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Yorkshire snap up reinforcements from the Mitre 10 Cup, including a former NZ 7s star
By Alex Shaw
Yorkshire Carnegie have been given a boost after a dismal start to their Greene King IPA Championship season, with the addition of two Mitre 10 Cup players from New Zealand.
Yorkshire currently sit bottom of English rugby’s second tier, with just one win from their opening seven games. It has been a stark fall from grace for the former Gallagher Premiership side, although the club’s current injury crisis is firmly behind their lowly position so far this season.
The club will be hoping that the additions of Antonio Kiri Kiri and Jade Te Rure from the Manawatu Turbos can help turnaround their season.
Te Rure, a former New Zealand U20 and Scottish-qualified fly-half, returns to Europe after a short stint at Edinburgh between 2014 and 2016. Unfortunately for Te Rure, that time at Edinburgh was plagued by knee injuries and he never really had the opportunity to leave his mark on the Guinness PRO14 side.
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Kiri Kiri, a former New Zealand 7s representative and back row forward, will bring a dynamism to Yorkshire’s loose forward trio. He had been involved in the Blues’ preseason Super Rugby training camp earlier this year and has been a consistent force for Manuwatu in the Mitre 10 Cup Championship.
Director of rugby Chris Stirling was unsurprisingly pleased with the two additions to his squad, saying, “We are delighted to have attracted two players of the quality of Jade and Antonio. A great deal of work has been done in the last six months to develop our playing squad and it is nice to be able to begin the process of bringing those players in.”
“I would like to thank our board of directors for backing the vision for the team and I am sure Jade and Antonio will make a real impact in the coming months with Yorkshire Carnegie.”
Given Yorkshire lost their last match, 72-5, to London Irish, Stirling will be hoping that that impact comes sooner, rather than later, and that Te Rure and Kiri Kiri aren’t the last additions Yorkshire make this season.
Watch: James Lowe reflects on Leinster's stunning 52-3 victory over Wasps in the Heineken Champions Cup.
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Hard to disagree with the 5 points - with the exception that Wilson should be a squad member but, depending on the other loose forward selections, is not yet a shoo-in. McReight is. Aussie is looking a lot better this year and JS has some selection options. Also, Havili’s tendency to get caught, charged down is also a liability at times but he seemed focused (mostly) and is definitely a consideration for utility back-up. Still feel Reihana is a better prospect at 1st five for Saders.
Go to commentsThink it was a great defensive performance by Northampton. They didn't have stage fright in the first half, the Nienaber defense smothered them. They limited Leinster to 15-3 in the first half. It could have been over by then. A great try from Leinster in the start of the second half looked to have sealed it. But Byrne missed another conversion. Northampton started trying little kicks behind the Leinster wingers. Leinster messed one and Smith brilliantly made the conversion. Leinster decided to tighten the game after Byrne missed a straight forward penalty. A few errors got NH into the 22 and they scored and converted with a few minutes left. Another brilliant steal from Lawes saw NH have a final attack which was turned over by Conan. A classic semi final. World record attendance of 82,300. Leinsters 3 week preparation warranted for this one.
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