On the wing: Kurt Baker
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Maori All Blacks coach Jamie Joseph has named an impressive line-up for their opening tour clash with Leicester Tigers at Welford Road on Tuesday.
The squad includes eleven players wearing the Maori All Blacks shirt for the first time, with Shane Christie, Elliot Dixon, Frae Wilson, Kade Poki, Charlie Ngatai and Kurt Baker all given a start.
Andre Taylor, Quentin MacDonald, Nick Crosswell, Jamieson Gibson-Park, and Declan O'Donnell are named among the replacements.
"We have a great group of talented players, and we have selected what we think is a very strong team," said Joseph.
"While many in our squad are new to the Maori All Blacks environment, we know that they are experienced Investec Super Rugby and ITM Cup campaigners who we know will be competitive on the field.
"Playing Leicester in front of their home crowd will be something special, and we're really looking forward to this hit-out."
Maori All Blacks: 15 Andre Taylor, 14 Kurt Baker, 13 Charlie Ngatai, 12 Tim Bateman, 11 Kade Poki, 10 Willy Ripia, 9 Frae Wilson, 8 Elliot Dixon, 7 Tanerau Latimer (c), 6 Shane Christie, 5 Jason Eaton, 4 Jarrad Hoeata, 3 Ben Afeaki, 2 Hika Elliot, 1 Ben May.
Replacements: 16 Quentin MacDonald, 17 Jacob Ellison, 18 Bronson Murray, 19 Romana Graham, 20 Nick Crosswell, 21 Jamieson Gibson-Park, 22 Jackson Willison, 23 Declan O'Donnell.
Date: Tuesday, November 13
Kick-off: 19:30
Venue: Welford Road
Comments
markpat says...
@ferdie - thank for the clarification. I had previously assumed they had to be Maori, but loads of them in recent years have not looked Maori at all (to the VERY untrained eye) so I wasn't aware what the heritage had to be.
Posted 12:01 14th November 2012
runnrugby says...
Basically if they can trace your ancestry back to a tribe you can play for the maori ABs. If they had a tournament between each of the Maori tribes obviously someone outside the tribes cant play in it. I think each player in the maori ABs team has a symbol on their jersey representing which tribe they belong to.
Posted 20:05 13th November 2012
ruckingkiwi says...
bigb6969, we should have the Maori's and an A team, we used to until the GFC and hopefully thanks to AIG we will again shortly. The Maori team is the original team that represented NZ (Natives), even before the All Blacks, it's a very significant part of our game which we should protect and be proud of.
Posted 19:50 13th November 2012
philipjfry says...
'Pakeha' instead of (sic) in the original comment.
Posted 16:05 13th November 2012
philipjfry says...
I know this is a bit pedantic but I'm curious: If a Pākehā marries a Maori woman or is adopted by a Maori family does that make the player eligible?
Posted 16:02 13th November 2012
fozza says...
Thanks @ferdie, that means i might be able to get it online. UK wise, no word on our sky sports showing it still. Looks like they only want to show the Saturday game against Championship XV... disappointing.
Posted 13:12 13th November 2012
ArmchairGeneral says...
@who ever said guessing on the family name is not a good idea. Agree! Looking at the bench I would guess it was a Celtic team.
Posted 10:11 13th November 2012
bigb6969 says...
Their is no restriction on skin colour, look at blondies Tony Brown and Warren Johnson in the past. You have to prove your decent from the original decendants at the time of the treaty of waitangi. Also in the past they used to stretch the rules and let a the odd Islander playing, or asked them to.
They take it a bit more seriously now, as Ferdie said you have to trace back your tribe. I believe it to be true that no "full blooded" Maori exist anymore, so I bet all these players have "pakeha" or a white heritage, I would be very surprised.
Personally I don't think we should have a Maori team, we should be fielding an NZ A - this games are in effect the midweek tour games of the old AB tours. Maori culture in NZ has a special protected status, in the education system all the teachers to learn some "te reo". All the departments at my work all have Maori names, but I honestly don't remember any of them...
Posted 07:08 13th November 2012
ferdie says...
@ fozza, re match broadcasts
seems to all have been very last-minute. This from the All Blacks site today:
The Maori All Blacks first match of their Aoteoroa Fisheries Northern Tour, played this week on 14 November (NZT) against Leicester will screen on Maori Television at 10.30pm following SKY¿s delayed coverage at 7pm the following day.
The 17th November match against the RFU Championship Select XV will screen on Maori Television at 8.30pm on 18 November, with the game live on Sky Sport 3 at 11.55pm on the 17th.
The Maori All Blacks v Canada match, which is being played at Oxford University, will screen live on SKY Sport 1 on Saturday 24 November from 8.20am, while Maori Television will replay the game at 6.00pm, and again on the following day at 10.30pm on the Te Reo channel.
Posted 00:28 13th November 2012
piriaka says...
exclusive racial pick, markpat, so unless got maori blood, not in - no matter how little maori blood, you can be in - blue eyed and blond can still do it if your great grandmother was maori
Posted 00:27 13th November 2012
sukkadoits says...
@Isograford yes that is an interesting paradox you pose. I think Baker was released more for the fact that he is injury prone than anything else. I also think he maybe picked Baker ahead of O'Donnell cos' of his ability to be the '2nd fullback' on the wing. They must be expecting an aerial bombardment. Still a funny selection.
Posted 20:59 12th November 2012
paulynz says...
That IS a strong team. Looking forward to the TV coverage whether it be live or delayed. Kia kaha Maori All Blacks
Posted 19:47 12th November 2012
fozza says...
Sorry @ferdie, just checked the Sky Sports website and it says they are showing the NZ Maori vs a championship XV on Saturday but nothing about the Tuesday game.
Posted 16:38 12th November 2012
jonesy2 says...
markpat -- yes, i thiiiiink, they have to be maori...
Posted 16:10 12th November 2012
davodiablo says...
Might have to take a drive up to Leicester if not all sold out .
Posted 13:48 12th November 2012
ferdie says...
markpat - restrictions - the main one, player has to have proven Maori tribal heritage/affiliation. When the squad was announced the tribal information was published for each player, for example for the Taranaki players selected it is Jarrad Hoeata (Ngati Kahungunu), Jason Eaton (Ngati Apa), Jamison Gibson-Park (Ngati Porou/Nga Tai), Andre Taylor (Ngati Tuwharetoa/Ngati Kahungunu), Kurt Baker (Ngapuhi).
The Maori All Blacks are not NZ A or NZ B, their matches are not tests.
Julian and Ardie Savea are Wellington born, their parents were born in Samoa. Won't comment on other players you mentioned - guessing on a surname is a bad idea. Do know that Piutau is born in Auckland and played for Tonga Juniors, but many people can have heritage from different countries (as I have, four).
Before the Leicester match members of the Ngati Toa tribe are running a Maori culture workshop for junior Leicester Tigers supporters, good idea.
Posted 13:38 12th November 2012
Brit_wi says...
Cracking line-up!
Not sure how I feel about the name change from the 'New Zealand Maori' to the 'Maori All Blacks' though? Seems like a slightly poor money making rebranding exercise than anything else!
Posted 12:53 12th November 2012
markpat says...
Are there restrictions on who can play for the Maoris?
If not, I'd have loved to have seen Brad Shields, Ardie Savea, Charles Piutau and Johnny McNicholl given a go. All of whom have been really good in either super rugby or ITM cup and would be interesting to see how they perform outside of the southern hemisphere.
Having said that, the midfield of Bateman and Ngatai is actually a better pairing than the NZ starters were at the weekend (Ellison and Smith), in my opinion.
So many outstanding young players to choose from though! Just a pity that lots of them will never get a chance to show what they can do on the international stage, yet most other countries would love to have players of their calibre (certainly as an Englishman, I'd have any of those I name in my squad and at least some of them starting)..
Posted 10:49 12th November 2012
Isograford says...
Strange how Highlanders coach has released Kurt Baker from his 2013 squad, but put him ahead of the very talented Declan O'Donnell who he has included in the Highlanders.
Posted 07:55 12th November 2012
ferdie says...
No live tv cover for NZ - anyone know re UK?
For NZ: 14 November, SKY has delayed coverage at 7pm, Maori Television shw it at 10.30pm.
Posted 07:54 12th November 2012