Marty Veale has been appointed the new head coach of the Northland Taniwha. Photo / Supplied
Marty Veale has been appointed the new head coach of the Northland Taniwha. Photo / Supplied
The ability of the Northland Taniwha to consistently play at a high tempo each week is a key focus for new head coach Marty Veale.
The Northland Rugby Union has opted for the tried and tested in appointing the former Taniwha player and assistant team coach on a two-year contract, starting with next year’s Bunnings Warehouse NPC campaign.
Veale was one of two assistant coaches to George Konia during a strong 2022 NPC campaign where Northland bowed out in the quarter-final but the team’s coruscating performance won the hearts and minds of its fans.
Konia decided not to renew his contract after three seasons in charge and is returning home to Hawke’s Bay.
Graham Dewes has been retained as an assistant coach for next season.
Speaking from the United States, Veale said he was impressed with the way Northland Rugby was developing local talent and the calibre of people that lifted the team to such great heights over the past few seasons
He played lock for Northland in 2008 and in 2011.
“There has always been a huge amount of potential in Northland, even when I played they had world-class players and with the new facilities in place and people re-signing and being retained, I look forward to the new challenge.
“As a youngster, I’d always watched Northland’s expensive attacking flair when the Goings were playing and we want to put in place programmes where players are able to express themselves, to highlight the more attacking side of things.
“We’ve made gains in defence and our set piece but one of the things we’ve built on in the off-season was the high-performance group, to increase the capacity of players to play at a higher speed,” Veale said.
After pipping Auckland at home this season, Veale said Northland lost the next three games as the team struggled to cope with the intensity week in, week out.
His family’s strong connection to Northland was another reason he decided to apply for the head coaching role, Veale said.
Veale has had strong overseas coaching stints that included set piece coach for the US national side, scrum coach for the Sunwolves in Japan and the head coach of Rugby New York before joining the Taniwha this year.
NRU chief executive Cameron Bell said 10 to 11 candidates mostly from outside Northland applied for the head coaching position and it all boiled down to two factors.
“Continuity and experience as a head coach. What we’ve achieved as a team was something very special and we want to make sure we build on that,” he said, referring to a strong season under Konia’s tutelage.
Northland rugby chief executive Cameron Bell said continuity and experience gave Marty Veale an edge for the role. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Bell said the union also needed to consistently contract and develop local players and while it still needed to look outside for a few players, the team management has a better vision of the talent at home.
The interview panel that selected Veale consisted of Cam, union chairman Andrew Ritchie, board members Stan Semenoff and Jordan Hyland, Blues head coach Leon MacDonald and general manager of rugby Josh Blackie.
Bell said everyone had sufficient input and the decision to appoint Veale was unanimous.
In the end, he said it was a hard decision as a coach like Dewes was hugely capable and the work he did with the Taniwha forwards shone in the way the team played in the recent campaign.
“We’re delighted to have Marty as several provincial unions are looking for head coaches so for us to secure him is testament to the good work we see coming out of our province, right down to the grassroots,” Bell said.
