Manawatu rugby's 'Big Dog' heads to Perth
By PETER LAMPP - Manawatu Standard | Wednesday, 03 December 2008David Te Moana's departure to the Western Force now means the Manawatu Turbos have 12 players involved at a higher level rugby in the offseason.
Such an overview warms the cockles of coach Dave Rennie whose team finished bottom of the Air New Zealand Cup competition this year.
Te Moana, 26, returns to John Mitchell's Western Force Super 14 squad. He played for the Force in 2006 in seven Super 14 games, all as a substitute tighthead prop before arriving in Manawatu in July that year.
The following season he played the last five games for the Queensland Reds.
The first approach this time wasn't enough to entice 130kg tighthead prop Te Moana, but when the Force came back with another offer, he accepted it.
Rennie is happy "Big Dog" is going to Perth. He will be back in Manawatu after the Super 14 season.
"He had a good season with us," Rennie said. "He's going to get a lot of high level footie and hopefully he'll come back fitter."
In two seasons Te Moana has had a dozen Super 14 caps and has toured South Africa four times, twice with Force and Reds development sides.
Last season, the Reds offered him a rookie deal, which didn't appeal so he stayed in Manawatu to get himself shipshape and worked for a Higgins road crew.
That makes three Manawatu men in full Super 14 squads. The others are flanker Josh Bradnock (Hurricanes) and Johnny Leota (Highlanders). Lock Hayden Triggs would have been the fourth had it not been mutually agreed he would transfer permanently to Otago.
In the Hurricanes wider training squad are wing Andre Taylor, flanker Nick Crosswell and hooker Sean O'Connor who broke his contract with Boroughmuir in Edinburgh to take the opportunity.
Three other Manawatu players are in the Hurricanes three winds programme for promising players outside the wider training group. They are prop Ma'afu Fia, fullback Kurt Baker and halfback Aaron Smith.
Fia and first-five Aaron Cruden are training with Dave Rennie's New Zealand under-20 training squad at Massey University this week.
There are three in the New Zealand Sevens squad on tour to Dubai and Orange (South Africa) _ Baker, Junior Tomasi Cama and Lote Raikabula.
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