Final fuelled on emotions

By JOHN DRAKE

It's always good to have a bit of emotion floating around a team and Waikato will thrive in the NPC final on the knowledge that some of their key players are heading for new pastures.

They may have played down that factor publicly but the departure of Royce Willis, Bruce Reihana and maybe Deacon Manu and Deon Muir will help fire them for what is shaping as a dramatic final against Auckland.

Auckland are on the rise and many of their players might be too young to be affected by what will be a white-hot atmosphere at Waikato Stadium.

They proved that in the win against Canterbury.

I'm an Aucklander and I'll plump for them to win this, but I don't think anyone could predict the result with any certainty.

There has been a lot of focus on what is perceived to be Waikato's weakness, their defence, but that is over-stated by some.

Waikato attack at every opportunity and some of their long-range efforts have resulted in soft tries to opposing sides, meaning the statistics make their defensive abilities worse than they actually are.

The great news for New Zealand rugby is that events of recent weeks will, hopefully, have re-arranged the thinking of John Mitchell and his fellow selectors.

It is absolute nonsense to dismiss Canterbury's troubles simply as symptoms of tiredness. Don't forget the South African and Australian Super 12 teams are already back in training, and so are the National Rugby League teams. That's the way it is these days.

The tiredness talk has overshadowed other factors. Canterbury might have 40 contracted players but they don't quite have the depth of the past and it showed, whereas Waikato have been able to bring players such as Mark Ranby off the bench.

Canterbury need to manage their playing resources a bit better. They've done it well in the past but they got it wrong this year. Canterbury are not a spent force but they raised the bar and others have caught up.

There should still be a rigorous debate about whether some of their players should be selected in the All Blacks.

It is good for New Zealand's chances of winning the tests against England, Wales and France that players will automatically be left out. The All Blacks will have a better chance of winning if the side are picked on current form.

And one newcomer who must go is Waikato lock Keith Robinson, the guy I believe who has really emerged during this year's competition.

For ages we've been looking for a lock who wins the kickoffs and Robinson is the man - and he also does his job in the lineout along with hurling himself into rucks and mauls. He's the complete deal.

Robinson's discipline has been good and he's a bit of a throwback, a tough uncompromising player and we'll need some of that in the forwards against the English and French.

And another worthy of consideration is the re-born Xavier Rush.

He used to look a bit like a dog chasing a car but is now playing with a lot more nous and using his energy in productive directions.

Rush is a tough character who has played 50 or 60 games on the trot for Auckland. He's a bit of a rarity, a player with old-fashioned values and a real love of playing for Auckland. If it was decided to stop paying the players, he'd still turn up. That's what he is about and we could do with more of that attitude.

Ironically, Auckland's loss to Waikato in Hamilton in the round robin was a turning point. It was a real wake-up call and they made some vital readjustments, including realising that they needed a first five-eighths with a better kicking game than Lee Stensness has.

They went on to beat Otago, Wellington and Canterbury and I think they've got enough to finish the job in Hamilton tomorrow night.