Turbos hold talent
The Manawatu Turbos squad is shaping up well for the upcoming Mitre 10 Cup campaign, with four key players re-signing with the team.
First five-eighth Otere Black, prop Fraser Armstrong, lock Liam Mitchell and loose forward Brayden Iose have all put pen to paper for the 2019 season.
The cherry on top of that good news is Ngani Laumape announcing yesterday he had extended his contract with both New Zealand Rugby and the Turbos through to 2021.
Manawatu Rugby CEO Shannon Paku said he was ecstatic about Laumape’s decision.
‘‘Ngani is proud of his Manawatu heritage. He’s one of many locally developed players succeeding on the world stage.’’
Halfback Aaron Smith, midfielder Rob Thompson and prop Sione Asi are already under contract, giving new Turbos coach Peter Russell a strong spine to base his squad around for his first campaign in charge.
Black, 23, needs only five more games to bring up a half century for the province after he debuted for Manawatu¯ in 2014.
Armstrong, who was the Turbos’ forward of the year in 2017, is about to bring up his fifth season in the green-and-white hoops, having initially joined on loan from Auckland in 2015.
It should be a big year for him, having turned a 2018 Super Rugby debut with the Hurricanes into a full contract this year.
Iose will be looking to put a horror 2018 season behind him, after spending all of it sidelined with a hip injury. But the loose forward, who debuted in 2017 and captained the New Zealand Secondary Schools 1st XV, has been given the all-clear.
Mitchell, arguably one of the Turbos’ better players last year, also has a Hurricanes contract for 2019.