SETA HITS 50
New captain Angus Ta’avao believes things are starting to come together nicely as Taranaki approaches the business end of the national provincial rugby championship.
Ta’avao was handed the captaincy after Charlie Ngatai’s latest head knock close to a fortnight ago and was impressed with the work of the squad in their 48-17 Mitre 10 Cup crossover win over Hawke’s Bay last Saturday.
He thought their improved set piece, their defence and the way they took their chances showed they were heading in the right direction with four round robin matches left before a probable semifinal date.
Part one of that end-of-season programme starts on Thursday when Tasman head to Yarrow Stadium, a clash that has fast become a highlight of Taranaki’s season in recent years.
While Taranaki rightly won the 2014 ITM Cup final against their opponents from Nelson and Marlborough, Tasman have edged their last three encounters, including last year’s premiership semifinal in New Plymouth.
Ta’avao, who is one of four survivors in the Taranaki side from 2014 along with Seta Tamanivalu, Marty McKenzie and Mitchell Graham, said the short turnaround from Napier was being felt but he was pleased with how the squad had prepared earlier in the week.
While left a little frustrated with how they played at times against Hawke’s Bay, he has seen a lot of improvement collectively over the past month.
‘‘Our set piece is coming along really nicely, our lineout is operating a lot better so we’re slowly getting there,’’ he said. ‘‘We feel like coming into these weeks, what better way to prepare for finals footy, if we get there, than to play against the teams that are up there?’’
He thought Tasman, who will have Leo Crowley in their coaching ranks, and Taranaki were fairly evenly matched across the board.
‘‘If you look at the backlines, the players and the skills both sides can put out on the field, it points to a pretty exciting game and the scores in the last few years are usually pretty high.
‘‘It’s usually good for the spectators and in terms of playing, it’s good to test ourselves against them. I feel we sort of push each other.’’
As for the improvements he wants to see from Taranaki, Ta’avao pointed to finding ‘‘a better connection’’ between the forwards and backs, something he thought had been a bit too sporadic at times.
‘‘Our general structures have been a bit sloppy. It’s about merging together and putting together a full 80 minute performance because we have been a bit patchy.
‘‘If we can put those bad patches away hopefully we can walk away not frustrated and we can feel like we are starting to reach our potential. That’s what we are after.’’
Tasman coach Leon MacDonald was also happy with how his side was developing off the back of four straight wins.
‘‘Week to week we are getting better and better. We are still making errors, as are the other teams, but we are working hard on limiting those mistakes.
‘‘This is a great test for us against a confident side ... but we always enjoy the challenge of playing them up there.’’ ❚
With three weeks to run, our national provincial rugby competition is hotting up.
The previously undisputed kings of the comp, Canterbury, have recently been made to look decidedly like everyone else, an event that has opened up the competition in the race for seedings and the possibility of home semifinals for the chasing pack.
With Canterbury, Taranaki and North Harbour sitting on one loss each and Tasman hard in pursuit with two losses, the remaining games are crucial.
Taranaki can now look forward and chase the No 1 seeding.
Following today’s clash with Tasman in front of the
Old Timers, Taranaki line up against Canterbury in Christchurch next Friday, in what will double as a Ranfurly Shield challenge, and finish up with Wednesday and
Sunday fixtures against Manawatu at Yarrow Stadium and a vital clash against North Harbour at the most soulless facility in the country.
Following the Taranaki clash, Tasman are left with North Harbour and Auckland at home and Counties-Manukau in Pukekohe. They will be hoping that Auckland don’t suddenly spring into life.
North Harbour have two must-win games against Tasman and Taranaki, and winnable clashes with Hawke’s Bay and Waikato.
Canterbury have two defences of the Shield against Waikato and Taranaki, and a final game at Eden Park against Auckland. Unlike the 90s, you’d think only a miracle would see a home team victory.
The challenge is out there - can Colin Cooper and the troops complete another great season?
The first job is to deal to the high-tempo Tasman unit, coached by a couple of clever thinkers in Leon McDonald and our very own Leo Crowley.
Crowley is a proven performer at this level, has a deep understanding of the game requirements, and could be in line for the big job back in Taranaki in
2018. He will be hoping the game goes well from his side.
It is certainly Taranaki’s time against Tasman. They have suffered three losses on the trot since beating the Makos in the
2014 final, the most devastating being a 29-41 defeat in last year’s semi.
This Taranaki side does not possess the same number of quality individuals as the champion 2014 lot, but does have the best front row in the country in Angus Ta’avoa, Ricky Riccitelli and Mitchell Graham.
With the rest rolling their sleeves up and getting stuck in and Marty McKenzie becoming more accurate in each outing, the team will be keen to continue on their winning way.
This game is also ‘Old Timers Day’. Not too many will still be at playing weight, and the singing of ditties followed by a late night is a thing of the past. But for those who venture out on a cold night the stories I’m sure will be even better than last year.
There will be the tale of Ross Fraser being chased by an opposition player and jumping over the fence, Ian Eliason diving out of the lineout so the late Pinetree got penalised, legendary tales of the McEldowney brothers, anecdotes of Taranaki coach Graham O’Brien outwitting Graham Henry in the 1996 Ranfurly Shield victory at Auckland, and coach Bill Batchelor listing his occupation in the programme as ‘Missionary’.
These will be the normal starters. For updated yarns, you’ll need to be there.