Their Almanack New Zealand XV tends to follow the All Blacks selectors, though they have named Highlanders' Malakai Fekitoa and Waisake Naholo in jersey Nos 22 and 23. There is no place for, say, Aaron Cruden.
An interesting addition is their New Zealand Mitre 10 Cup XV, which should be instructive to those who switch off the provincial game from August to October due to the All Blacks' Rugby Championship campaign or even rugby burnout. Of note in this XV is the fact that three of the players did not win Super Rugby contracts - Counties Manukau bookend Kalolo Tuiloma, Bay of Plenty No 8 Joe Tupe and North Harbour second Michael Little, though the latter did train with the Highlanders in the summer.
There are 60 pages dedicated to the growing women's game, led off by a season review by Mel Robinson.
The obits section is always fascinating for those who love their rugby history. Eight former All Blacks died in the 2016 calendar year, from wing Wally Argus, who had been the oldest surviving national rep, to 'Snow' White, whose record of 196 games for Auckland will never be beaten. Esteemed members of the fourth estate, Don Cameron, Brent Edwards and Peter Sellers, are duly acknowledged.
Turn to page 251. Ninth on the all-time list of tryscorers in New Zealand first-class rugby is Ron Jarden, All Blacks great of the 1950s. He scored 145 tries. No surprises there, one might think. But he scored them in just 134 games, averaging more than one a game in a decade in which the open rugby of today was often eschewed, certainly at international level. Jarden is the only man on the list of those who have scored more than 100 tries with that ratio, better than Kirwan, Wright, Cullen, Howlett and Lomu. Find that on the net.
