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Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi is Aaron Smith 2.0

As the All Blacks prepare for the next leg of their Rugby Championship campaign, one player is preparing for the biggest game of his young career.

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The only potential debutant in the All Blacks 23, halfback Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi will become All Black No. 1174 should he be called upon during Saturday’s Test against Argentina. First selected in the All Blacks squad in May but unable to feature, Tahuriorangi has spent time in the wings and waited patiently for his first opportunity with the national side.

To fans in both New Zealand and abroad, the halfback is a largely unproven commodity, though it’s clear All Blacks head coach Steve Hansen and his selectors see immense long-term potential in the Rotorua Boys’ High School product.

The vision Hansen has for Tahuriorangi is only exemplified by the latter’s small sample size at Super Rugby level. At the start of the 2018 Super Rugby season, Tahuriorangi had just one start to his name after two years with the Hurricanes, spending the bulk of his time behind All Black TJ Perenara. At the end of the season, after a move north to the Chiefs, that number of starts had grown to just six.

Tahuriorangi logged 535 minutes in 17 games this year (an average of 31 minutes per game), fewer than six other New Zealand-based halfbacks including Chiefs teammate Brad Weber (829 minutes). New Zealand’s top two halfbacks, Aaron Smith and the aforementioned Perenara, clocked up 1047 and 989 minutes across their 15 games respectively as the two most-used at the position. Based on experience alone, one would be forgiven for wondering just how and why Tahuriorangi leapfrogged his compatriots and inserted himself as New Zealand’s third-string halfback. If we dive a little bit deeper, his case for selection becomes clear.

Listed at 1.71 metres tall and weighing in at 83 kilograms, Tahuriorangi has the exact same measurables as the All Blacks’ incumbent first choice halfback, Aaron Smith. This eerie likeness isn’t the only area in which the two are similar. To this point in Tahuriorangi’s career, he has closely followed the exact same arc as Smith. Both first appeared in black at the Under 20 level before representing the New Zealand Maori. Should Tahuriorangi feature against Argentina on Saturday, he will earn his test debut at the age of 23, and will be just over one month younger than Smith was on his own debut. But these comparisons can almost be chalked up to somewhat calculated coincidence. When taking a look at both the numbers and style of play, Tahuriorangi is as close to an Aaron Smith clone as the All Blacks are going to find.

Granted, Tahuriorangi saw significantly less time on the park than both Smith and Perenara, but when their Super Rugby statistics are averaged out to a per 80-minute figure, significant similarities emerge.

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Both Tahuriorangi and Smith produced similar per-80 numbers when it comes to distribution, on par with each other across several statistical categories including line break and try assists. Tahuriorangi emerged as a slightly better runner, topping Smith in runs, run metres, offloads, line breaks and tackle busts. Tahuriorangi also takes care of the ball a little better, averaging fewer turnovers and handling errors.

The two are almost identical defensively, both averaging just over five made tackles and two misses per 80 minutes. With the Rugby World Cup just over one year away, fitting the mold of the ever-reliable Smith only helps the youngster’s case as he eventually pushes for a bigger role within the side. If he develops the way the selectors are hoping, he shapes as a long-term number one option, likely jumping up the order by the time 2023 rolls around.

The game in which Tahuriorangi perhaps cemented himself as the All Blacks’ heir apparent to the No. 9 jersey was his first start of the Super Rugby season, against the Sunwolves in Japan. The diminutive signal-caller marshaled his side with a composure beyond his years, providing accurate, quality service to Damian McKenzie and the rest of the Chiefs over an impressive 71-minute shift. His constant barking, quick delivery and impeccable timing to hit teammates both off the deck and on the run was reminiscent of the way Smith leads the All Blacks around the park. Tahuriorangi finished as one the most influential players of the match, notching three try assists, 54 run metres from five carries and two clean breaks in a 61-10 coming-out victory.

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Ahead of the All Blacks’ Test against Argentina, Hansen spoke of Tahuriorangi’s abilities. “We think he’s a quality player, he’s got a lovely pass on him,” Hansen said. “We just want him to go out and deliver the ball to Richie or Damian if he’s on at that point. Deliver quality ball and drive the forwards around the park.”

With Smith and Perenara still in the frame for at least the next few years, this is the first real chance for Tahuriorangi to further solidify himself with All Black selectors and remove all doubt that he should be the third halfback in the national setup. For now, with no rush to fill the No. 9 jersey, Tahuriorangi should relish each minute and focus on continuing to build on his All Black case.

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Pablo King 21 minutes ago
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It started as an ordinary Tuesday. I was checking my Bybit portfolio when an email popped up that looked like a legitimate alert from the exchange, warning of suspicious activity. Without thinking, I clicked the link and entered my credentials. The moment I hit submit, a sinking feeling hit me. Within minutes, my Bitcoin wallet was completely drained.Losing 3.2 BTC, worth nearly $200,000 at the time, wasn’t just a financial blow. It felt like a personal violation. I couldn’t believe I had fallen for a phishing scam. I spent days digging through forums, contacting Bybit support, and even filing a police report. But the responses were disheartening and repetitive. Crypto transactions are irreversible. Scam victims rarely recover their funds. The helplessness was crushing.I barely slept. I kept replaying that moment over and over in my head. Why did I click the link? Why didn’t I double-check? The guilt and frustration consumed me. Friends tried to be supportive, but most didn’t understand the emotional and financial weight of what had happened. I had always been cautious with security. Yet in one distracted moment, everything disappeared.Weeks later, while scrolling through Reddit threads on crypto scams, I stumbled upon several mentions of GRAYWARE TECH SERVICES . At first, I was skeptical. It sounded too good to be true. But the testimonials felt genuine, and I was desperate. I decided to reach out.Their response was fast, professional, and surprisingly empathetic. They didn’t promise miracles. Instead, they explained their method: tracing blockchain transactions, identifying potential exchange cash-outs, and working with legal and crypto entities to freeze and recover funds.I sent them everything I had wallet addresses, transaction records, screenshots and waited. Just a few days later, I received an email that left me speechless. They had successfully traced and recovered all of my stolen Bitcoin.I couldn’t believe it. After being told repeatedly that the funds were gone forever, here they were, back in my wallet. It felt like waking up from a nightmare. GRAYWARE TECH SERVICES didn’t just help me get my money back. They restored my sense of security, my trust, and my peace of mind.I share my story now in case someone else out there is feeling the same panic and hopelessness I once felt. There is help. And sometimes, there is even a second chance.You can reach them on whatsapp +18582759508, web at ( https://graywaretechservices.com/ )    also on Mail: (contact@graywaretechservices.com)

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Pablo King 22 minutes ago
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It started like any other Tuesday. While checking my Bybit portfolio, I got an email warning of suspicious activity. It looked legitimate, so I clicked the link and entered my credentials. The moment I hit submit, I knew something was wrong. Minutes later, my Bitcoin wallet was drained—3.2 BTC, nearly $200,000, gone. It felt like a violation. I’d been cautious, but in one distracted moment, I fell for a phishing scam.

I spent days searching forums, contacting Bybit, and even filing a police report. But the response was the same: crypto transactions are irreversible. Most victims never recover their funds. The guilt and helplessness were overwhelming. I couldn’t sleep. Friends tried to help, but few understood the weight of the loss.

Weeks later, I found mentions of GRAYWARE TECH SERVICES on Reddit. Skeptical but desperate, I reached out. Their response was prompt, professional, and realistic. They didn’t make wild promises. Instead, they explained their method: tracing blockchain activity and working with legal and crypto entities to recover funds.

I sent everything—wallet addresses, transaction records, screenshots—and waited. Days later, I got the email: they had recovered my stolen Bitcoin. I was stunned. After hearing it was gone forever, seeing it back in my wallet felt surreal.

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BleedRed&Black 26 minutes ago
URC teams aren't proving Stephen Donald wrong

By making all ends meet I meant keeping all their teams in a competition that will let them in and give them matches worth playing. The whole focus of my initial comment was about competition. Never mentioned financial. If I had wanted to, I would have said it explicitly.


As I've stated repeatedly in subsequent comments, SA pro teams are in a much better position financially and in popularity terms in the URC than they were in SR. Why? Because they are playing full season, not just over half of one, and because they are in a weaker comp, and therefore doing better, which keeps the fans happy. Then they hit Europe and get steam rolled. The latter at least suggests that they haven't improved since SR, for all their claims to have developed "massive depth", a Trump grade exaggeration. They prioritize what they can win, URC, and their 2nd tier players get turned into custard in Europe.


The very fact that the rest of the URC is made up of teams from Italy and Wales, who are international whipping boys, Scotland, which never win anything, and Ireland, effectively a one club country, tells you everything you need to know about the URC. Other than Leinster, no Celtic League/URC team has qualified for the Euro Champ final since Ulster in 2012. The message is unmistakeable. The URC is a one team comp. Leinster. After that, a bunch of 2nd Tier teams who don't get anywhere against Toulouse etc. You don't want to recognise that inferiority, see what everyone else can see, that's fine. On the basis of your "we can't know" argument you might as well claim Japan's League One is in the same category as the Top 14.


But the way SA have structured their comps is, politically, extremely vulnerable to a decline in the Springboks. As soon as the Boks start losing again everything will be questioned. The 12 month season. Participation in the demonstrably inferior URC. Participation in Europe, where SA teams are getting smashed. Using players from Japan's League One, a third rate comp. The Springboks won the last world cup despite these problems, not because of them. SA Rugby understand the importance of being in a top competition. That's why they have expanded contacts with the All Blacks. NZ rugby's problems are entirely self created, but that means they can be fixed if there is the willingness to do what is necessary. SA is not so simple.


Personally, I don't know why SA don't run their own 6 team competition, then look for international club comp outside that. It would be far more popular in SA than URC/EURO, it would generate at least the same revenue, and it would solve the 12 month season problem. The last is the killer. NZ and Aussie wont shift TRC to suit SA, and the 6N wont let them in. Its completely unsustainable. Somethings gotta give.

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Pablo King 35 minutes ago
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It started as an ordinary Tuesday. I was checking my Bybit portfolio when an email popped up that looked like a legitimate alert from the exchange, warning of suspicious activity. Without thinking, I clicked the link and entered my credentials. The moment I hit submit, a sinking feeling hit me. Within minutes, my Bitcoin wallet was completely drained.Losing 3.2 BTC, worth nearly $200,000 at the time, wasn’t just a financial blow. It felt like a personal violation. I couldn’t believe I had fallen for a phishing scam. I spent days digging through forums, contacting Bybit support, and even filing a police report. But the responses were disheartening and repetitive. Crypto transactions are irreversible. Scam victims rarely recover their funds. The helplessness was crushing.I barely slept. I kept replaying that moment over and over in my head. Why did I click the link? Why didn’t I double-check? The guilt and frustration consumed me. Friends tried to be supportive, but most didn’t understand the emotional and financial weight of what had happened. I had always been cautious with security. Yet in one distracted moment, everything disappeared.Weeks later, while scrolling through Reddit threads on crypto scams, I stumbled upon several mentions of GRAYWARE TECH SERVICES . At first, I was skeptical. It sounded too good to be true. But the testimonials felt genuine, and I was desperate. I decided to reach out.Their response was fast, professional, and surprisingly empathetic. They didn’t promise miracles. Instead, they explained their method: tracing blockchain transactions, identifying potential exchange cash-outs, and working with legal and crypto entities to freeze and recover funds.I sent them everything I had wallet addresses, transaction records, screenshots and waited. Just a few days later, I received an email that left me speechless. They had successfully traced and recovered all of my stolen Bitcoin.I couldn’t believe it. After being told repeatedly that the funds were gone forever, here they were, back in my wallet. It felt like waking up from a nightmare. GRAYWARE TECH SERVICES didn’t just help me get my money back. They restored my sense of security, my trust, and my peace of mind.I share my story now in case someone else out there is feeling the same panic and hopelessness I once felt. There is help. And sometimes, there is even a second chance.You can reach them on whatsapp +18582759508, web at ( https://graywaretechservices.com/ )    also on Mail: (contact@graywaretechservices.com)

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Mzilikazi 36 minutes ago
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Back again after a good nights sleep, with the dawn light rising outside…beautiful clear sky of translucent pastel shades. I have reread the article, Nick. Superb piece !


I have now known of and followed Les Kiss’s progress for some 31 years. We had moved from Charters Towers, RL town, down to Bundaberg, also RL town. I took up supply teaching then, and began to spend a lot of time at the old and venerable Bundaberg State High, and on the wall of the school hall was this photo of Les Kiss, only boy from this old RL school to have played Origin and for Australia. I also met and worked with his Phys. Ed. teacher brother at another Bundaberg school.


Les retired from League in 1993, and I was intrigued when in 2001, it was announced he was switching to Union as a defence coach with the Boks. I was even more interested when he moved to my native Ireland in 2009, and under Declan Kidney, was part of the Grand Slam winning coaching team. Then he moved up to Ulster. I was born there, and had great hopes of Ulster rising to be a leading province, often “creaming” Leinster” which it was when I left Ireland in 1980. It was not to be.


Ulster is a funny old place, with some very difficult people to get on with. Les Kiss found this out I would think, and his time there was not that happy. I just feel he came into an environment there on the slide, one going back to moving Ulster coach Brian McLoughlin out, saying “We are moving on to the next level…..never happened under any coach.


His time at London Irish was, I thought, pretty successful against the backdrop of the resources he had, and a club that was headed for financial failure. I certainly felt when he came to Qld. it was going to be a step up, and it was. Until the playoff collapse against the Chiefs last year. Up to then he was my first choice to take over the WB’s job. Now I’m less sure, but will support him, as the die is cast.

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Pablo King 57 minutes ago
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It started as an ordinary Tuesday. I was checking my Bybit portfolio when an email popped up that looked like a legitimate alert from the exchange, warning of suspicious activity. Without thinking, I clicked the link and entered my credentials. The moment I hit submit, a sinking feeling hit me. Within minutes, my Bitcoin wallet was completely drained.Losing 3.2 BTC, worth nearly $200,000 at the time, wasn’t just a financial blow. It felt like a personal violation. I couldn’t believe I had fallen for a phishing scam. I spent days digging through forums, contacting Bybit support, and even filing a police report. But the responses were disheartening and repetitive. Crypto transactions are irreversible. Scam victims rarely recover their funds. The helplessness was crushing.I barely slept. I kept replaying that moment over and over in my head. Why did I click the link? Why didn’t I double-check? The guilt and frustration consumed me. Friends tried to be supportive, but most didn’t understand the emotional and financial weight of what had happened. I had always been cautious with security. Yet in one distracted moment, everything disappeared.Weeks later, while scrolling through Reddit threads on crypto scams, I stumbled upon several mentions of GRAYWARE TECH SERVICES . At first, I was skeptical. It sounded too good to be true. But the testimonials felt genuine, and I was desperate. I decided to reach out.Their response was fast, professional, and surprisingly empathetic. They didn’t promise miracles. Instead, they explained their method: tracing blockchain transactions, identifying potential exchange cash-outs, and working with legal and crypto entities to freeze and recover funds.I sent them everything I had wallet addresses, transaction records, screenshots and waited. Just a few days later, I received an email that left me speechless. They had successfully traced and recovered all of my stolen Bitcoin.I couldn’t believe it. After being told repeatedly that the funds were gone forever, here they were, back in my wallet. It felt like waking up from a nightmare. GRAYWARE TECH SERVICES didn’t just help me get my money back. They restored my sense of security, my trust, and my peace of mind.I share my story now in case someone else out there is feeling the same panic and hopelessness I once felt. There is help. And sometimes, there is even a second chance.You can reach them on whatsapp +18582759508, web at ( https://graywaretechservices.com/ )    also on Mail: (contact@graywaretechservices.com)

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