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Gear weighing up his options

TRF_nickdnz said:
*Has fingers crossed for Guildford to break his arm*
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wow! straight to the arm? a finger would be enough ;)

I think even the owner thing still relates to the size of the support, there aren't too many people who would by a team unless its going to attract what i talked about above. buts it all semantics, in the end teams in europe, especially france, have more money to spend for one reason or another

Helmy said:
I dunno, if you listen to what he says in the video, it doesn't actually sound a lot to me like he's definitely going overseas, as the media is making out. From that, I took it more as he's still weighing up his options (like he says), and given the **** going on with the Hurricanes, it was already well known that he was stalling on signing with them anyway, so he could be looking at changing Super 15 club just as much as going overseas.
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would be happy if we could pick him up for next year whilst he sorts out overseas offers ;)
 
that was the rumor...but if the canes now have more money to spend after cutting so many top names and he is now looking at the best option for his family i wouldn't be surprised to see him play one more season in wellington before heading away if not stright overseas
 
TRF_nickdnz said:
It actually has very little to do with that.

Clubs in the England and France are privately funded. That means that while there is a salary cap in England, clubs can pay a lot for any one player. In France, teams can just pay silly amounts for any number of players. In New Zealand, Super Rugby teams don't make all that much, if anything, and they are all owned by the NZRU. Because there is no wealthy club owners who can buy players up, there is little chance of player retention.
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Dont forget the TV deals. Especially in France the clubs revieve huge TV money for the domestic competition.
 
Jabby said:
that was the rumor...but if the canes now have more money to spend after cutting so many top names and he is now looking at the best option for his family i wouldn't be surprised to see him play one more season in wellington before heading away if not stright overseas
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If he stays to play another season of Super XV then he will obviously be looking to make the All Blacks. If that's what he ends up doing then staying in Welly is probably the worst place for him. With such a predictably weak Hurricanes team next year he wouldn't stand a chance at seeing the ball and that's only going to lessen his chances to make the All Blacks. The Canes were bad enough this year without the great exodus.
 
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Can't imagine him coming to Ireland don't think he'd come to Ireland. As far as I can tell Ulster have all their foreign spots filled pretty sure Leinster do as well and they've already got a good amount of back three options it's not a sensiblr purchase. Munster are looking for a center not a wing and well Connacht don't have the money.

My bets on France.
 
I'd love to see him play for Biarritz. A back three of -

11. Hosea Gear
14. Takudzwa Ngwenya
15. Ian Balshaw

Would tear it up. They play great running rugby anyway, so Gear would fit in perfectly.
 
big ginger 8 said:
Nick am afraid Biarritz are not really a great running team.
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I was meaning the back three of Balshaw and Ngwenya not so much the team on the whole, but I don't think Biarritz play that negative rugby. It's the French team I follow the most, so I'm a tad bias.
 
If he wants to run he could move to Toulouse; they'll be without some of their World Cup players for the first few months of the Top14 season. Gear and Caucanibuca on the wings sounds very tasty.
 
Great news for the Highlanders! He is exactly the sort of wing the Highlanders are after - a big physical player to complement the rest of their relatively small backline. The Highlanders outside backs will be very potent next near, with Gear, Poki, and Smith the likely starting back three. The Highlanders may even consider playing Piutau at centre at times next year (assuming they have retained him) especially against more physical teams.

I think this is probably a good move for Gear too: the Highlanders are an improving team, and will actually have a reasonable backline next year (assuming Slade doesn't break his jaw again). He will also get to play 50% of his games in a enclosed stadium, which is great for running rugby.
 
What is Atiga like now? Few years back he seemed to have plenty going on and a fair bit of pace.
Could be a very nice backline, as mentioned by Darwin.
 
Draggs said:
What is Atiga like now? Few years back he seemed to have plenty going on and a fair bit of pace.
Could be a very nice backline, as mentioned by Darwin.
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He's still a pretty classy player, but he seems a lot better at the small touches to set up the players outside him rather than a genuine linebreaker himself. I think it was 2003 he came on the scene looking like a superstar, but after John Mitchell and Robbie Deans chucked him in the All Blacks 2003 squad over Christian Cullen and Andrew Mehrtens, and only giving him 6 minutes against Tonga, that was it for his international career.
 
Draggs said:
What is Atiga like now? Few years back he seemed to have plenty going on and a fair bit of pace.
Could be a very nice backline, as mentioned by Darwin.
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He's still a good player (as Nickdnz says) - not sure whether he will be picked for the Highlanders though. He gave up rugby a few year ago and really packed on the pounds (he was apparently well over 120 kg). When he came back to rugby last year he was carrying a fair bit of weight, and though he seems to have lost most of it this season he just doesn't seem like the dynamic player he used to be (he's playing in the mid-field now though, rather than fullback). I was a bit disappointed in his efforts in defence at times this year too. He certainly has all the skills to still be a good Super Rugby player, I just wonder whether he has the motivation...
 
It sucks when a promising player is thrown into the mix and loses confidence. He was always in my Rugby 08 NZ team!
Hopefully he can get his fitness to acceptable levels, he still must be pretty young.
Did he have injury issues that caused him to leave the game, like James Ryan? Shame about him as well, another young prospect.
 
Draggs said:
It sucks when a promising player is thrown into the mix and loses confidence. He was always in my Rugby 08 NZ team!
Hopefully he can get his fitness to acceptable levels, he still must be pretty young.
Did he have injury issues that caused him to leave the game, like James Ryan? Shame about him as well, another young prospect.
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Atiga is 28, so is still pretty young. He stopped playing rugby in 2007 to start up a business (no idea what type of business) - don't think injuries had anything to do with it. I just wonder whether he has the motivation to be a top class rugby player any more - if he plays to his potential he could be very good value to the Highlanders.
 
the key things he (atiga) has shown for otago this year (IMO) is the ability to stand in the tackle and draw more than one tackler, if he can get a good offload going those could be great skills to put smith or gear into a hole and like any of these outside back AB's you give them half a sniff and they're off

I would take a punt on him in the squad...i just dont know at whos expense....
 

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