Gregor Paul: Watch this space

Matt Todd. Photo / Photosport.

The ITM Cup has thrown up some exciting propects this season. Gregor Paul runs the rule over ten of the best.

1 - Matt Todd (Canterbury)

From being virtually unknown at the start of the campaign Matt Todd was seriously being touted as an All Black bolter. How close he got we may never know but it's easy to believe there was significant interest.

At times, and this is not to damn him with expectation, he looked uncannily like Richie McCaw. Physically more so than the way he played. At 1.85m and 104 kg he is a similar build to McCaw. With the head gear on, the red and black jersey and the No 7 on his back...

But there was a bit more to it than that. Todd was always there, always close to the ball and his work on the ground was superb on occasions. He tackled hard, carried well and handled the switch from blindside to openside midway through the campaign without any problems.

No one is ever going to replace McCaw but someone is at least going to have to try and Todd looks to be potentially one of the best prospects to have surfaced for ages.

With Adam Thomson staying with the Highlanders there is an opportunity for Todd to form a loose trio with McCaw and Read.

His longer term future looks to be as a No 7 but, at 22, he needs game-time; needs experience at Super 15 and if he can get it at No 6 for now, everyone can live with that. Certainly looks a better player at this stage than George Whitelock.

2 - Angus Ta'avao Matau (Auckland)

Ta'avao was not initially selected in the Auckland squad and was only called up after Tongan international Halani Aulika decided to shift South and join Otago.

Ta'avao, the 130kg prop who played for the New Zealand under-20s this year, came in as the fourth option. Given his age and lack of experience, the plan was to limit his game time and break him into senior rugby slowly.

Which has been the case, it's just that Ta'avao impressed enough in his cameo outings to leapfrog his way up the rankings and could now make the Blues ahead of Tevita Mailau.

He is a big man and at just 20 still has ample room to improve his core strength, aerobic capacity and, most important, his technical expertise in the scrum.

What excites Auckland and a number of unions around the country who were sniffing around him all year, is that he already has a good handle on the core skills of his role.

A bit like North Harbour's Ben Afeaki, Ta'avao is freakishly mobile and athletic for someone just about bigger than an SUV. If he's handled right, given support on the technical side of his craft, allowed to continue feeling his way into professional rugby, then there is real hope he will be a seriously good prop in the next few years.

3 - Joe Wheeler (Tasman)

It's always tricky to pick talent when it has the misfortune of being obscured in a losing side. Those who have watched Joe Wheeler closely this season believe they have seen a player with potential to step up to Super 15.

Last season the 23-year-old played 11 games at lock, but this year the 2.01m, 111kg Wheeler was used at No 8. Obviously with those dimensions he's an excellent lineout option and capable of playing an aerial role at kick-offs.

By rights, given his height, he should find getting down to the base of the scrum a bit of a chore - but he's played like a man six inches shorter. His agility is impressive and he doesn't look like a lock playing out of position.

There is debate among top level coaches as to whether there is still room in the game for hybrid forwards who can play loose forward and lock. Some coaches aren't keen but they admit that's because so few locks can actually be effective as loose forwards because they don't have the ability to get over the ball and play on the ground.

Wheeler looks like he could be the exception and could make a more than handy addition to someone's Super 15 squad.

4 - Lima Sopoaga (Wellington)

It's not as if anyone could watch Lima Sopoaga right now and proclaim him as a polished, cultured five-eighth with all the tactical control and technical expertise he will ever need.

They should, however, at least recognise that there is raw talent aplenty within this young man and he has the confidence to play his natural game. First five has been as big a problem for Wellington as it has for Auckland in recent seasons and Sopoaga looks to be a likely solution.

He's a teasing runner who drifts and skips past the heavy traffic to give those outside him more time. He seems reasonably composed on the ball and, while his execution is sometimes wanting, he does have a kicking game and an appreciation of the game plan and what he needs to do to follow it.

He's only 19 and the realisation is setting in that first five is a position that takes time - young men like Sopoaga can't step out of club or age-grade rugby and steer a professional team around. That's an art that has to be learned. Sopoaga certainly made progress this year and may be the right choice to back-up Aaron Cruden at the Hurricanes now that Willie Ripia is off to Australia.

5 - Telusa Veainu (Canterbury)

If there is one position in which Canterbury don't necessarily produce the big stars, it's wing. They tend to look outside their boundaries for those - Rico Gear, Caleb Ralph, Sean Maitland, Marika Vunibaka.

Veainu is one of the best they have unearthed for some time. The 19-year-old was part of the successful New Zealand under-20 team this year and took all his confidence and form into his debut ITM Cup campaign.

Not only was he quick and elusive, he had a good handle on the tactical role of a wing and, for someone so young and inexperienced, was composed and assured when he had possession.

He read the counter-attack opportunities well, fielded the ball strongly under pressure and had an obvious appetite to beat players one on one. Keep an eye on him - he looks equipped to go further.

6 - Fritz Lee (Counties)

His season will forever be remembered for that tackle on Luke Hamilton. It was spectacular but it was also clumsy rather than malicious.

Sadly for Lee it also thrust him into the spotlight for all the wrong reasons when he was in the midst of an excellent campaign. The 21-year-old has been around for a couple of seasons but this was the first time the 1.9m, 108kg No 8 strung together consistent performances.

He is a big ball carrier, powerful with a good body position that takes him through the first tackle. He was strong over the ball, mobile and aggressive in everything he did.

It was no surprise to hear the Blues tried to poach him but lost out. Once the Chiefs got word of that, they upped the ante and secured a player they see as a long term replacement for Sione Lauaki.

7- Gillies Kaka (Hawke's Bay)

This is a young man with a neat range of skills - a cross between Zac Guildford and Israel Dagg. He is in fact Guildford's cousin and a player of similar talents.

Capable of playing fullback, wing or in the midfield, Kaka has a strong background in Sevens. That probably explains why he's not only fit and fast, but prepared to back himself and express himself.

He had hoped to make the New Zealand under-20s this year but missed selection. His disappointment didn't last, as he earned the considerable compensation of cracking the Hawke's Bay squad and making a few starts on the wing. He scored on debut and managed an outrageous try against Taranaki where he dinked the ball forward at full tilt and then pounced on it at the corner flag. It was the sort of precocious act hinting that in time, the 20-year-old could be a superstar.

8 - Brayden Mitchell (Southland)

The 21-year-old hooker made a big impression whenever he came off the bench for the Stags. He's another former New Zealand under-20 player and has that ability of following the ball and crashing on to it with great effect.

He probably needs to bulk up and get his weight up to 105kg-plus. The physicality of Super 15 is such that front rowers lighter than that find they can't make any impact against the South Africans and are too easily played off the ball.

He's the sort of player the Highlanders should invest in now. Get him on board so he learns the patterns of play and what it takes to make it at that level and give him some limited game-time with a view to becoming the starting hooker from 2012.

9 - Dean Budd (Northland)

Budd was not a total unknown at the start of the season. He had been on the fringes of the Auckland squad in 2008 and had even managed the occasional appearance for the Blues as part of their wider training squad.

But 2009 was a bad year for him and he failed to win a starting place and at times even one on the bench for Auckland. He headed to Canada to get away for a while and when he returned in June, he was suddenly passionate about rugby again. He joined Northland where he has a family connection and the break combined with the shift rekindled his career.

A blindside who can play lock, the new laws suited him well. His continuity work was a big feature of Northland's season and he scored several tries. On top of that, his aerial work was accomplished and if the Blues are daft enough to ignore him again, some other franchise will look to poach him in the draft.

10 - Michael Coman (Hawke's Bay)

The former Cantabrian forced his way into the Hawke's Bay starting XV after getting his first chance due to injuries. Talk about taking the opportunity - Coman was a revelation at No 8.

An old-fashioned sort of player in that he is direct and confrontational, he drove the Bay over the gain line and was a major factor in their late season revival that saw them recover some of their lost pride.

What Super 15 coaches will have noticed is his high work rate, his desire to play tight and the way he rarely, if ever, lost possession in contact.