Norths an even chance to recapture Jubilee Cup in 2012

Since capturing their first in 2004, Northern United win the Jubilee Cup every second year. So will the trend continue in 2012??

With a new coaching team in Ross Bond and Okesene Moananu and for the most part the same players as last season, the 2004, 2006, 2008 (shared with MSP) and 2010 Jubilee Cup champions and current three-time defending Swindale Shield champions looked sharp and hungry in their first hit-out of the year recently.

The respective Norths and Ories Senior 1 and Premier squads - albeit both understrength with several key players from both clubs absent - met in two pre-season matches at Rongotai College on Saturday.

Although played very much in practice and trial mode, there was still the heat that you'd expect between the two best clubs of 2011. Nor did it escape the couple of hundred onlookers in the late summer sunshine that the last time these two sides met in anger was in the Jubilee Cup final at the Petone Recreation Ground last August.

On that occasion Ories ran out 40-18 winners, winning their first standalone Wellington club championship title for over a century and handing Norths a comprehensive loss. One Norths are eager to quickly bounce back from said Ross Bond afterwards.

"We've got lots of numbers, lots of depth in some positions and a real excitement within the club as we prepare for the new season," said Bond.

"It's the start of a new era and what we are seeing at the start of the new season is a number of guys, who for a number of reasons have not had the opportunity to play at Premier level yet, putting their hand up for their chance."

Bond said that coming to training on Tuesday and Thursday nights without the Jubilee Cup sitting in the trophy cabinet inside will be good for motivation.

"They haven't? talked a lot about the Jubilee Cup defeat, but it's something that is definitely an underlying current within the squad, and amongst the experienced boys who have been involved for some time.

"Coming into a new season and not being the number one ranked side is something that a lot of them haven't been in before. But for mindset that's fantastic because you can only go one way when you're first and they found that out last year and now they're fighting their way back," he added.

Much like last August's Jubilee Cup, the start of Norths' 2012 campaign was hit by a weather bomb, their first run of the season a fortnight ago cancelled due to the recent weekend of atrocious weather. Following that first up aborted attempt to play some rugby, they went into camp last weekend.

"We had an internal camp at Porirua Park, with about 60 attending on the Saturday and about 45-50 on the Sunday. We brought in Chris Boyd, Alan Muir and Jonno Phillips for some specialised coaching."

"I think what we saw in our first hit-out against Ories was the patterns that we attempted to put into place are starting to come through - the skeleton's there and that's a good start."

In terms of playing personnel, Norths look to have a settled Premier line-up this year with many familiar names set to be on the starting line at the start of the season proper.

Asked to nominate anyone new to look out for, Bond offered the name of Kose Tuimavavae. "He's a big left wing-fullback who has landed at the club. He's got Samoan Sevens and Samoan A experience so he could do some damage this year."

"There's also some other guys who have been at other clubs who have come back, like halfback Mike Teofilo and No. 8 Milo Mekaio [both Tawa]. August Collins also joins us from Petone and Leon Ellison is also here for the first few rounds of the Swindale Shield."

Promisinig prop Eric Sione is also up at IRANZ in Palmerston North this week, hoping to make the New Zealand U20 team for their World Cup in June.

Bond, who coached the opposition Poneke to a Tamati Ellison-inspired 18-20 defeat to Norths in the 2004 Jubilee Cup final, which was also the Porirua club's first title, returns to the Wellington premier ranks for the first time in eight years.

Following that, he spent four years guiding the Horowhenua Kapiti Heartland NPC team, and most recently has swapped his coaching manual for the microphone as a regular Newstalk ZB and Radio Network commentator.

He explained that the Norths opportunity came about more by circumstance than design.

"I thought my time coaching in Wellington club rugby was up when I finished with Poneke in 2004. I always stuck my name in the hat in New Zealand and overseas for coaching roles, and the feedback was that you need to be still involved. I'd been out of it for two years, so the Norths opportunity came up.

"It appealed because Poneke and Norths have always had a close working relationship ?and many players over the years have played for both clubs, as have several coaches.

"Also, whilst at Horowhenua-Kapiti I used Norths as my base for my loan players and a huge number of them have worked with me over the last few years ,so it wasn't like I was walking into an environment that I didn't know anybody."

Having been heavily involved in and around Wellington club rugby for a number of years, Bond had positive words to say about the competition.

"I don't think the competition will ever be the level it was previously, because of the professional era. When 20 of Wellington's best players are playing in the Hurricanes you don't see them.

"But to transverse that, it gives the opportunity for a whole lot of young guys to step up and play Premier rugby, which is exciting for them and for the competition."

Norths play Upper Hutt this coming Saturday, followed by Marist St. Pat's. They play Upper Hutt again in week one of the Swindale Shield proper.