Rugby: Wellington success based on changes to strategy

By WYNNE GRAY

For both Wellington and Canterbury it was easy to find reasons for the 34-29 victory which sent the first-division rugby crown to the capital for the first time since 1986.

Wellington had uncovered a tight five so they could use their dangerous backs, while Canterbury were running on fumes rather than any gas in the tank.

Beaten skipper Daryl Gibson said many in his team had been going flat-out since January. Some had already played about 35 games this season and that had blunted some of their spark.

"It is not so much the games, but there is all the preparation, build-up and intensity and it becomes a matter of how to manage the mental side of things," he said. "Mentally it has been a very long season."

It was looking that way for Wellington as well with just three rounds of the NPC to go. They had suffered an abysmal loss to North Harbour, when their attempts to play Brumbies-style rugby looked very tatty.

"After that we sat down and nutted it out. It was good we got a hiding then otherwise we would not have been here," midfield back Jason O'Halloran said after the victory in the final.

"The scenario is pretty simple. Everybody tries to look for reasons why Wellington have not performed so well over the years.

"You win games from numbers one to five, and we have not had a tight five in the past.

"Now we have one it has made room for those guys out wide and we have been able to play to our strengths and create opportunities for them to shine."

In the first half of the series, the Wellington forwards were scoring tries, but in the important final stages, it was the backs.

After the Harbour debacle, the forwards had been told to operate in a much more traditional manner, to hit rucks and mauls instead of playing mix and mingle with the backs.

After a rollicking semifinal win against Auckland, Wellington were confident they could deal to Canterbury as well.

It was a matter of how many gears Canterbury had left after their hectic season.

"They are a magnificent side to come back into the game from where they were," said O'Halloran.

When he left the field with a quarter of the game left, Wellington led 34-15.

"I thought the game was in the bag, then they hit back and I thought, 'oh Jesus.'

"But in the end it was a great way to send Alama [Ieremia] off.

"We gutsed it out and that said it all for the good times and bad times we have had in this team."