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The Muster- Jason Pine: NPC Musings · The Muster on Hokonui

• 0:08
  Speaker 1: Jason Pine is the host of Weekend Sport on Newstalk ZB,
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: 12 to 3 every Saturday and Sunday. Jason Pine, good afternoon.
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: What the hell has happened to your beloved Wellington Lions?
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you've led out nice and strongly there, Andy. And
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: it's a question I'm not sure I can accurately answer.
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: What we do know is they're 0 and 9 this season.
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: One game to go against Taranaki on the weekend. And
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: that's a Taranaki side boosted by not just one Barrett,
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: but two. in Scott and Bowdoin up in New Plymouth.
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: So the Wellington Lions are staring down the barrel of
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: an 0-10 season, easily the worst season in living memory.
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: What's the reason for it? It's very hard to know.
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: I think the depth of player in the Wellington region
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: is clearly not deep enough to sustain a side that's
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: going to challenge or even win matches in the NPCs.
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: There were a few taken out through All Blacks duty,
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  Speaker 2: but that's the same with a lot of these unions. So, look,
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  Speaker 2: it's mystifying. It's very, very hard to explain. And I
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: think most people in my part of the country will
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: just be happy to see the end of the season
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: as we can start looking forward to Super Rugby. I mean,
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  Speaker 2: that's the other thing, Andy. The Hurricanes just enjoyed probably
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: their best ever season. And then Wellington, which, of course,
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: anchors the Hurricanes region, have slumped to their worst. So
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: it's very, very hard to understand.
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: And of course, Wellington won the NPC two years ago
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: over Bay of Plenty in extra time, which Mark Kelly
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: reminds me about every three weeks or so. But is
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: it a case of local players, imports not up to
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: the mark? What's happening?
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: Well, I think earlier on in the season, there were
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: some players from outside of the region, a couple of
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: Australian players, a couple of Japanese players, and there was
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: a little bit of discontent around Wellington about the fact
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: that these players weren't improving the team. So if you're
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: going to lose matches, you might as well lose with
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  Speaker 2: local players that has, you know, righted itself over the
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: last sort of while. But I think that's it. I
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  Speaker 2: think we've just found that the players who have been
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  Speaker 2: brought in are just not at the level that can
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  Speaker 2: be competitive. I mean, there are a couple of exceptions
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  Speaker 2: on the side. Duplicy Khalifi has been a beacon for
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  Speaker 2: this team. Callum Harkin, who played a lot of the
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: hurricane season, is also there. But outside of that, you know,
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  Speaker 2: the drop down has been quite startling. And as we've said, Andy,
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: the results on the field have demonstrated exactly what we're
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: talking about here.
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  Speaker 1: Now, we can't really speak too loudly down here in
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  Speaker 1: the south, mate. We've won two games for the year,
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: last game against Northland tonight. But like to do for
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: the secret, is he a victim of circumstance when it
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: comes to the All Blacks?
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: I think he's a victim of what Dave Rennie's after. Yeah,
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  Speaker 2: you look at Dave Rennie's loose forward choices and the
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: one thing they all have in common is the amount
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: of meat on their bones. They're all... Big, big man.
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  Speaker 2: And while Duplissi Karifi has got a heart of a
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: lion and more courage than most rugby players, he just doesn't,
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: I guess in the eyes of Dave Rennie, have the
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: size needed to implement Dave Rennie's game plan. You look
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: at the latest Bledisloe Cup selections and the reintroduction of
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: Shannon Frizzell, a big bopper, who they like. But, you know,
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: even going to the likes of Semisi Tupo Te Eloa,
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: You know, a bit of a bolter in the eyes
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  Speaker 2: of many after Moana Pacifica's season, but a big guy
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  Speaker 2: who can move bodies, and clearly that's what Dave Rennie's after.
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: You know, Simon Parker, Luke Jacobson, and others have been
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: used as battering rams more than anything to get over
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  Speaker 2: the advantage line, to set quick ball up for the
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: backs and hope that they can spread it wide and
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: play with optimism, which is Dave Rennie's catchphrase, of course. So, yeah,
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  Speaker 2: I think Dukes has certainly... One of those, we've also
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: seen the emergence of guys like Anton Segner, who just
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: this week signed a deal, what, beyond the next World Cup?
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  Speaker 2: So they clearly rate him very highly. You know, a
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  Speaker 2: lot of competition in the loose forwards, as there is
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: in a lot of these positions. And you can't pick everybody.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, Sam Dowery isn't in the Bledisloe Cup squad,
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: and he performed really well on the recent Tour of
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: South Africa, but Scott Barrett's return has just squeezed him out.
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: So they always say that coaches want these headaches. They
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: want players... putting their hands up and they can't pick everybody.
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: Adi Sarver going to the Blues next year. Are you surprised,
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: considering he's Wellingtonian?
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: Knock me over with a feather. Knock me over with
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: a feather, Andy. No, no surprise at all. He was
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: never coming back to Wellington. He's relocated, really, his family
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: up to Auckland with Moana Pacifica. He's got very close
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  Speaker 2: ties into the Blues with a lot of those players.
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: He seems particularly close with the likes of Rico Ioane
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: and a couple of others. And to be fair... You know,
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: the Blues are losing Dalton Papali'i and Hoskins Satutu, so
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: they actually need a bit of loose-forward reinforcement, and what
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: better reinforcement than the All Blacks captain? This wasn't a surprise.
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: And look, while you'd always want Ardysa there in your team,
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: the Hurricanes showed this year that their loose-forwards are actually
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: a pretty well-functioning unit. You know, they've got good competition
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  Speaker 2: for places the likes of Duplissi Karifi and Peter Larkite
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: and Braden Yossi and plenty of others, and of course,
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: Sumichi Tupo-Tailoa, who we mentioned before, has this morning confirmed
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: that he is coming to Hurricanes country. So, yeah, look,
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  Speaker 2: I mean, the other part of this is that it's
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  Speaker 2: great to have Adi Savia, this beacon of New Zealand rugby,
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: in our biggest city. You know, we know that there's
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: competition for eyeballs in Auckland in particular with the Warriors there.
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: And where Adi Savia goes, eyeballs will follow. So I
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: think it's a good move all around. And he also reunites,
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  Speaker 2: of course, with Jason Holland, the new coach of the Blues.
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: The two of them worked together at the Hurricanes for
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: several years. So, yeah, I think it's the right outcome
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: all round, really.
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: The Knights against the Roosters in the NRL Grand Final.
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: Your producer, Andy McDonald, will be like a pig in
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: the proverbial this week. But look, you just look at
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: the Warriors and what a missed opportunity this has been,
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: given the way the Knights have gone. Or have the
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: Knights gone beyond expectations and last week they grew an
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: extra player?
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: Yeah, well, they've certainly gone beyond expectation at the start
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: of the season, I think. You know, they were wooden
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: spooners last year, so when you finish rock bottom, I
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: guess the only way is up. It's just a matter
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: of how far up. And, you know, the Knights got
• 6:35
  Speaker 2: up into the top eight, and I think a lot
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: of their fans would have been happy with that. But
• 6:39
  Speaker 2: they haven't stopped there. They've won three knockout games in
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: a row, and all of a sudden they're in the
• 6:43
  Speaker 2: grand final against a Roosters side that kind of stumbled
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: and bumbled their way towards the finish line. Having looked
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: every inch, the minor premiers with about a month to go,
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: they lost... their last three matches of the regular season.
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: Then they lost their first match in the playoffs. But
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: since then, they've kind of got their season back on track.
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: I think everybody loves the story of the Newcastle Knights.
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: The fact that there is this underdog story, a team
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  Speaker 2: that hasn't been in the grand final for a quarter
• 7:12
  Speaker 2: of a century and was really, as I've just mentioned,
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  Speaker 2: not expected to do a heck of a lot this season.
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: Of course, Caelan Pong is on the team. We love
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: him as a Kiwi, and he'll shortly, of course, wear
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: our jersey in the Rugby League World Cup. Yeah, look,
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: I think the Roosters are favourite, Andy. I don't think
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: there's any doubt that the Roosters will go into the
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: game as favourites. They've, as I say, come right in
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  Speaker 2: the last couple of weeks and have a lot of
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: attacking firepower. But if last weekend taught us anything, that
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: Knights win over the Panthers, it is that anything is
• 7:44
  Speaker 2: possible when it comes to knockout footy. And a one-off match...
• 7:48
  Speaker 2: anybody can beat anybody. That's been proven time and again
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: across this season. The Warriors lost to the West Tigers,
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: for goodness sake, and they were terrible for most of
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: the year. So, look, I think the Roosters are favourite,
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: but I think if you don't have any skin in
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  Speaker 2: this game, if you're not a Roosters or a Knights fan,
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  Speaker 2: I think you like the underdog story and you're probably
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: cheering for the Knights.
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: Just finally to wrap up, Pidey, how concerned will rugby
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: officials be given the Warriors sold out Eden Park as
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: quickly as they did?
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: Oh, look, I don't think there's any surprise to that, Andy.
• 8:20
  Speaker 2: I don't think, you know, New Zealand rugby was sort
• 8:22
  Speaker 2: of caught on the hop by that. That was always
• 8:24
  Speaker 2: going to happen. I mean, the Warriors sell out every
• 8:25
  Speaker 2: week at Goat Media, win, lose or draw. So on
• 8:29
  Speaker 2: an occasion like a finals match, that was always going
• 8:32
  Speaker 2: to happen. Yes, New Zealand rugby's got some challenges around crowds.
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: I think the bigger concern for them is probably how
• 8:38
  Speaker 2: to win the hearts and minds of the young players
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  Speaker 2: now coming through year 12, 13, 14, 15 year old
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  Speaker 2: young men in particular, and young women as well, who
• 8:47
  Speaker 2: are looking for a career in professional sport. And they'll
• 8:50
  Speaker 2: look at what's happening at Warriors HQ, those massive crowds,
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: that huge support, and they'll think, man, give me some
• 8:57
  Speaker 2: of that. So rugby's challenge is to make their game,
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: the 15-a-side game, an attractive pathway for our best young players.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, let's be honest, rugby league and rugby, the
• 9:07
  Speaker 2: skills are very interchangeable. So a player who's good at
• 9:11
  Speaker 2: one will likely be good at another, given the right
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: coaching framework and such like. So I think that's one
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: of the big challenges as far as rugby league and
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: rugby is concerned. For both coaches, really. Rugby league seem
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: to have got a bit of wind in their sails,
• 9:24
  Speaker 2: and the Warriors have been a massive part of that. But,
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: you know, we're about to embark on a Bledisloe Cup
• 9:29
  Speaker 2: series and end of year tour, and then next year
• 9:31
  Speaker 2: we've got a rugby World Cup to look forward to. So, yeah,
• 9:34
  Speaker 2: it's that... It's that emerging player, that elite player who
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: now has a choice. I think those are the conversations
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: that probably have to be had most pertinently at New
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: Zealand Rugby HQ.
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: Jason Pine, host of Weekend Sport and Newstalk ZB, 12
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: to 3, Saturday and Sundays. Always appreciate your time. Go
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: the Stags.
• 9:57
  Speaker 2: Good on you, Andy. Chat to you next time.