The Star: November 03, 2016

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Thursday November 3 2016 41
Sport
Wingers get Crusaders chance
• By Gordon Findlater
TWO OF the most exciting
wingers from this year’s Mitre
10 Cup will get their first
taste of Super Rugby with the
Crusaders in 2017.
New signings Manasa
Mataele, of Taranaki, and Canterbury’s
George Bridge are
expected to stake their claim
for a spot on the wing.
The Crusaders squad was announced
yesterday.
With Fijian superstar Nemani
Nadolo now plying his trade
with Montpellier in France, and
fellow Fijian Jone Macilai expected
to miss a large chunk of
the Crusaders season through
injury, Mataele who also hails
from the island nation is a
valued acquisition.
Coach Scott Robertson went
big on the winger, prying him
from Auckland’s hands when
he selected the 19-year-old with
the Crusaders first draft selection
on Tuesday.
“Manasa is a potential superstar
for us. He’s a Nadolo-style
player who can be express pace
in the first five metres,” Robertson
said.
The lengths the Crusaders
went to bring Mataele to
Christchurch took the Fijian by
surprise, previously thinking he
was bound for the Blues.
“I didn’t know I was coming
here, I was supposed to go up
and join the Blues. I got a call
on Tuesday and they said congratulations,
were going to sign
you,” said Mataele.
There’s plenty of ties for
Mataele in Christchurch. His
partner lives here and another
Crusaders new signing, Chiefs
and All Black centre Seta Tamanivalu,
is the winger’s uncle.
Meanwhile, George Bridge
has been rewarded for a strong
debut provincial season with
Canterbury. After making his
way south from Gisborne to
join High School Old Boys
FUTURE
STARS:
George
Bridge
(left) and
Manasa
Mataele
could be
the future
of the
Crusaders
outside
attack. ​
just over three years ago, the
21-year-old has now secured his
first Super Rugby contract.
“Razor (Scott Robertson)
rang me up on Friday night to
give me the news. Obviously,
I was stoked but I couldn’t
celebrate because we had the
Mitre 10 Cup final the next
day,” said Bridge.
Robertson is also high on
the winger who he says statistically
was Canterbury’s best
outside back during the Mitre
10 Cup.
The Crusaders begin preseason
training in December,
ahead of their opening game
against the Brumbies on February
25.
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Big season expected
at Ruapuna Speedway
THIS SUMMER promises to be
one of the very best for Ruapuna
Speedway competitors and
enthusiasts, club president Allan
Daly says.
The 56th summer of speedway
at Ruapuna gets under way on Saturday
with the King of the Clay.
The centrepiece event of the
season is likely to be the 47th New
Zealand Sprintcar Championship
in January.
“We anticipate close on 40 entries
for this event,” Mr Daly said.
“With the championship allocations
being what they are, we
may not see this championship in
Christchurch for another six years.”
Although the crowd-pleasing V8
sprintcars feature prominently in
the 13-meeting race calendar, Mr
Daly said there would be something
for everyone.
“We are wrapped to be hosting
this summer’s South Island
Sidecar Championship,” he said.
“We have the South Island
Midget Car Championship and
the New Zealand Midget Grand
Prix, while the TQs, modified
sprints and six shooters will
all have plenty to race for this
summer.”
Ruapuna will also host two
rounds of the Hydraulink Sprintcar
War of the Wings series, as
well as the annual Gold Cup and
Salute to Goodie events.
“We are thrilled with the influx
of competitors in all classes, but I
think it’s fair to say that the sprintcars
really are thriving,” Mr Daly
said.
“We have had two top saloon
car drivers in Martin Harcourt
and Jackson Lovelady move across
into the sprintcars, as has former
national modified champion
Luke Keegan. Trevor Wishart
has shifted back across from
Australia and has looked sharp in
practices and, with 17 registered
Christchurch sprintcars, it’s a big
increase.”
The midget car class has also had
a couple of high profile ‘arrivals’
with former TQ standouts Scott
Bailey and Jeremy Webb moving
up.
No fewer than 17 midget cars
are currently contracted to the
Ruapuna track with last season’s
dominant drivers Dave Kerr, Tom
Lumsden, Gary Chadwick and
Glenn Everett likely to come under
some real pressure from the new
arrivals.
Daly was also upbeat about the
club’s future, with a stadium redevelopment
programme in place that
will see improvements to the track
over the next five years.
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THE DIRT STARTS FLYING AT 6.30pm
THE SUMMER OF SPEED ‘LIFTS OFF’
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