Tag Archives: Auckland Blues

Ma’a Nonu will return to New Zealand ahead of the 2019 Super Rugby campaign after spending three seasons with French heavyweights, Toulon.  The 103 times capped All Black will go full circle with his career as he returns to New Zealand on a one-year deal with the Auckland Blues. This will be the third time Nonu will have played with …

Five talking points ahead of this week’s games in Super Rugby: _____ Folau won’t go to ground High-flying Wallabies fullback Israel Folay isn’t likely back out of any aerial challenges as he returns from his one-match ban, NSW Waratahs assistant coach Simon Cron says. Folau was suspended over a mid-air challenge with Ireland’s Peter O’Mahony in the final Test in …

Nine tries, 75 points scored, 25 offloads, 18 clean line breaks and 45 defenders beaten – yes, it’s safe to say that Super Rugby is back with a bang!  The Auckland Blues travelled to the Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin to take on the Highlanders this morning as the New Zealand conference gets underway this weekend and viewers were rewarded for …

It’s the question on everyone’s lips, where will Quade Cooper be playing his rugby in 2018?  Since Brad Thorn announced that Cooper would not be in the Queensland Reds’ Super Rugby squad for the 2018 season, there has been considerable speculation about where the flyhalf will be plying his trade in 2018. As expected he has been linked with a few …

The lure of lucrative contracts in the northern hemisphere is showing no signs of abating with the news that yet another All Black is set to make the move north.  George Moala, capped four times by the All Blacks and currently plying his trade for the Auckland Blues, has signed a three-year contract with Top 14 heavyweights Clermont Auvergne. Moala’s last …

All Blacks replacement prop Ofa Tu'ungafasi put in a massive hit on Bernard Foley during Australia's thrilling 23-18 win.

Two-time World Cup winner Jerome Kaino is back in the All Blacks squad after coach Steve Hansen named him in his 28- man squad to face Argentina in Buenos Aires a week on Saturday, report the Auckland-based New Zealand Herald. The 34-year-old flanker has yet to feature in this year’s Rugby Championship after leaving the squad the day before their opening …

The new buzz word amongst the Lions coaching management is ‘chaos’. Lions assistant coach, and attack guru, Rob Howley used the word to describe New Zealand’s lethal form of unstructured rugby nine times in Tuesday’s press conference. But has he chosen the wrong word in helping the Lions to prepare for the challenges ahead? If you watch highlights of the …

How about those ‘Canes? Steve Hansen is obviously a fan of the lethal Hurricanes backline. No fewer than five players from the Windy City made Hansen’s All Blacks squad which boasts 1164 caps of experience but sprung a few surprises in naming two new players. So what what were the talking points as the All Blacks named his squad for …

Former All Black great Christian Cullen has excused the Lions abject performance against the New Zealand Barbarians as a ‘scheduling hospital pass’ and stated that the real tour begins at Eden Park on Wednesday. He also pointed to two key areas which he believes will define the clash against the Blues. In a column for allblacks.com, Cullen veered away from …

Blues coach Tana Umaga named a powerful side containing eight players capped by the All Blacks to face the Lions at Eden Park on Wednesday. So who will be the most dangerous players for the Lions to watch out for? 1.Akira Ioane Akira Ioane is the older Ioane brother and the one with the most to prove against the Lions. …

“It was a tough match, very tough. We learned a lot tonight in terms of knowing how tough it is to come to New Zealand and how motivated the teams are going to be against us.”  “It’s good that we have some footage to work off now, we can get back into training, tomorrow will be a day off then …

Just after we saw Jordie Barrett winning a lineout for the Hurricanes in their 22-10 loss to the Crusaders in Christchurch on Saturday morning, we came across footage of the other side of the coin in the Auckland Blues’ victory over the Cheetahs in Eden Park on Friday morning. This time around it was the forwards to get their moment …

It’s safe to say it has been a very disappointing season for the NSW Waratahs. The 2014 Super Rugby champions have had a serious fall from grace over the last two seasons and they are currently in serious danger of missing out on the playoffs.  The only positive for the Sydney-based outfit is that all the Australian sides have been …

The Lions tour of New Zealand could be a disaster if the tourists fail to match the All Blacks and the five New Zealand Super 18 sides’ pace, strength and skills. One statistic highlights the daunting challenge in front of Warren Gatland’s men: in nine rounds and 44 games, the five New Zealand Super 18 sides have only lost once …

The Hurricanes vs Blues game was supposed to be an All Black trial. However, Beauden Barrett dominated the match to such an extent that there seemed to be two games going on: Beauden’s game and something else much more mediocre. Will Barrett do the same to the Lions? One play in the Blues game summed up his freakish skills and …

After the conclusion of the thrilling Six Nations campaign, all attention has turned to the upcoming Lions tour of New Zealand. So, which Super Rugby sides can be most easily compared to an Aviva Premiership outfit? Australian Conference Brumbies/Wasps In the mid-2000s these teams were the greatest to ever grace their respective competitions, however a sudden spate of retirements resulted …