Wellington Lions excited for the NPC season ahead

Wellington Lions Head Coach Chris Gibbes chatted with Radio Sport’s Matt Buck on air on Saturday morning, ahead of the Lions squad naming this Tuesday and their National Provincial Championship season opener this coming Sunday.

Gibbes said the squad is looking forward to getting stuck in to this year’s NPC.

“As a group we are really keen to continue the momentum that we created last year and the boys have been working hard in our trainings and in club rugby, so now it is time for us to bring it all together,” Gibbes told Buck.

Gibbes spent much of the first part of this year following Premier Club rugby closely and is positive about where it is at.

“I think if you just looked at finals day as a gauge where Wellington rugby is at I thought that was a fantastic event. But also there was some pretty good rugby played. Right across the board there has been challenges for the clubs and for the respective teams. But I think overall it is not too bad.”

“There are some really good coaches at club level and they are doing some really good things, so the players that come up have to step up in intensity and speed of our trainings and games but as a whole the skillset is good.”

The Wellington Lions kick-off their NPC campaign this coming Sunday at Westpac Stadium against Otago, with the Mike Gibson Memorial Trophy also at stake.

Wellington has had two pre-season matches, against Auckland and Tasman. How has the pre-season been?

“It has been mixed. We had Canterbury pencilled in for a pre-season game to play on Wednesday and unfortunately they had to pull out. Luckily Alama [Ieremia] and the boys came to the rescue and we played Auckland last Friday, but it was the day before the club final so it was a challenge for everyone involved.”

The Aucklanders won that first game at Evans Bay Park 50-33.

“We gauged a lot out of that, we learnt a lot about the players, we were able to blood some new guys just to see how they would cope with the step up.”

A different group of players faced Tasman in Blenheim last Thursday.

“That group came together with only a day and a half training, against a tough outfit. From a performance perspective we were happy with how we went.”

The Wellington XV won this game 22-19.

The Lions cast aside some difficult recent seasons to win the Championship last season. Wellington beat Bay of Plenty 59-45 in a thrill-a-minute final to earn promotion to the Premiership.

The Wellington Lions 2018 is officially named on Tuesday morning at a breakfast function.

“We are pretty happy with the group that we have got as a whole,” said Gibbes. “There is going to be a couple of disappointed players that aren’t going to make it because they have worked hard in the pre-season.”

What about some of the individual players?

“Losing guys like Brad Shields [England] and Regan Verney [Northland], who was big for us last year, is a loss. But we get Vaea Fifita and JeffToomaga-Allen back into the group and at some point Dane Coles will play for us as well.”

What about Asafo Aumua and Alex Fidow?

“Asafo has worked really hard to come back from a sustained wrist injury and he shouldn’t be too far – it is either going to be this week or next week. He is working really hard at the moment.

“Alex, on the other hand, had a really unusual and unique foot injury, and it is a little bit of the unknown and it is a week-to-week thing and he is a guy that is working really hard to get back as soon as he can.”

The return of Thomas Waldrom is hugely positive.

“The game is getting younger at our level. That is why it is important to get someone like Thomas Waldrom back into the group as he provides so much experience for our young guys. You lose a guy like Brad and you bring a guy like Thomas back and if we can continue that cycle the young guys will learn from the seasoned pros around them.”

Following their season opener next Sunday, the Lions play Canterbury away for the Harry Saundercock Memorial Trophy, then round out August by hosting the Southland Stags in a Friday night game.

Following that is a trip to Waikato where Lions coach Chris Gibbes will be up against brother Jono in the coaching box. “Jono and I have clashed overseas a few times, when I was with Ospreys and he was with Leinster and Clermont. We love the rivalry and look forward to the challenge.”

Establishing early momentum is important. “The first two weeks are going to present big challenges. Otago and Canterbury are slick outfits, so we have got to get points out of those two games. We have also got to make sure we get points in home games, so when Southland comes up here we have got to make sure we do a job there.”

“I think we have got the squad, the talent in the group and if we can get our game going and improve on the areas that we need to, which is around our set-piece and conceding too many unforced turnovers, we are going to be competitive.”

Wellington Lions versus Otago, Westpac Stadium, Sunday 19 August, 2.05pm kick-off. Listen live on 1503AM