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Waikato confirm the signings of two former Super Rugby superstars

Adam Thomson. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

Waikato Rugby has announced the signing of the international duo of Patrick Osborne and Adam Thomson for the upcoming Mitre 10 Cup season.

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Osborne, a Fijian international winger since 2016, made himself available for his country of birth after he was twice named in an All Blacks training squad in 2014 and 2015 but never selected. Osborne brings plenty of experience to the side, having recorded 42 appearances for Canterbury at a provincial level, on top of the 60 Super Rugby caps for the Chiefs (9) and the Highlanders (51). Osborne managed 33 tries over his first-class appearances, indicating his scoring prowess.

Thomson is a World Cup-winning loose forward, having played for the All Blacks between 2008 and 2012, amassed a total of 31 appearances and 30 points for the national side. He also has plenty of provincial and Super Rugby experience, having played 62 times for Otago in the national provincial competition and this season became a Super Rugby centurion reaching this total with four different franchises, the Highlanders (67), Reds (15), Rebels (13) and Chiefs (5).

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Waikato head coach Andrew Strawbridge said, “We are pleased to welcome both Patrick and Adam to the Waikato team for the upcoming 2020 Season. Both players are very experienced hardworking leaders and have the versatility to cover several positions in our squad.

“Their experience will be vital for the younger members of our squad to help them learn and grow; we believe they will fit seamlessly into the team for this season.”

Osborne and Thomson join Liam Messam as exceptionally experienced signings for the year while the likes of Julian Savea and Kieran Read have also returned to New Zealand to play provincial rugby in 2020.

Waikato will announce the full Mitre 10 Cup squad next Tuesday.

– with Waikato Rugby

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Bull Shark 1 hour ago
Rassie Erasmus' Boks selection policy is becoming bizarre

To be fair, the only thing that drives engagement on this site is over the top critiques of Southern Hemisphere teams.


Or articles about people on podcasts criticizing southern hemisphere teams.


Articles regarding the Northern Hemisphere tend to be more positive than critical. I guess to also rile up kiwis and Saffers who seem to be the majority of followers in the comments section. There seems to be a whole department dedicated to Ireland’s world ranking news.


Despite being dialled into the Northern edition - I know sweet fokall about what’s going on in France.


And even less than fokall about what’s cutting in Japan - which has a fast growing, increasingly premium League competition emerging.


And let’s not talk about the pacific. Do they even play rugby Down there.


Oh and the Americas. I’ve read more articles about a young, stargazing Welshman’s foray into NFL than I have anything related to either the north and south continents of the Americas.


I will give credit that the women’s game is getting decent airtime. But for the rest and the above; it’s just pathetic coming from a World Rugby website.


Just consider the innovation emerging in Japan with the pedigree of coaches over there.


There’s so much good we could be reading.


Instead it’s unimaginative “critical for the sake of feigning controversial”. Which is lazy, because in order to pull that off all you need to be really good at is:


1. Being a doos;

2. Having an opinion.


No prior experience needed.


Which is not journalism. That’s like all or most of us in the comments section. People like Finn (who I believe is a RP contributor).


Anyway. Hopefully it will get better. The game is growing and the interest in the game is growing. Maybe it will attract more qualified journalists over time.

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