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Otago 2012 ITM Cup Squad

Just had a quick look at the draw, and (unlike the Highlanders) it looks like we have a very favourable draw. The three Premiership teams we avoid playing are Canterbury, Waikato, and Taranaki, who just happened to be 1st, 2nd, and 3rd last season!

Good to see we managed to scrape past Southland - hopefully it will give the team the confidence that they need.
 
also looking forward to Seeing Coltman get a run again, NZ desperately needs some new hookers to come through... though unless some of the old firm move on (Hore, Mealamu, Mo and Jason) we re not going to see much of them
 
Didn't catch the game, was wondering if Eben Joubert played? From what I saw last year, he seemed a very, very good player.
 
voiceofreason said:
Didn't catch the game, was wondering if Eben Joubert played? From what I saw last year, he seemed a very, very good player.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately Joubert suffered a serious neck injury before the season even started. He is out for the entire season, and indeed his entire career is in doubt. As you say, he is a very good player - incredibly committed, and was quite inspirational for Otago as captain. Unfortunately he has really struggled with injuries over recent seasons.
 
TRF_Darwin said:
Unfortunately Joubert suffered a serious neck injury before the season even started. He is out for the entire season, and indeed his entire career is in doubt. As you say, he is a very good player - incredibly committed, and was quite inspirational for Otago as captain. Unfortunately he has really struggled with injuries over recent seasons.
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That is a real shame, was looking forward to him play. Even more so that is career could potentially be over. Added a little more incentive for me to watch the ITM Cup, seeing South Africans participating.
 
From what little i know he is still playing some sort of role in the team though, trainer possibly, i saw him out with the team after we won

top bloke from what i've heard
 
Liam Edwards scored 22 points on debut for south Canterbury...a record apparently
 
Hello there a Northampton Saints fan here. Rumour is we signed Glenn Dickinson from you guys. Just wondered where he has played the most and if he is up to much?

We are in need of a good 10 or 12. hope he fits the bill for one of those!

Thanks guys
 
living sacrifice said:
Hello there a Northampton Saints fan here. Rumour is we signed Glenn Dickinson from you guys. Just wondered where he has played the most and if he is up to much?

We are in need of a good 10 or 12. hope he fits the bill for one of those!

Thanks guys
Click to expand...

Yep, I have heard that both he and Rob Verbakel are on their way to Northampton.

Dickson is an ok player, and has just come off his best season for Otago. He can play in a number of positions - 10, 12, and 15 - but is probably best suited to 12 (where he played all season for Otago). He is a big guy, but is pretty slow (hence struggles at fullback), and isn't overly powerful or elusive. He isn't the most creative player either, but is an alright distributor for a 12. He is solid in defense, has good leadership skills, and is a handy goal-kicker too. He certainly isn't a superstar, but can be a solid contributor in the right team.

Verbakel is probably the better pick-up of the two (though it will depend if you want a lock I suppose). He isn't overly tall for a lock (1.95m) but is very athletic (he was a very handy basketball player before switching to rugby). He is still developing as a rugby player (he didn't start playing till University), but has made big improvements over the last two seasons. He is good in the air, and has become a very physical player with ball in hand (both in attack and defense). I was a bit surprised the Highlanders didn't give him a contract this season...
 
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I thought Verbakel was one of Otago's best last season - quite surprised to see him leave.
 
Invictus said:
I thought Verbakel was one of Otago's best last season - quite surprised to see him leave.
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Yep, he will be a big loss for us. Not too surprising to see him leave though, as the Highlanders clearly weren't interested in him (though probably will be in 5-10 years time after he has moved to Japan...).
 
Verbakel was with Glasgow last season, his stay didn't last long as he was soon suspended and his contract terminated early due to this incident ...

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/glasgow-warriors-star-rob-verbakel-1086647

In other news regarding Otago they are signing the Japanese winger Akihito Yamada.

http://www.odt.co.nz/sport/rugby/248338/rugby-brown-switching-focus-otago

This is an interesting signing, this winger is a deadly finisher and scores tries for fun in Japan, he scored 20 tries in 14 matches in the Top League last season equalling the league record for regular season tries. His overall career record in the Top League is 40 tries in 41 matches.

However despite this, he hasn't yet broken into the Japan team and is a fringe member of their squad. Even though he scored 2 tries in a 15 minute bench cameo against a very strong French Barbarians side last November, he doesn't make the starting XV for the side that plays in the capped Test Matches as he is considered weak in defence by Eddie Jones who prefers to select less exciting and less prolific try scoring wingers in favour of a solid defensive unflashy winger.

On a sidenote, Yamada is a dual sport player and also plays for an American Football side in Japan, which he will now be quitting to pursue a move to Otago.

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/sports/topics/AJ201209180005
 
psychic duck said:
Verbakel was with Glasgow last season, his stay didn't last long as he was soon suspended and his contract terminated early due to this incident ...

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/glasgow-warriors-star-rob-verbakel-1086647
Click to expand...

I don't think that is correct. Verbakel only signed for a single season with Glasgow, and played till the end of his contract. If I recall correctly he wasn't even sanctioned for the above incident (as he didn't actually do anything wrong), hence his contract wasn't terminated.....

psychic duck said:
In other news regarding Otago they are signing the Japanese winger Akihito Yamada.

http://www.odt.co.nz/sport/rugby/248338/rugby-brown-switching-focus-otago

This is an interesting signing, this winger is a deadly finisher and scores tries for fun in Japan, he scored 20 tries in 14 matches in the Top League last season equalling the league record for regular season tries. His overall career record in the Top League is 40 tries in 41 matches.

However despite this, he hasn't yet broken into the Japan team and is a fringe member of their squad. Even though he scored 2 tries in a 15 minute bench cameo against a very strong French Barbarians side last November, he doesn't make the starting XV for the side that plays in the capped Test Matches as he is considered weak in defence by Eddie Jones who prefers to select less exciting and less prolific try scoring wingers in favour of a solid defensive unflashy winger.

On a sidenote, Yamada is a dual sport player and also plays for an American Football side in Japan, which he will now be quitting to pursue a move to Otago.

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/sports/topics/AJ201209180005
Click to expand...

He sounds like an interesting prospect. We got good value out of our Japanese players last season, so it is no surprise we are trying to get more!
 

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