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Son of former All Blacks great among key figures in powerful Auckland Mitre 10 Cup squad

(Photo by Peter Meecham/Getty Images)

Auckland have named a powerful 40-man squad for this season’s Mitre 10 Cup as they look to clinch their second domestic title in three years.

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Head coach Alama Ieremia will have plenty of experience and a multitude of talent to draw upon this season, with 13 of his players featuring for the Blues in their impressive Super Rugby and Super Rugby Aotearoa campaigns.

A further nine players have Super Rugby experience, either from Blues teams in years gone by or with other franchises this season, while Ieremia has five All BlacksOfa Tu’ungafasi, Angus Ta’avao Patrick Tuipuloutu, Akira Ioane and Rieko Ioane – in his ranks.

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How often he can call upon that quintet of players remains to be seen given this year’s international schedule is yet to be solidified, but there can be no denying the depth Ieremia has at his disposal.

“We have an experienced squad this season, and it will be up to the players and management to lead from within the group, to get the best out of our preparation,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.

“We haven’t had an ideal pre-season like other teams, but that’s not going to stop us from being excited and coming out firing for opening round.”

The former All Blacks midfielder is, of course, referring to the cancellation of pre-season fixtures and training schedules brought on by the outbreak of COVID-19 in Auckland last month that forced the city into level three lockdown.

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Despite the disruptive start to the provincial campaign, there is plenty for Ieremia and the Auckland faithful to be excited about, particularly among the young cohort of players coming through the grades.

Perhaps the most eye-catching rookie named in this year’s squad is 20-year-old loose forward Niko Jones.

Son of former All Blacks great Michael Jones, Niko burst onto the scene as a schoolboy at St Peter’s College two years ago, where a string of standout performances led to his school crowned national champions in spite of their underdog status.

Inclusion in that year’s New Zealand Schools squad was followed by selection in the 2019 All Blacks Sevens squad, although injury while playing for the national development side thwarted his chances of an international debut.

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However, Jones has been handed his first opportunity at Mitre 10 Cup action this year, and is among a raft of highly-rated rookies, including 2019 Auckland academy members Taufa Funaki, Zarn Sullivan and Soane Vikena, who was named Development Player of the Year at the 2020 Blues Awards.

Elsewhere, new Hurricanes recruit Simon Hickey, young loose forward Adrian Choat, livewire halfback Danny Tusitala and Manu Samoa prop James Lay have all returned to the province after stints abroad in European and American club rugby.

Ieremia will hope the experience they gained overseas will complement the services of the likes of All Blacks hopefuls Caleb Clarke, Hoskins Sotutu, Alex Hodgman and Scott Scrafton, all of whom earned selection in this weekend’s North vs South clash in the wake of some impressive Super Rugby showings.

Auckland fans will get the chance to see their side in action for the first time this year next Saturday, when they open their domestic campaign against Otago at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin.

Auckland Mitre 10 Cup squad for 2020:

Forwards: Alex Hodgman, Jarred Adams, Leni Apisai, Mike Sosene, Soane Vikena, Joe Royal, Ofa Tu’ungafasi, Fatogia Paea, Angus Ta’avao, Marcel Renata, Marco Fepulea’i, James Lay, Scott Scrafton, Hamish Dalzell, Patrick Tuipulotu, Jack Whetton, Liam Hallam-Eames, Sione Tuipulotu, Waimana Reidlinger-Kapa, Blake Gibson, Niko Jones, Adrian Choat, Hoskins Sotutu, Akira Ioane.

Backs: Jonathan Ruru, Taufa Funaki, Danny Tusitala, Simon Hickey, Zarn Sullivan, TJ Faiane, Harry Plummer, Tumua Manu, Inga Finau, Tanielu Tele’a, Rieko Ioane, Joel Cobb, Caleb Clarke, Salesi Rayasi, AJ Lam, Jordan Trainor.

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AM 42 minutes ago
'Freelancer' Izaia Perese shows the need for true inclusivity in Australian rugby

That's Cron's job though. Australia has had one of the most penalised scrums in international rugby for a long time. Just look at the scrum win loss percentage and scrum penalties. That is your evidence. AA has been the starter during that period. Pretty simple analysis. That Australia has had a poor scrum for a long time is hardly news. If bell and thor are not on the field they are woeful. So you are just plain wrong. They have very little time for the lions so doing the same old things that dont work is not going to get them there.


Ainsley is better than our next best tighthead options and has been playing well at scrum time for Lyon in the most competitive comp in the world. Superstar player? No. But better than the next best options. So that is a good enough guide. The scrummaging in the Prem is pretty good too so there is Sio's proof. Same analysis for him. Certainly better in both cases than Super, where the brumbies had the worst win loss and scrum pen in Super. Who plays there? Ohh yes... And the level of scrummaging in Super is well below the URC, prem and France with the SA teams out.


Nongorr is truly woeful. He's 130kg and gets shoved about. That just should not be happening at that weight for a specialist prop who has always played rugby cf pone with leauge. He has had enough time to develop at 23. You'd be better off with Pone who is at least good around the field for the moment and sending Nongorr on exchange to France or England to see if they can improve him with better coaching as happened with Skelton and Meafou. He isn't going to develop in time in super if he has it at all.


Latu is a better scrummaging hooker than BPA and Nasser. and he's the best aussie player over the ball at ruck time. McReight's super jackling percentage hasnt converted to international level but latu consistently does it at heniken level, which is similar to test level in the big games. With good coaching at La Rochelle he's much improved though still has the odd shocker. He should start the November games.

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