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Reds 2015

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Scrubber2050

Scrubber2050

Mark Ella (57)
Dctarget said:
One of the few things I did enjoy about Friday's game was Ben Daley's "Be Great, Do Good" charity, where he wears a different themed scrum cap each game, then auction it off for that week's charity. I think it's a great initiative!
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Agree and congrats to Dales for that initiative

Any idea how much he raised from the auction or is it still going
 
PaarlBok

PaarlBok

Rod McCall (65)
http://www.myplayers.co.za/#!Foreign-Exchange-Reds-lock-Marco-Kotze/cwml/54e184840cf23137e86ef8c8

MyPlayers.co.za chats to South African-born lock Marco Kotze, who made his Super Rugby debut for the Reds against the Brumbies over the weekend.

Kotze, 28, once played for the Valke (2010 to 2012), Sharks U21 (2007), the Lions (2005 to 2006) and UJ (2006). He then joined Jake White at the Brumbies last year, before playing his way into the Reds Super Rugby squad this season.

Tell us more about your background.

Well, first of all, growing up as a youngster in Alberton - south of Johannesburg - I played rugby from the age of seven. Whether it was at school or in the backyard, it didn't matter as long as I could get stuck in and have some fun. My love for the game grew very quickly and I had the dream of playing for my country one day. Funny enough, that country was actually Australia as I supported the Wallabies from a young age, because I loved their style of rugby, which was running rugby. In saying that, I never thought I'd end up in Australia, so I set my goals to playing for local teams and after high school, I got contracted by the Lions. I was a backline player, positioned mostly at wing. After two years of playing at the Lions, I made a decision to explore different parts of the country and my younger brother and I made a move down to Durban to take a crack at getting into the Sharks set-up. So I got picked for the Sharks U21s, and Lwazi Mvovo and I emerged as the wing pair in the team that season. I then started putting on some size and Rudolph Straeuli approached me, suggesting that moving to the forwards would be a good choice for my career. I then formed part of the Sharks Vodacom Cup squad and played club rugby to learn the ropes. In 2010, I made the move to the Valke for an opportunity to play senior domestic rugby.

How did you end up in Australia?

Playing Super Rugby was always one of my main goals, so in 2012, started sending my rugby CV out to various teams, asking for the opportunity to play. I then received a call from Jake White and an opportunity to move to Australia was on the table. My wife, Kelly, and I were confident about the move and made the decision to follow through. The initial intention was to play for the Brumbies, but after playing for the GPS club and Brisbane, I got the opportunity to join the Reds.

How's life in Brisbane?

Brisbane life is really good. It's a laid-back city, centered perfectly between the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast, with so much things to do to keep you busy. Being a coffee lover, there are some very good cafes to visit. My wife and I love making our way down to the local cafe and cinema, or we'd go for a walk at night, which is a real pleasure.

How are you finding life at the Reds?

It's really a dream come true to be part of the Reds squad. I am so excited and nervous at the same time, but the guys in the squad have made it easy for me to just go out and play rugby. Everyone is so supportive and are always willing to help, on and off the field. It's really fantastic to be playing alongside the likes of James Horwill, James Slipper and Will Genia, who are world-class players. All the players in the Reds squad are great guys.

What do you miss the most about South Africa?

I definitely miss the droewors and food back home. I visit the South African store in Brissy very often to stock up on some goodies. My wife and I miss our friends and family a lot. Rugby does not allow us to take up a lot of personal traveling, so we don't see our loved ones as often as we would like. However, thanks to Skype and Facebook and all the other online tools, we get to communicate a lot!

What are you short- and long-term goals?

I would encourage young and up-and-coming rugby players to pursue there dreams and to work hard on and off the field, finding a balance between rugby and life after rugby. Looking back after my move to Australia, my wife and I have no regrets, and we have really enjoyed our stay so far. I have set goals for myself this year, which will hopefully see me cement my spot in the Reds squad and becoming eligible for the Wallabies in the near future.
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USARugger

USARugger

John Thornett (49)
Kotze would have to go berserk for months straight to be in contention for the Wobs but from the perspective of a Reds fan I think he was an astute pickup and looks like the solid third-choice lock (or second if Kev doesn't screw his head on..) we've lacked for a while. Good overall athlete too.

He's still got some developing to do at this level but looks like he's on the right trajectory to do so.
 
Marcelo

Marcelo

Ken Catchpole (46)
According that table, Reds is the more popular sport team of Queensland:

150217113454166962.png


:D
 
Ash

Ash

Michael Lynagh (62)
I think we will definitely need Kotze next year with Horwill and O'Donoghue done. We will probably have Simmons, McDuling and Kotze as our main locks.

Currently I'd say that Kotze is our fourth choice lock behind Simmons, Horwill and McDuling, assuming two of those ever come back from injury.
 
TheBigDog

TheBigDog

Nev Cottrell (35)
Not trying to reign on Kotze's parade (or anyone here pumping him up) but I'm not so sure hes the best long term option at lock for the Reds.

Yes, he's been in good form since the NRC final and is going through a nice patch and getting decent minutes but I think you'll find he can be very inconsistent and go missing at times. I watched him play a season at club level and there were games when you wouldn't even know he was on the park, then others where he would blitz the opposition. Kind of reminded me how Radike was in his last season at the Reds.

He's also 30 next year and this is his third attempt at breaking into a professional setup. Yes some players do get better with age but I sincerely hope the Reds have got scouts out looking for good locking talent because its going to be needed post 2015.
 
Ash

Ash

Michael Lynagh (62)
Next year hopefully the Reds can find a young lock as the fourth lock. Payne would have been great, but he left. Enever and Arnold are another two recent losses. Just bad timing, unfortunately. If the Reds had moved on Ed O'Donoghue a year earlier maybe (not definitely) we would have kept one of those three.
 
T

TOCC

Guest
Lock is a position of weakness across all Aussie super rugby teams...


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hammertimethere

hammertimethere

Trevor Allan (34)
I'm still fucking filthy about last week but have consoled myself by creating a fantasy where rather than Holmes, Simmons, Thomson, Cooper, Fainga'a, JOC (James O'Connor) missing from the Reds it was Alexander, Carter, Fardy, To'omua, Lealiifano and Speight missing for the Brumbies.

. . . . in that world the Reds only lost by 15 :confused:


On another note, it looks like lock and halfback (and tight head?) will be positions of significant weakness across all the Australian Soup teams next year. The Brumbies have got 2 reasonable journeymen with potential in Arnold and Enever and a kid who has all the tools in Staniforth so they're probably best placed with options besides Carter.

The Reds need to hang onto McDuling and Kotze, EOD is probably almost at the end of the line so signing one other australian (I'd say have a shot at Coleman but I think the Force have him locked up. Maybe Neville?) and looking for a foreigner to supplement things would be a reasonably good idea.
 
Scoey

Scoey

Tony Shaw (54)
Tom Murday announced on the bench for the Reds this weekend! A lot of us were calling for him a few months back. He is a very good pick up if he's been brought in on a full contract!

EDIT: He runs heavy, excellent in the lineout and gets around the paddock well. Brisbane boy who holds the record for eating a 1kg steak in 3 min 45 sec. Lock depth improved.
 
Sully

Sully

Tim Horan (67)
Staff member
Scoey said:
Tom Murday announced on the bench for the Reds this weekend! A lot of us were calling for him a few months back. He is a very good pick up if he's been brought in on a full contract!

EDIT: He runs heavy, excellent in the lineout and gets around the paddock well. Brisbane boy who holds the record for eating a 1kg steak in 3 min 45 sec. Lock depth improved.
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Impressive stat.

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kiap

kiap

Steve Williams (59)
Strewthcobber said:
There's precedent.

Bob Templeton coached my Colts team after he'd been moved on from the Wallabies nearly 20 years later..
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Tempo!

I realise this post is from a few months back, but do you (or anyone) know what position Tempo actually played?

He was a first grade player for Jeeps but don't know more than that.
 
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