The Huddle

Today we were lucky enough to be able to talk to Manumaua Letiu 

Manumaua is 19 years old playing for the Crusaders in Super Rugby Pacific. He also played in the u20 rugby world cup where they placed 3rd. He made his debut for the Crusaders in round 1 against the Hurricanes. 

Today were lucky enough to have Paul Holocher with us . Paul has had an amazing career. He has played in Austria and Major League Soccer in the US . He played 1 cap for the US national team.  

Paul was the Academy Director for MLS club Houston Dynamo

Paul is the current Head of academy and methodologies at Christchurch united.  

Today we are lucky enough to have Keeley O’Hagan . Keeley was born in Otaki. She is a high jumper who cleared 1.82m when she was just 15 years old. Keeley has a PB of 1.89m. She has done so much in her career so far including representing New Zealand on several different occasions. We are very excited to have her on the Podcast.

Today we are lucky enough  to have Jamie Hannah with us.

Jamie is a 21 year old lock for The Crusaders. He made his debut for the Crusaders in 2023 when he played against the Brumbies. He played for the New Zealand Under 20’s team in 2021.

Today we have Amy Rule with us.

Amy is a tight-head prop for Matatū and Canterbury. She has played professional rugby in Aussie for the Brumbies. She was also part of the women's Rugby World Cup winning team. 

Today we had Macca Springer with us.

Macca is a rugby player for the Crusaders and the Tasman Mako. He also played in the u20 New Zealand World Cup Team. The positions that Macca plays are Wing and Fullback. It’s also his 21st birthday on Friday. 

We are so lucky to have Rivez Reihana joining us today.

Rivez currently plays for the Crusaders in Super Rugby Pacific and Northland in the Bunnings NPC. Rivez plays Fly-Half and Fullback. 

Laura Bayfield is a professional rugby player who plays lock for Canterbury in the FPC and Matatū in Super Rugby Aupiki. Laura has also played rep rugby for the Black Ferns 15. Her skills don't end there though, she is also a New Zealand Army Engineer (who also loves Moana).

Today we are very lucky to have the new head coach of the mighty Crusaders, Rob Penney with us.

Rob is a former rugby union player who played as a loose forward for Canterbury. Rob has coached lots of teams including Canterbury, the Waratahs, The New Zealand under 20s and so many more. 

Sam is a lock for Canterbury in the Bunnings NPC and he also plays for the Blues in the Super Rugby Pacific competition. He was selected for New Zealand Schools as well as being a New Zealand Under-20 trialist. His Super Rugby debut was in 2021.

Today we are lucky enough to have Cole McConchie with us.

 Cole is a professional cricket player who started his rep career with Canterbury at the Under 17 level back in 2008. He started his international career in 2021 against Bangladesh. Cole is a dynamic batting allrounder and has been described as a natural leader.

Today we are lucky enough to have Matt Todd with us.

Matt is a former rugby union flanker who played more than 150 games for the Crusaders, 25 tests for the All Blacks and is currently an assistant coach for Canterbury.

Grace started out as a rower and now runs a podcast called Tall Poppy Talk where she interviews people in order to spread knowledge about tall poppy syndrome. Grace now lives in the USA. We wanted to talk to Grace because we are supporters of E Tū Tāngata and we like to understand how this message impacts the lives of the sportspeople we interview.

Born and bred in Christchurch, Billy is a New Zealand Rugby Union player who plays flanker for The Highlanders and is currently playing for Canterbury in the Bunnings NPC.

He has played rep rugby from school age and has been part of the Māori All Blacks, the All Blacks XV and has toured with the All Blacks.

Blair is an outstanding winger for the Canterbury NPC team and was in the Crusaders Development Squad in 2023. He has also represented New Zealand Schools against Fiji, Australia and Tonga. Superstar in the making? We think so!

George is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays hooker for the Crusaders in Super Rugby Pacific making his debut in 2022. George is also part of the Canterbury team in the Bunnings NPC. He has represented New Zealand at the Under 20 level and been part of the All Blacks XV.

Reed is a professional rugby player who plays Super Rugby for the Hurricanes and NPC for Canterbury. He started his professional career in 2015 and has been a regular part of the Māori All Blacks. Like many blindside flankers he is a tough defender and hard ball carrier.

Rosie is a rugby player who plays for Canterbury in the Farah Palmer Cup and Matatū in Super Rugby Aupiki. In 2023 Rosie became a contracted Black Fern and made her international debut against Australia. She plays fly-half and is an outstanding kicker.