Charles in charge.
Former All Blacks wing Charles Piutau - dubbed by Stuff rugby writer Paul Cully as "the loss that haunts NZ rugby" - is known for his razor-sharp attack, but his defence is being hailed after a stunning hit in the latest British Premiership rugby round.
Piutau scored a try and saved another in a 26-21 loss to Wasps last weekend, prompting Premiership Rugby to post a video tribute to its Twitter account saying: "Just when Marcus Watson thought he was in... Along came Charles Piutau. The Bristol Bears Rugby bruiser bull-dozed the Wasps winger clear into touch to save a certain try."
Piutau has become one of the best - and highest paid - players in the English Premiership since joining Kiwi coach Pat Lam at Bristol in 2018.
Alex Davidson
Charles Piutau scores for Bristol against English rugby premiership rivals Wasps.
READ MORE:
* Major gongs for Hansen, Tew
* Nine ABs in Team of Decade
* All Blacks want 'justice'
* World's top 10 players
* New All Blacks assistant John Plumtree on his new role: 'I've got Fozzie's back'
* England's World Cup victory over All Blacks meant more than winning the title
Sky Sport TV
Charles Piutau slams Wasps wing Marcus Watson into touch.
The 28-year-old stunned New Zealand rugby by quitting for Europe before the 2015 Rugby World Cup following 16 caps for the All Blacks.
He initially signed for Irish club Ulster, but spent the 2015-16 season on loan to Wasps, for whom he scored 10 tries in 25 appearances to clinch a place in the English Premiership team of the season.
Piutau made the PRO 12 Dream Team and won the competition's Players' Player of the Year award in his first season with Ulster in 2016-17.
Lam lured him to Bristol on a contract reportedly worth £1 million ($NZ2 million) a year, although the Bristol Live website has claimed it is significantly less than the reported sum.
A side-on view of Charles Piutau's try-saving tackle.
At Bristol, Piutau plays alongside his older brother Siale (Samoa's Rugby World Cup captain) and former All Blacks loose forward Steven Luatua.
Charles Piutau and Luatua are both on marquee player contracts. Each club is permitted to have two players paid beyond the salary cap.
Bristol plan add another marquee man, flying Fijian back and former NRL rugby league star Semi Radrada, next season.
But Lam recently confirmed to Bristol Live, when asked how the club could afford them all, that Piutau remained a pivotal part of his plan for premiership honours. "Charles is going to be here too. I plan on Charles being here as well. Semi is going to be a marquee player but we are allowed two."
Lam claimed Bristol had plenty of room under the salary cap to accommodate the trio.
Alex Davidson
Charles Piutau takes the ball up against Wasps' Nizaam Carr.
Piutau signed a two-year contract extension in December, with Lam lauding his countryman as "an outstanding team man and a world-class talent".
"He has the ability to create opportunities out of nothing for the team, so we are delighted that he has committed to the Bears and our vision.
"What has been most pleasing is how enthusiastic Charles is about the Bears, his team-mates and the city. He applied for, and was appointed to, the role of community leader in the player leadership group this season, which underlines how much he cares about the community.
"On the field, Charles brings an invaluable attacking threat, but also a calm head and a wealth of experience. His game understanding and leadership at the back brings a lot of comfort to his team-mates and it has allowed a lot of the young players around him to flourish."
Piutau's worth to Bristol was underlined in the Wasps match, where he and Luatua were among the Bears' standouts, both rating 7 out of 10 by Bristol Live, which said of Piutau: "The full back scored an impressive try, busting through the tackle of [Malakai] Fekitoa to get Bristol back in the game as he made 108 metres in attack and beat six defenders. But he was wrong footed for Nizaam Carr's final match-winning try."
Rugby - Rugby - Google News
December 31, 2019 at 04:39AM
https://ift.tt/37i4fho
Charles Piutau's try-saving big hit in English rugby premiership - Stuff.co.nz
Rugby - Rugby - Google News
https://ift.tt/2oI9XIX
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
No comments:
Post a Comment