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rodney so'oialo jumps ship.

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Larksea

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Suprised it's not all over the news today but on northern exposure last night it was announced that rodney so'oialo is going to take up a contract with Honda in Japan as soon as the super14 is finished this year. Pretty much ruling out any chance of an All Black recall.
 
He is gone anyway- he is not even getting selected first choice for the Canes
 
I can't say I'm surprised by this either. He's a long way down the pecking order now below the likes of Read, Kaino, Messam, Vito, Braid, Thomson etc. There are probably more that I didn't think of but the point is he has lost his x-factor in the last couple of years the same way that Collins did. Only that he's unfortunately taken a little longer to accept that he's not the player he once was.
 
it has been a massive turnaround. It was only back in 2008 he was the man. That 2008 side I think was one of the best in the professional era and they had an awesome record, Rodney was a critical part of that side. And it was a pretty big public announcment when he was signed on to stay for the 2011 season & the world cup.

Then began a pretty big downfall, he didn't often make a big impact but always had safe hands hit a lot of rucks and made a lot of tackles and didn't miss many. I think maybe he was overworked during 2008 & 2009, 2009 super season in particular was hard on him I think and he was a spent force by the end of it. He started to drop off alot of tackles and his performances seemed to drop off the radar.
 
I think the AB coaches would have been really honest and open about his international career being over and he was just waiting till his 3 year contract expired. Japan will be good for him, he'll proboly find his form in a less intense environment
 
I can't blame him for going. He knew that he wasn't going to be in the All Blacks so there was not much point in him staying around.
 
Sneaki said:
I can't say I'm surprised by this either. He's a long way down the pecking order now below the likes of Read, Kaino, Messam, Vito, Braid, Thomson etc. There are probably more that I didn't think of but the point is he has lost his x-factor in the last couple of years the same way that Collins did. Only that he's unfortunately taken a little longer to accept that he's not the player he once was.
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I don't think that is accurate. Collins was still very good when he left, and probably would be in the RWC squad in 2011 had he stayed on. He left at 28 (he's only 30 now), and he has played over 50 games for Osprays and a few more for Toulon. Rodney So'oialo is 31 and he has never been as much of a physical force as he used to be. He's lost the speed that made him stand out, stuggled to maintain the size needed, and lacked much of the consistancy that was in his game in 2007-mid 2008.

I think it is a shame about the lack of exposure that So'oialo is getting. He's been a great player for both the All Blacks and the Canes, but I guess there body can only take so much, and it's a pity that he didn't go out in the way he deserved. Still, I think he will bring something more the the Japan Pro League, though I would have liked to have seen him play for a few of the English teams, as I think his current style of play would have fitted Premiership teams quite well.
 
He was a really good player, one of my favorites actually but the last two-three seasons he lost his speed and didn't preform that well anymore.
 
bates said:
He was a really good player, one of my favorites actually but the last two-three seasons he lost his speed and didn't preform that well anymore.
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Yes he was one of my favorites too,and he was fitness freak and a nice guy too.All the best to him in his journey north.
 
I dont know if anyone else noticed but IMO Jerry Collins didn't seem the same player after he got that neck injury playing for the canes (I think it was the canes rather than lions)

At the time it didn't look like much but he was streatchered off in a neck brace. He only ended up having a few weeks off with it but when he came back I think he lost his edge and it did get to the point where he likely would not have been selected for the AB's squad that was announced arround the time Collins left NZ rugby.
 
Larksea said:
I dont know if anyone else noticed but IMO Jerry Collins didn't seem the same player after he got that neck injury playing for the canes (I think it was the canes rather than lions)

At the time it didn't look like much but he was streatchered off in a neck brace. He only ended up having a few weeks off with it but when he came back I think he lost his edge and it did get to the point where he likely would not have been selected for the AB's squad that was announced arround the time Collins left NZ rugby.
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I think Jerry wouldve still made the ABs that year he left. I remember when he left, there was a bit of a void & it took Kaino a season or so to reach that standard.

But yeah, bit of a shame what's happened with Rodney. It must be quite depressing for him. Being the main man one day then discarded the next.
 

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