Wellington Lions hoping to cap year with rare title victory

Above: Vaea Fifita, playing in his first ITM Cup final tomorrow night, against the Hawke's Bay Magpies.

Outgoing lock Jeremy Thrush and fullback Cory Jane are the last two current Lions players to have held a trophy aloft for Wellington.

The pair are survivors of the Lions side that lifted the Ranfurly Shield off Auckland in 2008. It’s coming up on a generation since the Lions last tasted success in the NPC, beating Canterbury to win the Division 1 title in 2000 in the year that Westpac Stadium opened its doors. Prior to that it was 1986.

After winning three in eight seasons between 1978 and 1986, capturing titles has become as rare as hen’s teeth, or in the case of tomorrow night’s final, Magpies ones.

Granted, it’s not the top tier final that Wellington and Hawke’s Bay are playing for, but bringing home the Hardham Cup of the NPC will nevertheless be great reward for the Lions.

There’s also the little matter of promotion to the Premiership division, the Jubilee Cup of the NPC, for 2016. The winner of Friday’s final will take Manawatu’s place in next year’s Premiership division.

The Magpies will rely on the support of a heaving, parochial crowd in Napier for the final. So far this year, the they have won five and lost one (to Waikato, and the Ranfurly Shield) at home.

However, the Lions have won all five of their matches on the road this year and given the desolate nature of Westpac Stadium this season, some atmosphere should spur the visitors on some more.

The Lions and Hawke’s Bay have had similar seasons - so much so they drew 22-22 when they met in in Wellington at the end of September.

The two teams didn’t just mirror each other on the scoreboard in their eighth round clash at Westpac Stadium; they shaded each other in almost all departments. Friday’s final looks set to be played out in a similar vein and the team that seizes its opportunities will prevail.

In 11 matches so far, including the semi-finals, the Lions have scored 338 points and 47 tries and the Magpies have scored 335 points and 43 tries. The Magpies and the Lions are first and second respectively in the competition statistics with most clean breaks made with 153 and 132, while the Lions have made the most ball carries with 1497, against the Magpies’ 1348.They both feature in the top three when it comes to metres gained, with Auckland leading the way on 6,128, followed by Wellington (6,026) and Hawke’s Bay (5,937).

If its defence that wins the final, the Lions could have the edge. With the best defence in the competition, they’ve let in 192 points and just 21 tries, while the Magpies have conceded the fourth fewest points with 245, letting in 31 tries.

They had contrasting semi-final wins last weekend. The Lions were clinical in their 34-14 win over Otago, scoring a pair of tries in each half, but the Magpies were pushed hard by fourth placed qualifier Bay of Plenty. Hawke’s Bay eventually won 33-26, but had to come back from a halftime deficit and won by scoring fewer tries than the Steamers.

Both sides will arrive at the final stacked with game-breakers and potential match winners, with lineouts, breakdowns and goal-kicking all likely to be decisive areas.

The Lions enter the final second only to Tasman in the percentage of their own lineouts that they have won at 90.23%. The Magpies are the ninth best of the 14 teams at 80.34%.

The Lions have stolen 33 opposition lineouts, by far the most of any team, with the next best being Canterbury who have pilfered 24 opposite teams’ lineouts. In 11 games, the Lions have won 213 turnovers and lost 212 and the Magpies have won 194 turnovers and lost 220.

Magpies first five-eighth Ihaia West has kicked 43 from his 58 attempts at goal (74%). The Lions kicking duties have been shared by Jonny Bentley, Jason Woodward and Jackson Garden-Bachop, who combined have landed 45 of 67 attempts (67%).  

Should they play, key players for the Lions include props Reggie Goodes and Jeff Toomaga-Allen, lock Jeremy Thrush, loose forwards Vaea Fifita and Ardie Savea, and outside backs Matt Proctor and Cory Jane.

Props Goodes and Toomaga-Allen will bookend a Lions set-piece that roared in the semi-final win over Otago, with Toomaga-Allen likely to oppose former Wellington player and Magpies loosehead prop, Tolu Fahamokioa, in the scrums.

After playing his last ever home match for the Lions at Westpac Stadium on Saturday, Thrush will play his 88th and final game for the Lions in this match.

Savea’s high workrate and x-factor play, and Fifita’s imperious work in the lineouts and dynamic work in general play, were both strong against Otago. Both could be big players in the final, while Proctor and Jane will provide the backs with solidity.

This group of players will lead a hungry Lions side, eager to bring home their first trophy since winning the Ranfurly Shield in 2008.

On the Hawke’s Bay side of the advantage line, lock Mark Abbott, openside flanker Brendon O’Connor and halfback-first five-eighth combination Chris Eaton and Ihaia West are four players that could influence the final.

Abbott's high work rate, both in his ball carries and tackling is invaluable for his side. Whilst the Magpies might have conceded several breakdown turnovers against the Steamers last week, O’Connor is one of the best ball-winning loose forwards in the competition.

The Magpies’ lineout drive is one of their go-to scoring plays, with both Abbott and O’Connor key cogs in this part of their game.

Former Hurricane Eaton played his 100th match earlier in the year, while outside half West steered the Magpies to their tight victory over the Steamers, scoring a second half ty and finishing with 23 of their 33 points.

This will be the first time Wellington and Hawke’s Bay have met in an NPC final, since the playoff series was introduced in 1992.

Including previous Division 1 finals, the Lions are contesting their 10th final, having won one of their previous nine finals in 2000. Most recently, they were beaten Premiership finalists in 2013.
The Magpies are also playing in their 10th final, having won five of nine so far. In the ITM Cup era, this will be their fourth Championship final, having previously won in 2011, and lost in 2013 and 2015.

In NPC/ITM Cup era rugby, the two teams have previously met 21 times, with Wellington winning 14, Hawke’s Bay six, and one drawn match four weeks ago.