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Hurricanes coach explains snubbing of top France-eligible lock prospect

Patrick Tuifua and Mathis Castro-Ferreira celebrates after scoring the team's fourth try during the Under 20 Six Nations international rugby union match between Scotland and France at Hive Stadium in Edinburgh, Scotland on February 9, 2024. (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Hurricanes head coach Clark Laidlaw has moved to allay concerns about New Zealand losing French-eligible lock Patrick Tuifua after he was not named in their Super Rugby squad on Tuesday.

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The New Caledonian native arrived in New Zealand at 15 years old to pursue his rugby career but his dual eligibility saw him turn out for France U20, where he starred.

Despite being chased by Top 14 clubs, the 1.91m giant opted to stick with the New Zealand system and commit to the Hawke’s Bay Magpies, an aligned Hurricanes feeder province.

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Laidlaw gave the reasons why Tuifua was not selected to play Super Rugby in 2025.

“We took a rugby sevens group to the Mount to play a tournament and he was part of it so he is clearly in our plans,” Laidlaw explained.

“At only 20 years old, he has been slowed down by an injury and has played very little in the NPC.

“The level is high, and with the quality of our back rowers like Arese Poliko, who is a little more advanced in his development, the competition is tough.”

Taranaki Bulls loose forward Arese Poliko was signed after his impressive season, while in the second row the Hurricanes snapped up young lock Tom Allen from the New Zealand U20s.

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Ex-Highlanders lock Will Tucker and ex-Crusaders lock Zach Gallagher also signed with the club, joining Turbos lock Josh Tuala and veteran Isaia Walker-Leawere on the roster.

Tuifua played in three NPC fixtures for Hawkes Bay as injury prevented him from getting more game time, however Laidlaw said he would undertake pre-season training with the Hurricanes.

“However, we see a great future for Patrick. Our mission is to train him in the best possible way, ensuring that his body and mind are ready. The pre-season will teach him a lot about what optimal preparation should be.”

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3 Comments
S
Sam T 258 days ago

Thought he was a loose forward, not a lock

G
GH 258 days ago

he is. Not in the eye of the hurricanes coach seemingly :/

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SK 2 hours ago
Lessons the Wallabies must heed to turn Lions heartbreak into future success

Brett I love your fresh take on the picture that needed to be painted and ultimately wasnt. I agree there just wasnt enough in it for the ref to call it back and ultimately the ref was consistent the whole night at the breakdown. Australia are damned disheartened now but look how close it came to beating a team Campo said would thrash them by 30. This is the perfect prep for the Rugby Championship and the Boks and NZ. The Boks will be able to bring a scary pack to face the Aussies but it will be just as scary as facing these lads and so the Wallabies for me are making progress. They are not quite the finished article and the soft moments and tries and passive defence just proves it. Schmidt was brought in to make Australia better, he was brought in to make sure Australia improved in time for the Lions to avoid an embarrassment and look he has done that and taken them close so while the result is gutting its a job well done so far. lets see if they can take one step further and pilfer a test off these patchy Lions. Just a quick word on refs and the laws. Can we please tell World Rugby to simplify the game. At least 5 or 6 laws were examined in the wake of the last minute cleanout and several said Tizzano should have been pinged, others say Morgan should have been pinged. If former players and refs cant agree on what the right call was then it means the game is too complex. The refs have a clear mandate to let the game flow. I agree with that but the laws must support the refs. Right now they do not and leave too many holes for the refs to plug. The result is a furore after every major engagement between nations where the refs are abused.

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