Steamers standout: ‘It’s been a tough year, but I feel good’
Impressive Bay flanker says his studies have helped him negotiate plenty of unknowns in the 2020 grind. By Hinton.
AS Mitch Karpik runs the rule over a rugby year like no other, the rugged Bay of Plenty Steamers and Chiefs flanker has no doubt as to where the major challenge has arisen.
The 25-year-old fair-haired loosie, who likes to throw himself about on the rugby field, is feeling just fine physically, apart from a niggle or two, which is pretty much de rigueur for anyone who plays the No 7 position in the modern game.
But he doesn’t mind admitting that 2020 has been a grind mentally, what with one thing and another amid the global pandemic, and he’s faced his biggest challenge pacing his way through a season that began last December with early Super Rugby preparations and won’t wrap up until the end of November when the provincial silverware is decided.
In between there have been multiple lockdowns, two Super Rugby competitions and a delayed provincial season that started in empty stadiums but is building to quite some conclusion.
Mind you, Karpik likes to keep himself busy and productive. When we talked this week, he’d been up late the night before, squeezing an online university exam into preparations for a pivotal ‘‘Battle of the Bays’’ matchup against traditional foe Hawke’s Bay in Tauranga today.
He is a fair way down the track towards a degree in law and finance, helped somewhat by the call he made when the country headed into full lockdown back in March to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.
‘‘I spent lockdown at Waihi Beach and managed to pick up a couple more university papers, so that kept me busy,’’ Karpik tells Sunday News. ‘‘There was a bit of training, a bit of study, and it filled in the time nicely. It was just weird with the unknown – how long were we going to spend in lockdown andwhen was rugby going to start up again? It was tough for everyone – not just in rugby circles.’’
And Karpik reckons it’s been more amental grind than a physical slog, making it through what will end up a 12-month season for those plying their trade fulltime in this code.
‘‘Physically, it’s been refreshing with the breaks we’ve had. I think everyone has used that time wisely,’’ he says. ‘‘But not so much mentally, with not knowing when your next game was going to be. It was hard to prepare for nothing. But it’s definitely been good on the body and I feel pretty fresh in that sense.’’
Karpik is certainly up for a massive last three weeks for the Steamers, starting with ‘the Bay’ bragging rights on the line today against the Ranfurly Shield holders.
The Steamers are delicately poised heading into the run home. At 3-4, with 17 competition points, they are seven points off a spot in the Premiership semifinals and just one off automatic relegation.
There is, you might say, everything to play for.
‘‘We said a couple of weeks back after beating Manawatu that every week was a final from there on. If we lose we’re staring down the barrel of relegation; if we winwe’re that much closer to making the four. It’s exciting in that way but also a challenge.’’
But Karpik is adamant a semifinal spot is achievable for the Steamers, who scored 97 points in their previous two games.
You could say momentum is in their favour, as they head into a finishing stretch that sees them follow today’s Tauranga Domain matchup with a visit to tabletoppers Waikato and then a home clash against North Harbour.
The Steamers, well, steamrolled Manawatu 53-35 to start the ball rolling, then stunned the normally reliable Canterbury outfit 44-8 at the Domain last round. That was a result that made a lot of people sit up and take notice.
It was Bay of Plenty’s first win over the Red and Blacks since 2011 and has given the Steamers a ton of confidence for their tricky finish.
‘‘Everything just clicked into place,’’ Karpik says. ‘‘We knew we had it in us and knewwe weren’t performing to our potential. We hit our straps, found some form and it was a real collective effort.
‘‘We do take a lot of confidence out of it, but the coaches have kept us grounded this week and pointed out there are always things to work on.’’
Just under a century of points in their last two matches indicates things are flowing pretty well with the attack. But Karpik took even more delight out of the defensive effort against the Cantabs that reduced them to just a single, late, consolation try.
Karpik is quite literally in a good place as he contemplates one more year left on his Chiefs and Bay deals. He loves the lifestyle at the Mountwhere he shares a flat (‘‘We’re fishing or surfing on our days off’’) and equally enjoys the setup at the Chiefs in Hamilton, even if he finds himself battling a couple of pretty handy loosies for gametime.
One of those is the new All Blacks captain and Karpik is probably the least surprised person in New Zealand at the skipper’s storming start to the test campaign. ‘‘He’s aworldclass player,’’ says Karpik of his occasional Bay team-mate. ‘‘That first Bledisloe he was the best player on the paddock and in the second he showed what a good ball-carrier he is. He has great skills; he just does a lot of the dirty work that probably doesn’t get recognised as much.’’
Dirty work. Hard yakka. Karpik certainly doesn’t have to look far for his inspiration.