Post-match interviews: Aussie McLean and John Plumtree

1.00pm

Radio Sport's Ross Bond spoke to Canterbury coach Aussie McLean and his Wellington counterpart John Plumtree after the NPC Final last night.

RB: Aussie, congratulations on an outstanding performance tonight.

AMc: Thanks, Bondy. We're pretty pleased about the way they went that's for sure.

RB: Talk about defence, it was really after you got the ball off the ground and managed to get that momentum.

AMc: They have really played well this last five weeks our boys. They have just gradually gathered momentum. Wellington have played well all year and I think they still played pretty well tonight and, yeah, I'm pretty proud of our guys.

RB: What was the main thing you tried to stop Wellington doing tonight?

AMc: We knew they obviously had a few guys who were really game breakers and we heard a lot about their forward pack and not too much was said about our forward pack. Our guys had a point to prove.

RB: Richie McCaw was outstanding.

AMc: Superman.

RB: Enjoy it, you deserve it.

* * *

RB: John, obviously disappointment, but you have to be proud of your boys, it's been a really good season for the Lions.

JP: Everyone's stood up and it has been a good season. I am really proud of them. This is the second home final, this side keeps on going. You've got to hand it to the Canterbury side tonight. We have not been hit like that defensively this year.

RB: That was the key today, they put you behind the advantage line, you never really got going forward.

JP: We showed signs where we broke them up the middle a few times. We didn't take advantage. They put pressure on our scrum, pressure on our lineout. It was just that experience thing, that was the key tonight.

- Radio Sport

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