Blues v Sharks - 31 March 2018 by The Blues Rugby Club

INVESTEC SUPER RUGBY OFFICIAL MATCH PROGRAMME | SATURDAY 31 MARCH 2018

BLUES VS SHARKS

JHB 62068/OJ

The Goose Step instead of a pass

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Welcome Investec Super Rugby | Top 15 It’s time for another round of top quality rugby as we look forward to the 2018 season of Investec Super Rugby. The Crusaders will be defending their title of champions against some of the fiercest competition in the code. For the eighth consecutive year, Investec is the title sponsor of all games played in New Zealand. As enablers of international rugby, we are thrilled to continue our association with this prestigious competition. We look forward to the contests among the best of the southern hemisphere’s clubs, and wish all players and supporters well. Regards Malcolm Fried

About Investec Investec is an international specialist bank and asset manager that provides a diverse range of financial products and services to a select client base in three principal markets – the UK and Europe, South Africa and Asia/Australia as well as certain other countries. The group was established in 1974 and currently has approximately 9 900 employees. Investec focuses on delivering distinctive profitable solutions for its clients in three core areas of activity namely: Asset Management, Wealth & Investment and Specialist Banking. In July 2002 the Investec group implemented a dual listed company structure with listings on the London and Johannesburg Stock Exchanges. The combined group’s current market capitalisation is approximately GBP 5.89 billion.

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MATCH PREVIEW:

blues vs sharks HEAD TO HEAD 2018 STATS

28.3

24.8

POINTS PER GAME

515.0

METRES MADE

380.6

30.0

DEFENDERS BEATEN

19.8

16.0

TURNOVERS CONCEDED

18.0

6.3

TURNOVERS WON

6.4

OVERALL HEAD TO HEAD RESULTS

9 WINS

14 WINS TOP OPTA STATS

» The Blues picked up a 23-18 win in their last meeting with the Sharks, a victory which saw them snap a 10-game losing streak against the Durban side. » Each of the Blues’ last three games at home has been decided by a margin of fewer than seven points, with the Auckland side earning a win, draw, and loss in that span.

» The Blues have won their last four games at home against South African opposition, with their last loss in such a fixture coming back in Round 4, 2015. » Akira and Rieko Ioane have each crossed for at least one try in both of the Blues’ last two games; in fact, Akira Ioane has scored five tries in his last four games for the club.

BLUES VS SHARKS | 3 1 MARCH 20 18 5

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TEAM CODE EXCITES

Olympic sports scientist Blues Sports Science Manager and Assistant Trainer Dr. Adam Storey, in his second year with the club, spent eight years in Olympic sport, including working with the double Olympic gold medallist and multi-world champion, Dame Valerie Adams. The purpose of Adam’s role is to ensure that the club is following current world class sports science protocols for training and athlete monitoring and to assist the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach to prepare the team physically for Super Rugby. Adam’s own sporting passion has been Olympic weightlifting, sparked as a child when he watched the “Turkish Pocket Hercules” lift three times his own bodyweight over his head to win the gold medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. “I was captivated in weightlifting from that moment.” After moving to Auckland for tertiary studies, Adam competed in weightlifting, coached by Commonwealth Games double gold medallist Nigel Avery, and later he followed him into coaching. Adam coached the New Zealand weightlifting team to medals at the 2010 and 2014 Commonwealth Games as well as coaching the team at two Olympics in London (2012) and Rio (2016). He graduated with a double degree and Doctorate in Sport and Exercise Science and Physiology from the University of Auckland. In addition to his role with the

Blues, Adam is a Research Fellow within AUT’s Sports Performance Research Institute where he supervises post-graduate students in the areas of strength and conditioning and exercise physiology. Adam has always been passionate about rugby, having played as a second five at high school at St Pats College in Wellington. “I was in the 2nd XV as we had two New Zealand Schools players in the midfield of our 1st XV and the late Jerry Collins was also our main star. Adam, who named his son Cullen after his favourite All Black Christian Cullen, jumped at the opportunity to move to a fulltime professional sports environment at the Blues. “It’s been an interesting shift from being involved in a minimallyfunded individual sport like weightlifting to the professional team sport environment at the Blues. “In an individual sport, the athlete can just focus on their own performance, recovery and sleep. However, with a team sport like rugby there is the individual perspective but there are so many other aspects that the players must focus on.

“We still want our players to be responsible as individuals for their own roles but at the same time there is the whole team ethos which is fundamental to a successful team environment."

BLUES VS SHARKS | 3 1 MARCH 20 18 7

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Q&A

ALEX HODGMAN PROP | 1.96m | 122kg | 22yo

Big, athletic prop who made an instant impression when moving back to Auckland from the Crusaders in 2017 season. The former Fiji and NZ U20 player finished 2017 with five caps including coming on as replacement against the Lions. He had an outstanding Mitre 10 Cup for Canterbury in 2017. He suffered an arm injury in the match vs Lions in South Africa. Where is home to you? Now, home is Sandringham/Mt Albert but growing up we moved all over - West and South Auckland. What do you like most about being in Auckland? I like being back home with my family which is probably the main reason I moved back. Your favourite moment in rugby? Having the opportunity to put on the jersey each week, before my current injury. After getting through pre-season and finally having the chance to put the jersey on felt like all the hard work was worth it. What is your earliest rugby memory? Playing barefoot in the backyard with the family as a kid. I remember running straight into my older cousin and he picked me up and landed right on my stomach. I got the wind knocked out of me that day. Are any of your family involved in sport? My nephew Josiah is starting his first season of rugby at Waitemata. With being injured, I'm looking forward to being able to be at his games supporting him. My younger brother Isaiah plays for the Warriors. For both Isaiah and I, training together as a family has been important. My older brother Will and cousin Jan from Zealous Crossfit taught us the importance of hard work and fundamentals of lifting that has contributed to where we are today. Continued on page 17 Âť BLUES VS SHARKS | 3 1 MARCH 20 18 1 1

« Continued from page 15 What is something people don’t know about you? I like to watch anime. I find that TV shows and rugby programmes are not for me, if I want to relax. Another thing is that my brother and I build computers. It’s a bit of fun. Just quietly, I’m a computer geek. Who’s the biggest comedian in the team? We have a little group of them but Pauliasi and Sione – they have the quiet humour, the undercover ones. Did you have a sporting idol growing up? Ray Lewis (NFL linebacker for Baltimore Ravens for 17 years). He always worked hard and always put his heart out there for his teammates. Everything he does is with purpose and when you do something with purpose it means you care for it and have a love for it. What was your first sport? I used to be a swimmer in West Auckland for the Waterhole club. I used to be quite quick which is how I got my nickname Guppy. I swam competitively. What musical instruments to you play? The triangle. Just joking. I try the ukulele but my hands are a bit big…

What is the last movie you watched? Black Panther – it was awesome. Do you have any superstitions? I don’t believe in superstitions. If you prep well then everything falls into place. What cartoon character would you like to be? It would be Vegeta. His character was the strongest at one point but he got overtaken by Goku. Strange I know. His character is that he’s always second best but he’s always fighting to be the best he can be. It’s how I feel sometimes – I’m not quite there but I’m working really hard.

What is the one food you would never give up? Bread. I can remember coming home from school having not eaten all day and me and my brother would polish off a whole loaf of bread. Peanut butter and jam sandwiches man, the best. Tea or Coffee? Neither. Just water. Early bird or night owl? Night owl. Smile or game-face? Smile for sure. Tattoo or not? None for me. Cats or dogs? Cats for me. Leather or Denim? Neither – they're horrible choices. Fiction or non-fiction? Fiction. Video game or exercise? Video game, all day. Favourite movie or a book? The Alchemist – if I could read that all day, then I would.

And your favourite music? I like a bit of Frank Ocean. He has some pretty cool old-school jams. Today’s music is a bit lost for me and a bit hard to listen to all day long. But it plays all day long in the gym – TJ, Aki and Dalton are the music men at the club so no chance of anything but today’s music.

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PLAY ON

2018 STANDINGS NEW ZEALAND CONFERENCE

DIF

PTS

CRUSADERS HURRICANES CHIEFS HIGHLANDERS BLUES

5 4 4 4 4

3 3 3 3 1

0 0 0 0 0

2 1 1 1 3

159 111 152 111 113

119 61 104 95 140

40 50 48 16 -27

3 2 1 1 2

15 14 13 13 6

AUSTRALIAN CONFERENCE

DIF

PTS

REBELS REDS WARATAHS BRUMBIES SUNWOLVES

5 5 4 4 5

4 3 2 2 0

0 0 1 0 0

1 2 1 2 5

188 94 137 76 112

111 101 116 93 220

77 -7 21 -17 -108

4 1 0 0 2

20 13 10 8 2

SOUTH AFRICAN CONFERENCE

DIF

PTS

LIONS STORMERS SHARKS JAGUARES BULLS

6 6 5 6 5

4 3 1 2 1

0 0 1 0 0

2 3 3 4 4

232 160 124 150 112

206 171 142 190 162

26 -11 -18 -40 -50

3 1 3 0 1

19 13 9 8 5

OVERALL

REBELS LIONS CRUSADERS HURRICANES CHIEFS HIGHLANDERS REDS STORMERS WARATAHS SHARKS BRUMBIES JAGUARES BLUES BULLS SUNWOLVES

1 6 BLUES VS SHARKS | 3 1 MARCH 20 18

PTS

20 19 15 14 13 13 13 13 10 9 8 8 6 5 2

2018 FIXTURES ROUND

MATCH RESULT

HIGHLANDERS VS BLUES

BLUES VS CHIEFS

LIONS VS BLUES

STORMERS VS BLUES

BLUES VS SHARKS

CHIEFS VS BLUES

SUNWOLVES VS BLUES

BLUES VS HIGHLANDERS

BLUES VS JAGUARES

WARATAHS VS BLUES

BLUES VS HURRICANES

BLUES VS CRUSADERS

BLUES VS REBELS

BLUES VS REDS

HURRICANES VS BLUES

CRUSADERS VS BLUES

41-34

21-27

35-38

37-20

ROUND 7 MATCHES

CHIEFS v HIGHLANDERS 30 Mar | Hamilton | 7:35 PM

REBELS v HURRICANES

30 Mar | Melbourne | 9:45 PM

BLUES V SHARKS

31 Mar | Auckland | 7:35 PM

BRUMBIES v WARATAHS 31 Mar | Canberra | 9:45 PM

SHARKS v WARATAHS

BULLS v LIONS

01 Apr | Pretoria | 3:15 AM

02 Apr | Johannesburg | 12:30 AM

BLUES VS SHARKS | 3 1 MARCH 20 18 1 7

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