Jason Woodward to join Hurricanes and chase All Blacks dream

[Draggs]

Good player, will be a big loss to the Rebels.
Rumours that Plumtree is being lined up in Wellington as well.

 

[InsaneAsylum]

It's being reported that Boyd is the new coach with Plumtree his assistant

 

[Icemn]

oh yes! welcome back

It's being reported that Boyd is the new coach with Plumtree his assistant

yes was looking for the thread on this...

 

[Darwin]

Great to see Woodward back in NZ. He was very unlucky not to be offered a Canes contract before he left, though to be fair he was a bit inconsistent a couple of year ago - I remember him having a couple of shockers for the Wellington. He has certainly improved his consistency though, and has bulked up a huge amount - he was pretty small when he left, but he apparently over 100kgs now, and I think this has really helped his game. At this stage he will be the favourite to start at fullback for the Canes next season (though Matt Proctor has a chance to show his wares over the last few rounds for the Canes), and his goal-kicking ability is a massive bonus. His addition will certainly help compensate for the loss of the Leiua and Taylor.

 

[donmcdazzle]

That's a fair assumption. 2 of my sister in laws live in Wellington I've spent a lot of time over there. If I had to live there, I like the suburb of Hataitai as i'm not fond of houses hanging off the side of hills. The best way for me to describe Melbourne to a kiwi who's never been over here is to tell them to imagine Wellington, but geographically like Christchurch before the earthquakes and with the weather of Northland.

Northland doesn't get as cold as Melbourne in the winter. It's a pretty good city but I've definitely been to better ones. Wellington has the worst weather of any city I've ever been to. The constant wind ruins any sunshine and makes any rain a lot worse - there is no way anyone can actually like the Wellington weather. The weather in London gets a bad rep but it is miles better than Wellington (I lived in each for a couple of years).

Back to Woodward - glad he kept to his dream of playing for the AB's. Seems like a great replacement for Taylor. I can see him making the AB's for sure as Corey Jane gets on a bit. Seems like a candidate for the fullback / winger conversion that the ABs like to use.

 

[Larksea]

good player and gotta admire his spirit but the likelihood of him getting past Dagg, Ben Smith, Piutau & co are pretty darn slim, assuming he is even better than Anscomebe and fit again Robbie Robinson...

he's going to have his hands full getting gametime with Matt Proctor coming onto the scene and making a good impression at 15.

 

[InsaneAsylum]

I've been a fan of his but if he plays anything like he did last friday, he'll have trouble holding down a hurricanes starting spot let alone being in the ABs squad.

I know he was playing at 14 last Friday, 15 is definitely his best position. I sure hope he doesn't end up doing a Ged Robinson, going "home" and ending up with limited game time. Ged Robinson had a starting spot with the Rebels and he's been greatly missed, hope Woodward doesn't make the same mistake.

 

[Guilty]

Good luck to him. He has been great for the Rebels and you can't blame him for chasing his dream.