Griffins ready for season opener
The Tasman Griffins won’t need much prompting as they prepare to take on Canterbury Country in round one of this year’s South Island Invitational rugby championship at Tahunanui tomorrow.
Having won the 2015 South Island title unbeaten, the Griffins lost every game last season and required a 20-17 win over Canterbury Maori in their promotionrelegation clash to remain in the top tier of this year’s competition.
It was Canterbury Country that put an early dent in the Griffins’ 2016 campaign with a 32-28 win in Culverden. But after wins against both West Coast and Buller over the past two weeks, the Griffins appear ready to take on a traditionally tough Country side.
According to Griffins head coach Dan Perrin, the players clearly know what’s expected of them.
‘‘We sent the message pretty loud and clear [on Tuesday] to the boys that we’re not here just to make up numbers in this competition, we want to win it,’’ Perrin said.
‘‘We had a really good turnout and energy at training so yeah, I think we’re all on the same page and looking forward to it.
‘‘We’ve just got to be a little bit smarter and control what we can do and holding on to the ball’s going to be a big thing for us. We’ve proved that when we can hold the pill we’re pretty dangerous.’’
After an error-ridden first 40 minutes, the second half of last Saturday’s 57-14 win over Buller - in which they piled on 43 points - effectively set the benchmark for the remainder of the Griffins’ campaign.
‘‘That’s where we want to be from the get-go I guess. There were probably a couple of things pregame that may have knocked us round a little bit that didn’t help the preparation, but there are no excuses for turning the ball over 20 times in a half of rugby.
‘‘I think if we can remedy that, hold on to the ball and build pressure, then we’ve definitely got the players there, as they showed in the second half, to be able to play the style we want to.
‘‘We only play footy to win and if you’re winning, you’re enjoying it as well. A big factor for us is that we want to enjoy it, work hard and win.’’
The Griffins will have the services of Tasman Makos extended squad members James Hawkey, Brendan AsomuaGoodman, Isaac Salmon and Andrew Knewstubb although only Hawkey will start the match at second five-eighth.
Saturday’s game kicks off at Tahunanui at 12.30pm.
Meanwhile, the Tasman Under19s continue their campaign with the first of three South Island seeding games when they host the Otago Under-19s at Trafalgar Park on Saturday.
Tasman will also play their Canterbury and Southland counterparts, both away, to determine whether they’ll contest either the top-tier premiership or the second-tier championship competitions at next month’s annual Jock Hobbs Memorial National Under-19 tournament at Owen Delany Park in Taupo. The tournament runs from September 10-16.
They’ve already scored two big lead-up wins, beating a Tasman Selection 57-7 and a South Canterbury Development XV 80-7, with Saturday’s game scheduled to kick off at 3pm.