Makos named for Auckland, Malneek must wait
The Tasman Makos will field a strong side for Sunday's national provincial championship match with Auckland at Blenheim's Lansdowne Park.
However there is no room in the match day 23 for veteran outside back Robbie Malneek who will have to wait at least another week to reach the milestone of 100 games. When he does run onto the field for the 100th time he will become the first Tasman player to reach that mark since the union's inception in 2006.
Sunday's side is generally predictable, although David Havili, who has worn the No 12 shirt most of the season, is preferred at fullback with Trael Joass coming into midfield. Siua Halanukonuka grabs the tighthead propping position from Ross Geldenhuys and Billy Guyton gets the starting role at halfback instead of former All Black Jimmy Cowan.
Auckland also named their side on Friday, shifting Charles Piutau from centre to his preferred fullback position. Three players with strong Tasman connections, Bryce Heem, Sam Prattley and Mitch Hunt, have been named in the Auckland squad.
Teams:
Tasman: David Havili, Viliami Lolohea, Kieron Fonotia, Trael Joass, Mitchell Scott, Marty Banks, Billy Guyton; Liam Squire, Shane Christie, Pete Samu, Joe Wheeler, Alex Ainley, Siua Halanukonuka, Quentin MacDonald, Tim Perry. Reserves: Jesse MacDonald, Ross Geldenhuys, Jake Stafford-Wood, Marco Kotze, Vernon Fredericks, Jimmy Cowan, Trent Renata, Kade Poki.
Auckland: Charles Piutau, Bryce Heem, Vince Aso, George Moala, Ben Lam, Simon Hickey, Jono Hickey; Akira Ioane, Mitch Karpik, Joe Edwards, William Lloyd, Michael Fatialofa, Ofa Tu'ungafasi, Kurt Eklund, Sam Prattley. Reserves: Greg Pleasants-Tate, Tom McHugh, Jono Owen, Taleni Seu, Blake Gibson, Kaito Shigeno, Mitch Hunt, Rieko Ioane.
The match kicks off at 4.35pm.
