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Blues road trip stops off in Wellsford
Jack Miller, 16, has his boots signed by Tanielu Tele’a.
Rodney College year 12 students with players Tanielu Tele’a, Jacob Pierce and Karl Jacob Tenielu.
There was time to throw a ball around with the visiting players.
Rodney College students received a surprise visit from Blues Super Rugby players last week.
Midfielder Tanielu Tele’a, lock Jacob Pierce and prop Karl Jacob Tenielu handed out supporters’ gear and rugby boots.
The school visit was part of a tour by the Blues squad, which saw them visit 14 clubs and schools to hand out 250 pairs of recycled boots, which have been cleaned and repurposed.
Given only a week to 10 day's notice that former Welsh international Mark Jones would not be returning to the Crusaders' coaching team, the Sky Super Rugby Aotearoa champions moved quickly to secure Tamati Ellison.
“He s pretty special, he s fast over both [10m and 100m]. He s managed to put on a little bit of muscle over the off-season and get himself to a good playing weight.” McKay, who spent the last three years at the Highlanders and appeared to be finding his groove at Super Rugby level late last season, has put on about 3kgs to weigh 95kg, which Thomas says is his optimal playing weight.
Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images
Josh McKay, pictured playing for Canterbury against Otago last year in Christchurch, has signed with the Crusaders after three years at the Highlanders. The challenge is to ensure he keeps it on, given McKay failed to do so during pre-season conditioning in recent years, Thomas said.