Rugby: Bring back the glory days

By Wynne Gray

Auckland are looking ahead, but they accept that part of their 1999 NPC contract is to repair the superb rugby dynasty the province has built in the last two decades.

The weight of that record - victory in 11 out of the last 23 national championships - probably rests more heavily on the new coaching duo of Wayne Pivac and Grant Fox than the players.

The last NPC of the century has been overshadowed by the Super 12, Tri-Nations and surge towards the fourth World Cup, but progress in the new millennium and professional careers for some young rugby players will hinge on this NPC.

With the All Black test stars being rested and more teams appearing to be of similar standard, the greatest curiosity is which side will burst out of the top four into the winner's circle in late October.

Those sides with fringe All Blacks must start quickly. They must profit from having those reserve test players and World Cup candidates for the first half of the series. There will be no comfort zone.

Champions Otago are without half a dozen of their best, when they are away from home against a feisty Northland, Canterbury have to host a Taranaki side who want to prove last year's top-four finish was no fluke, Counties Manukau need to get their pack and wonder wings Jonah and Joeli going against Southland, while Ranfurly Shield holders and likely NPC favourites Waikato visit a North Harbour side sniffing an upset.

Auckland face Wellington under lights at Eden Park tonight and after all their recent NPC and Super 12 dramas, a winning start for Auckland is critical. Winning no NPC title since 1996 is hurting.

So too the observation of former coach Maurice Trapp that last year's team had become very unprofessional, then the fallout from Jed Rowlands' brief coaching stint during the Super 12.

"Auckland's reputation needs to be retrieved. We have been the butt of too many jokes in NPC and Super 12 lately and that is unacceptable," Pivac assessed.

"We have definitely been working hard on our culture. That means having players with the right attitude, pride, passion, discipline and respect for each other."

Pivac and his management team spent much of last week outlining a 15-point plan they hope will be the blueprint for success. It involved many individual interviews in a scheme Pivac said the players had accepted readily.

Everything from dress codes to behaviour to rugby skills were discussed.

"We found a lot of the players were doing things because they had to, not because they wanted to," Pivac said. "We want them to think for themselves, to take responsibility but also to use detailed descriptions we all have for team patterns and plans.

"We are well aware we need to get away to a flyer while we have our available All Blacks and that if we play well we may lose some more. It makes it a very big few games for everyone."

Like most teams, Auckland have had a limited build-up but they have been very particular, with Pivac even going through a superstitious move yesterday by changing his car, which used to be driven by the unsuccessful Rowlands, ahead of tonight's Friday the 13th game.

So give Pivac a chance to be Nostradamus, to select a final four and he nominates Auckland, Waikato and Canterbury, with the last place being a real dogfight.