PLAYERS WE ARE GENUINELY INTRIGUED TO SEE
01 Dalton Papal i’i [Blues]
We will be honest – second time in just minutes - and say we didn’t really notice Dalton Papali’i during Super Rugby last year. We noticed him, though, when he won a couple of All Blacks caps and we were quite impressed.
He’s a big unit, mobile and hungry to carry the ball which makes him a little different to the other leading opensides.
The real intrigue is seeing how he responds to having been a surprise All Blacks selection. Some players have been surprise All Blacks tourists in November and then disappeared in the following Super Rugby.
Others have grown in confidence and standing. Papali’i seems switched on and driven so we suspect he might be in the latter group.
02 Reuben O’Neill [Chiefs]
So this guy must have something otherwise why on earth would the All Blacks have selected him? Right?
Well, we’d like to see him in action and understand why the All Blacks picked him when most of the country had never heard of him.
And when we say most of the country, we include ourselves. We remember his name cropping up in our First XV publication a few years back, but we thought he’d drifted out of the game since then.
03 Billy Proctor [Hurricanes]
We know his older brother Matt can play and the Hurricanes are clearly excited by the potential of Billy as they have signed him on a record five-year contract.
How much game time he’ll get this year is hard to say with Ngani Laumape and Vince Aso also vying for places, but hopefully the young Proctor will get some so we can form an opinion about what sort of player he is and whether the excitement is justified.
04 Braydon Ennor [Crusaders]
He popped up a few times in Super Rugby last year with impressive cameos off the bench and a few starts on the wing.
It was hard not to like what he offered. He got stuck in and usually made something happen. He looked composed and certain about what he was there to do and we suspect with Israel Dagg struggling a little, Ennor may force his way into the starting team and then we can really see if he’s as good as we think he is.
05 Bryn Gatland [Highlanders]
Bryn Gatland has made a strong and probably wise career decision to head South to a club where he is most likely going to be the starting 10.
He’s a tidy operator and perhaps all he needs to become a highly influential and classy first-five is regular game time.
He’s a good kicker, calm and mature and while he may be some way down the national rankings at the moment, he could quite easily jump a handful of places by the end of the season.