Canterbury B squad announced following entertaining club season

The Canterbury B coaches have announced their squad for 2023, with some hard decisions having to be made following an enthralling club season that ended with three finals around the region on the weekend.  

Working out of the initial 70-man Wider Training Group, a number of players also played their way into the squad in recent weeks, with selectors taking note of some impressive personal performances at a time in the season where it matters most.  

“We’re lucky to have the best club rugby set up in the country.” said Canterbury B Head Coach Scott Pawson, “All three Division 1 and Premier competitions are super competitive, and this translates to the talent coming through, as they say, iron sharpens iron.” 

“Having both the Wider Training Group process and the access to widespread game footage has allowed us to ensure we are picking the best players available, as well as providing more opportunities for our players to learn and upskill.”  

“There will be a number of players disappointed that they have missed out, and it was a very difficult selection process, but we know they will be able to show off their talent for Waitaha, Ellesmere, North Canterbury and the Cantabrians, meaning our whole representative group will see the benefit of our talented playing group here in Canterbury.” Pawson said.  

A key role of the Canterbury B side is to ensure that the group of players just outside the Bunnings NPC set up are ready to step up as required, which is something that continues to be evident this year, with six players named in the 2023 squad who featured for Canterbury B last year.  

“We can’t stress highly enough how important this group is.” said Canterbury NPC Head Coach Marty Bourke, “Last year, we called upon a number of the B’s squad throughout the season and they were integral in the success we saw last year, both on the field through their match performance but also on the training field too.” 

“Our representative programme is especially important to provide this chance for players, and there’s no doubt in my mind that if called upon, this year’s group will also be able to provide us with the best chance to chase the 2023 title.” 

Canterbury B start their campaign on the 27th of August against Southland in a curtain raiser before the NPC side play Wellington, before matches against Otago and Tasman to round off the campaign.  

Canterbury B 2023 Squad: 

Props:  

Harrison Allan - Glenmark Cheviot 

Tadeo Andriani - New Brighton 

Liam Pratt - Lincoln University 

Jack Sexton - Lincoln University 

Brook Toomalatai - New Brighton 

Hookers: 

Sam Cottam - University 

Gabriel Francesconi - New Brighton 

Nick Hyde - Glenmark Cheviot 

Locks: 

Josh 

Loader - Sumner 

Keegan O'Donnell - New Brighton 

Alex Yallop - New Brighton 

Loose Forwards: 

Kieran Charlton - University 

Zach Healey - Marist Albion 

Cody Lokotui - University 

Ethan Macdonald - Sydenham 

George Prain - Oxford 

Joe Taylor - Marist Albion 

Inside Backs: 

Tyson Belworthy - New Brighton 

Joel Lam - Burnside 

Shun Miyake - Marist Albion 

James White - University 

Midfield: 

Anaru Paenga-Morgan - Lincoln University 

Elliot Smith - Marist Albion 

Kynan Stowers-Smith - Shirley 

Outside Backs: 

Jae Broomfield - University 

George Coull - HSOB 

Angus Henare - University 

Rico Syme - Marist Albion

Management Team: 

Head Coach - Scott Pawson - New Brighton 

Assistant Coach - Mark Croft - Sydenham 

Assistant Coach - Jason Pawson - Lincoln University 

Assistant Coach - Mervyn Todd - Darfield 

Manager - Tim Ryley - University 

Manager - Hayden Thom - University 

Performance Trainer - Cam Henderson - New Brighton 

Performance Intern - Lawrence Clark - CBHS 

Performance Analyst - Flynn Sinclair - Prebbleton 

Physiotherapist - Ethan Horne