INVESTEC SUPER RUGBY OFFICIAL MATCH PROGRAMME | FRIDAY 31 MAY 2019
BLUES VS bulls
A run can raise the roof. As rough as they look, well-timed tackles can be gamewinning moves. Through tackles like these, Investec has for the past nine years been able to bring world-class rugby to fans, as title sponsor of all New Zealand-based Investec Super Rugby and Investec Rugby Championship games. We look forward to bringing you even more. #BestOFtheBestRugby
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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 other certain countries. The group was established in 1974 and currently has approximately 10 146 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 4.93 billion.
Welcome Investec Super Rugby | Top 15
Investec has enjoyed a strong partnership with New Zealand Rugby over nine consecutive years. This has resulted in us having a platform — in supporting er nine consecutive years. This has resulted in us having a platform — in supporting Investec Super Rugby and Investec Rugby Championship games played in d in New Zealand — from which to be enablers of international rugby. And there’s no New Zealand — from which to be enablers of international rugby. And there’s look forward to the pride, passion and standard of play that the global rugby arena no better year than this, a Rugby World Cup year, to use this platform. We look forward to the pride, passion and standard of play that the global rugby arena will produce. Everything of the best to all the players.
Regards Danni Dixon – Head of Marketing Investec SA
ovides a diverse range of financial products and services to a select client base in About Investec ustralia as well as certain other countries. The group was established in 1974 and
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 nts inWelcome three core areas of activity namely, Asset Wealth & Investment markets – the UK and Europe, South AfricaManagement, and Asia/Australia as well as certain other countries. The group was established in 1974 and currently has approximately Investec Super Rugby | Top 15 10 146 employees.
enjoyed a strong partnership with New Zealand Rugby over nine consecutive years. This has resulted in us having a platform — in supporting ture Investec with has listings on the London and Johannesburg Stock Exchanges. The combined Investec Super Rugby and Investec Rugby Championship games played in New Zealand — from which to be enablers of international rugby. And there’s no better year than this, a Rugby World Cup year, to use this platform. We look forward to the pride, passion and standard of play that the global rugby arena will produce. Everything of the best to all the players.
Investec focuses on delivering distinctive profitable solutions for its clients in three core areas of activity namely, Asset Management, Wealth & Investment and Regards, Danni Dixon – Head of Marketing Investec SA Specialist Banking. About Investec
2002specialist the Investec group implemented a dual company withclient base in Investec In is anJuly international bank and asset manager that provides a diverse range listed of financial products andstructure services to a select 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 on the London and Johannesburg Stock Exchanges. The combined group’s currently listings has approximately 10 146 employees. current market capitalisation is approximately GBP4.93 billion.
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 GBP4.93 billion.
and-based Rugby Championship and Super Rugby games.
#BestOFtheBestRugby Enjoying 9 years of bringing fans the best rugby as title sponsor of all New Zealand-based Rugby Championship and Super Rugby games.
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MATCH PREVIEW:
blues vs bulls HEAD TO HEAD 2019 STATS RANK 14
21.0
24.3
RANK 7
RANK 1
127.2
CARRIES
104.7
RANK 14
RANK 4
437.0
METRES MADE
375.8
RANK 12
RANK 10
10.1
CLEAN BREAKS
10.4
RANK 8
RANK 3
23.8
DEFENDERS BEATEN
21.1
RANK 8
RANK 5
9.3
OFFLOADS
8.2
RANK 10
RANK 10
6.4
TURNOVERS WON
7.1
RANK 5
POINTS PER GAME
13 WINS
1 DRAW
OVERALL HEAD TO HEAD RESULTS OVERALL GAMES: 21 (13-1-7)
7 WINS BLUES VS BULLS | 3 1 MAY 20 19 5
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Honda Heat turn up the temperature This week the Blues are hosting our close friends from the Honda Heat club in Japan. Honda Heat will take on the Blues A team in the curtain-raiser before the Blues meet the Bulls on Friday night. This is the start of the third year of our relationship with the Honda Heat club, which is part of the Honda Motor Co and based in Suzuka City in the Mie Prefecture near Nagoya. The Blues provides support and direction to the coaching and management of the club, with the general manager high performance, Tony Hanks leading the club’s support crew. The coaches and trainers have visited the club on
several occasions along with some of our senior players. Honda Heat won the Top Challenge League in the first full year of our relationship to earn promotion to the Top League. And in the past year they finished in a club-best ninth place in the Top league. “We are delighted with our partnership with Honda Heat. They are passionate about improving their position in Japan rugby and we have an excellent working relationship,” said Tony Hanks.
“We look forward to continuing to grow our relationship both on and off the rugby field.” The Blues has two Honda Heat players training with the club this season and are hosting the squad for trainings and games this week. They competed in a Game of Three Halves match against Auckland and North Harbour earlier in the week ahead of the curtain-raiser match on Eden Park against Blues A. They started their tour when hosted by the Waitemata Rugby Club where the two Honda boys are playing, and they will prepare for their curtain raiser with their Captain’s Run at Mount Albert Grammar School. “We extend a warm welcome to New Zealand to Yoshihito Maeda, the general manager of the club, and all of the Honda touring party.”
BLUES VS BULLS | 3 1 MAY 20 19 7
Quiet man casts big shadow He does not make a big noise, but lock Gerard Cowley-Tuioti casts a big shadow at the Blues club. Early next season Gerard CowleyTuioti will earn his 50th cap for the Blues, after deciding to extend his stay at the club for a further two years. That was a big call for the 26-year-old North Harbour player who had initially looked to take up an option to play in France. Since joining the club in 2016 Gerard has become a cornerstone of the Blues pack even though he is one of the youngest. He played in all-but two games in 2018 and took a senior role with the season-ending injuries to Scott Scrafton and Jimmy Tupou. He has missed only one game in 2019, either
8 BLUES VS BULLS | 3 1 MAY 20 19
starting or adding energy off the bench, like his driving try to earn an important bonus point in the win over the Chiefs. He was initially called into 2015 Blues for training cover and earned a fulltime place in 2016. “Gerard is a player that most teams would love to have,” said Tony Hanks, general manager high performance.
“He might be a quiet guy around the club but he is an outstanding contributor. He does the core roles at set-play well but on top of that he is an excellent athlete around the field, and one of our hardestworking players. “We know he was targeted by European clubs, and he deserves the opportunity, but we are delighted he has decided to remain with us for a couple more years. He is one of those players that our coaches can rely on to do his job week-in, week-out.”
PLAYER STATS Ma'a Nonu Alex Hodgman
1.82 M | 105 KG | 37 YR | 36 BLUES CAPS
1.96 M | 122 KG | 25 YR | 23 BLUES CAPS
TJ Faiane
James Parsons
1.75 M | 92 KG | 23 YR | 29 BLUES CAPS
1.85 M | 106 KG | 32 YR | 103 BLUES CAPS
Caleb Clarke
Ofa Tuungafasi
1.89 M | 107 KG | 20 YR | 11 BLUES CAPS
1.95 M | 129 KG | 27 YR | 81 BLUES CAPS
Melani Nanai
Patrick Tuipulotu
1.94 M | 90 KG | 25 YR | 61 BLUES CAPS
1.98 M | 120 KG | 26 YR | 65 BLUES CAPS
Leni Apisai
Scott Scrafton
1.82 M | 108 KG | 23 YR | 13 BLUES CAPS
2.00 M | 114 KG | 26 YR | 20 BLUES CAPS
Lua Li
Tom Robinson
1.80 M | 120 KG | 28 YR | 2 BLUES CAPS
1.98 M | 110 KG | 24 YR | 12 BLUES CAPS
Marcel Renata
Blake Gibson
1.87 M | 121 KG | 25 YR | 5 BLUES CAPS
1.86 M | 102 KG | 24 YR | 38 BLUES CAPS
Gerard Cowley-Tuioti
Akira Ioane
1.96 M | 112 KG | 26 YR | 42 BLUES CAPS
1.94 M | 113 KG | 24 YR | 62 BLUES CAPS
Hoskins Sotutu
Jonathan Ruru
1.92 M | 106 KG | 20 YR | 1 BLUES CAP
1.83 M | 94 KG | 26 YR | 23 BLUES CAPS
Augustine Pulu
Harry Plummer
1.89 M | 90 KG | 29 YR | 34 BLUES CAPS
1.84 M | 94 KG | 20 YR | 13 BLUES CAPS
Otere Black
Rieko Ioane
1.85 M | 86 KG | 24 YR | 12 BLUES CAP
1.88 M | 103 KG | 22 YR | 47 BLUES CAPS
Tanielu Tele'a 1.87 M | 107 KG | 20 YR | 6 BLUES CAPS
BLUES VS BULLS | 3 1 MAY 20 19 9
COACH
BLUE bul
ASSISTANT COACHES
Leon MacDonald
Tana Umaga Tom Coventry Dan Halangahu Ben Afeaki
MANAGER Richard Fry
15
Melani Nanai
14
Caleb Clarke
13
7.35pm FRIDAY EDEN
TJ Faiane (VC)
12
Ma'a Nonu
11
Rieko Ioane
10
Harry Plummer
9
Jonathan Ruru
8
Akira Ioane
7
Blake Gibson (CC)
6 RESERVES 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
Leni Apisai Lua Li Marcel Renata Gerard Cowley-Tuioti Hoskins Sotutu Augustine Pulu Otere Black Tanielu Tele'a
Tom Robinson
5
Scott Scrafton
4
Patrick Tuipulotu (CC)
3
Ofa Tuungafasi
2
James Parsons
1
Alex Hodgman
REFE
Mike F
ASSISTANT
Brendon Dan W
TM
Ben S
ES VS lls
ASSISTANT COACHES
Fraser
T REFEREES
n Pickerill Waenga
MO
Skeen
Pote Human
Anton Leonard Chris Rossouw Hayden Groepes Daan Human
MANAGER Elias Bennett
15
Warrick Gelant
14
Cornal Hendricks
Y 31 MAY 2019 PARK
EREE
COACH
13
Johnny Kotze
12
(C) Burger Odendaal
11
Rosko Spekman
10
Manie Libbok
9
Ivan van Zyl
8
Paul Schoeman
7
Hanro Liebenberg
6
Marco van Staden
5
RG Snyman
4
Jason Jenkins
3
Trevor Nyakane
2
Schalk Brits Lizo Gqoboka
1
RESERVES
Jaco Visagie Simphiwe Matanzima Wiehahn Herbst Jannes Kirsten Ruan Steenkamp Andre Warner JT Jackson Divan Rossouw
16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
PLAYER STATS Lizo Gqoboka 1.83 M | 115 KG | 29 YR | 50 SR CAPS
Johnny Kotze
Schalk Brits
1.85 M | 89 KG | 26 YR | 43 SR CAPS
1.82 M | 100 KG | 38 YR | 72 SR CAPS
Cornal Hendricks
Trevor Nyakane
1.88 M | 90 KG | 31 YR | 37 SR CAPS
1.78 M | 121 KG | 30 YR | 104 SR CAPS
Warrick Gelant
Jason Jenkins
1.80 M | 89 KG | 24 YR | 43 SR CAPS
2.01 M | 121 KG | 24 YR | 49 SR CAPS
Jaco Visagie
RG Snyman
1.89 M | 107 KG | 26 YR | 43 SR CAPS
2.06 M | 117 KG | 24 YR | 45 SR CAPS
Simphiwe Matanzima
Marco van Staden
1.82 M | 111 KG | 21 YR | 13 SR CAPS
1.84 M | 106 KG | 23 YR | 22 SR CAPS
Wiehahn Herbst
Hanro Liebenberg
1.80 M | 114 KG | 30 YR | 46 SR CAPS
1.97 M | 110 KG | 23 YR | 40 SR CAPS
Jannes Kirsten
Paul Schoeman
1.97 M | 111 KG | 26 YR | 29 SR CAPS
1.90 M | 97 KG | 26 YR | 31 SR CAPS
Ruan Steenkamp
Ivan van Zyl
1.83 M | 100 KG | 26 YR | 17 SR CAPS
1.78 M | 80 KG | 23 YR | 27 SR CAPS
Andre Warner
Manie Libbok
1.84 M | 84 KG | 25 YR | 17 SR CAPS
1.84 M | 76 KG | 21 YR | 15 SR CAPS
JT Jackson
Rosko Spekman
1.89 M | 96 KG | 22 YR | 2 SR CAPS
1.76 M | 85 KG | 30 YR | 10 SR CAPS
Divan Rossouw
Burger Odendaal
1.83 M | 89 KG | 23 YR | 23 SR CAPS
1.87 M | 94 KG | 26 YR | 53 SR CAPS
1 2 BLUES VS BULLS | 3 1 MAY 20 19
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Former SAINt Kents pivot to join the Blues Tasman and Hurricanes halfback Finlay Christie will move back home to play for the Blues starting from the 2020 Investec Super Rugby season. The 23-year-old, who is the back-up to TJ Perenara at the Hurricanes this year, has signed with the Blues for two years, joining Jonathan Ruru and Sam Nock who have both extended their contracts with the club. The 23-year-old Christie, who was born in Peebles in the Scottish Borders, moved with his family to Pukekohe before attending Saint Kentigern College. He played for Counties Manukau U-19s before heading to the University of Canterbury and after excelling at club level, took up a contract with the Tasman Mako in 2016.
His form with Tasman led to him playing eight games for the Chiefs in 2017 before moving to the Hurricanes the following year. Christie’s move north will re-link him with Blues coach Leon MacDonald, who guided him at Tasman, where he will continue to play his Mitre-10 Cup rugby. “I was impressed with his skillset and attitude at Tasman and now he gets the chance to return home to play,” Leon said. “Finlay will complement both Sam and Jonathan and give us three quality halfbacks all with different styles and different strengths. This will allow us to select a
halfback that best fits the game plan each week.” Blues high performance general manager, Tony Hanks is pleased with the signing. “It is great to have a good mix of halfbacks, all now with experience and success at Mire-10 Cup and Investec Super Rugby level,” said Tony. “Sam has come through our system from the age grades and is now a senior player who has played a key part in the rise of Northland rugby, yet he is only 22 years old. He will reconnect with Christie after the pair played together at Saint Kentigerns. “Jonathan has settled well with us since moving here last year and became a key part of the success for Auckland in the Mitre-10 Cup.”
BLUES VS BULLS | 3 1 MAY 20 19 1 7
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2019 STANDINGS NEW ZEALAND CONFERENCE
CRUSADERS HURRICANES HIGHLANDERS CHIEFS BLUES AUSTRALIAN CONFERENCE
BRUMBIES REBELS WARATAHS REDS SUNWOLVES SOUTH AFRICAN CONFERENCE
JAGUARES SHARKS BULLS LIONS STORMERS
P
W
D
L
F
A
DIF
BP
PTS
14 13 14 14 13
10 9 5 5 5
3 1 2 2 0
1 3 7 7 8
404 353 368 352 273
217 304 356 430 289
187 49 12 -78 -16
7 2 5 3 6
53 40 29 27 26
P
W
D
L
F
A
DIF
BP
PTS
13 13 13 13 13
7 7 5 5 2
0 0 0 0 0
6 6 8 8 11
313 370 311 306 247
296 320 316 336 459
17 50 -5 -30 -212
6 5 6 4 4
34 33 26 24 12
P
W
D
L
F
A
DIF
BP
PTS
13 13 13 13 13
8 6 7 7 6
0 1 0 0 1
5 6 6 6 6
341 307 316 316 282
312 262 296 371 295
29 45 20 -55 -13
4 7 4 2 4
36 33 32 30 30
OVERALL
CRUSADERS HURRICANES JAGUARES BRUMBIES REBELS SHARKS BULLS LIONS STORMERS HIGHLANDERS CHIEFS BLUES WARATAHS REDS SUNWOLVES
2 0 BLUES VS BULLS | 3 1 MAY 20 19
PTS
53 40 36 34 33 33 32 30 30 29 27 26 26 24 12
2019 FIXTURES ROUND
MATCH RESULT
1
BLUES VS CRUSADERS
2
SHARKS VS BLUES
3
JAGUARES VS BLUES
Sat 16 Feb | Eden Park | 7:35PM Sun 24 Feb | Kings Park, Durban | 2:05AM NZT
Sun 03 Mar | José Amalfitani Stadium Buenos Aires | 10:40AM NZT
L
22-24 26-7
L
L
23-19
W
28-20
BLUES VS SUNWOLVES
5
BYE
6
BLUES VS HIGHLANDERS
7
BLUES VS STORMERS
8
BLUES VS WARATAHS
9
CHIEFS VS BLUES
10
HIGHLANDERS VS BLUES
11
BYE
12
BRUMBIES VS BLUES
13
BLUES VS HURRICANES
14
BLUES VS CHIEFS
15
CRUSADERS VS BLUES
16
BLUES VS BULLS
-
17
REDS VS BLUES
-
18
HURRICANES VS BLUES
-
Fri 22 Mar | Eden Park | 7:35PM
Sat 30 Mar | Eden Park | 7:35PM Sat 06 Apr | Eden Park | 7:35PM Sat 13 Apr | FMG Stadium, Hamilton | 7:35PM Sat 20 Apr | Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin | 7:35PM
Sat 04 May | GIO Stadium, Canberra | 9:45PM Fri 10 May | Eden Park | 7:35PM Sat 18 May | Eden Park | 7:35PM Sat 25 May | AMI Stadium, Christchurch | 7:35PM Fri 31 May | Eden Park | 7:35PM Fri 07 Jun | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane | 9:45PM Sat 15 Jun | Westpac Stadium | 7:35PM
BLUES v BULLS
Fri 31 May | Auckland | 7:35 PM
REBELS v WARATAHS
Fri 31 May | Melbourne | 9:45 PM
SUNWOLVES v BRUMBIES Sat 01 Jun | Tokyo | 5:15 PM
CHIEFS v CRUSADERS
4
Sat 09 Mar | QBE Stadium, Albany | 7:35PM
ROUND 16 MATCHES
Sat 01 Jun | Fiji | 7:35 PM
REDS v JAGUARES
Sat 01 Jun | Brisbane | 9:45 PM
33-26
W
W
24-9
SHARKS v HURRICANES Sun 02 Jun| Durban | 1:05 AM
LIONS v STORMERS
Sun 02 Jun | Johannesburg | 3:15 AM
32-29
W
L
33-29
L
24-12
L
26-21
L
12-22
W
L
23-8
19-11
BLUES VS BULLS | 3 1 MAY 20 19 2 1
THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT SEE YOU NEXT SEASON