good job on either wing, full back or 13. Sadly that would probably work against him in ever nailing down a starting AB's spot. A guy with that versatility is such an asset off the bench.

Edit - For the record, I think he's a cracking player, don't want my above statement coming off like I think he's "just" a utility player.

I agree that his utility status goes against him as well, he is the same size as Ben Smith so size wise he is ok, the only concern I have is he does get knocked over a few times in the tackle and that creates opportunities for the offload.

 

[Darwin]

I agree that his utility status goes against him as well, he is the same size as Ben Smith so size wise he is ok, the only concern I have is he does get knocked over a few times in the tackle and that creates opportunities for the offload.

I would say Smith is a bit bigger than Nanai-Williams. Both have bulked up a bit over the last few years, but Smith is at least 2-3 inches taller, and probably 5 or so kg's heavier (though it is difficult to know exact player sizes). Regardless I don't think his size (or lack of) is a major issue as long as he is played in the outside backs (I don't rate him at 13).

Don't get me wrong I think he is a good young player (and exciting to watch), but I don't think he is quite good enough for test rugby. He has plenty of good attributes - he has plenty of acceleration and pace, has a phenomenal side-step, has good hands, a good passing game, and can even pilfer the ball at the breakdown effectively. One of his biggest problems is that he lacks physicality. It is not just because of his small size - it is the way he plays. At times he looks like he is playing touch rugby. He seldom seems to hit the line hard, and while his defense has improved he is still rather passive at times. He seems to fade in an out of games too, and disappears entirely at times in tight low scoring games. He is fantastic in open high scoring games, but I can't remember him ever standing out in tighter matches....

I certainly hope he sticks around NZ rugby for as long as possible though, as he could one day develop into a test quality player....

 

[Gena_ZA]

Smith is actually 1.90m tall, bigger than he looks on TV
Tim is an underrated player by casual viewer in my opinion, he hardly ever disappoints

 

[lynam1104]

TNW is one of my favorite NZ players I really hope he gets his shot at the AB's.

 

[nzlizard]

I would say Smith is a bit bigger than Nanai-Williams. Both have bulked up a bit over the last few years, but Smith is at least 2-3 inches taller, and probably 5 or so kg's heavier (though it is difficult to know exact player sizes). Regardless I don't think his size (or lack of) is a major issue as long as he is played in the outside backs (I don't rate him at 13).

Yeah I used the term "same size" to refer to group them together as smaller outside backs.

TNW is one of my favorite NZ players I really hope he gets his shot at the AB's.

This as well, really exciting to watch.

 

[Darwin]

Yeah I used the term "same size" to refer to group them together as smaller outside backs.

Yeah, fair enough. As I said I don't think his actual size is a major issue, rather that he often plays like a man even smaller.

I wouldn't mind seeing in the NZ 7's team for the Commonwealth game though - he is a fantastic 7's player.....

 

[nickdnz]

Smith is actually 1.90m tall, bigger than he looks on TV
Tim is an underrated player by casual viewer in my opinion, he hardly ever disappoints

Well...he's not. He's 186cm.. (6'1'' not 6'3''). He's around 93kgs.

http://www.thehighlanders.co.nz/our-team/player-profiles/25-ben-smith
http://www.orfu.co.nz/otago-team/player-profile/58/ben-smith.aspx
http://allblacks.com/Player/Index/1832?team=AllBlacks

Nanai-Williams is 1.82cm and around 90kgs
http://www.chiefs.co.nz/the-team/team-gallery/tim-nanai-williams.html (the most recent profile).
http://www.steelers.co.nz/steelers/index.php?contentid=65&profileid=44

 

[Darwin]

He might be one of the dozen Kiwis who bite the World Cup carrot and end up playing for Samoa in 2015. Remember in 2011, Samoa got Fotuali'i, Paul Williams and George Pisi commit themselves in the 12 months prior.

No he won't. As I've mentioned Nanai-Williams has already played 7's for NZ, so he could only play for the AB's at international level.

There are a few NZ players with Samoan heritage who may commit to Samoa before the next RWC, but he won't be one of them....

 

[Gena_ZA]

Well...he's not. He's 186cm.. (6'1'' not 6'3''). He's around 93kgs.

http://www.thehighlanders.co.nz/our-team/player-profiles/25-ben-smith
http://www.orfu.co.nz/otago-team/player-profile/58/ben-smith.aspx
http://allblacks.com/Player/Index/1832?team=AllBlacks


Nanai-Williams is 1.82cm and around 90kgs
http://www.chiefs.co.nz/the-team/team-gallery/tim-nanai-williams.html (the most recent profile).
http://www.steelers.co.nz/steelers/index.php?contentid=65&profileid=44

Blame the TV people then that displays the individuals stats when discussing the player lineups just before the games.
Wonder who they contract for the stats?

 

[Darwin]

Blame the TV people then that displays the individuals stats when discussing the player lineups just before the games.
Wonder who they contract for the stats?

Player stats vary so greatly depending on the source I really don't trust any of them. I've met Ben Smith a couple of times (met/stalked... same thing...), and he is quite a big guy - he was a good 3-4 inches taller than me (at around 5'10), so 1.87m (as listed on the infallible Wikipedia) would seem about right for him.

I don't believe Nanai-Williams is anywhere near 1.82m though (close to 6'0). He looks tiny (height wise) on the field, and the only time I've met him I thought he was shorter than me! Rugby players never seem to stand still next to each other so we can get good comparisons of height, but here a picture of Nanai-Williams next to the 1.75m Aaron Cruden (similar heights?):

Or next to a 1.78m Nafi Tuitavake (maybe a poor angle, but Nanai-Williams certainly appears the shorter of the two...):

Again, I don't think his height in itself is a major issue - I'm just saying he is quite small, and unfortunately at times players like someone who is even smaller....