News

Wellington to avoid complaceny

Thursday 21st August 2008

On a high: The Lions are unbeaten after three rounds of the Air NZ Cup

The mood in the Wellington camp must be jubilant following their undefeated run in the Air New Zealand Cup, but coach Jamie Joseph is determined not to get too carried away.

Wellington chalked up a 64-7 win last Friday over Counties Manukau, who had beaten defending champions Auckland in the first round.

The nine-try demolition almost matched Wellington's record-winning margin in the competition of 68-7 scored against Otago last year.

Wellington now head to Invercargill on Friday to take on Southland.

Despite the Lions' impressive start in the competition, Joseph was quick to play down any suggestion that his side held the favourite tag heading into the match.

"They're a good side, and at this stage we're just taking it one match at a time," he said.

"I'm pleased with how we've been playing, but it's a long season so we're not getting carried away just yet."

Joseph says a new team culture where hard work in training is rewarded with playing time is behind the team's current Air New Zealand Cup success and consistency.

That Wellington proudly sit atop the standings with maximum points after three rounds proved the value of the approach, he believes.

Joseph, a former Otago stalwart and in his first year coaching Wellington, said he had inherited a history of Wellington making semi-finals or finals but not winning anything.

"The mistake in the past was expecting the talent of the team to get us through and clearly that is not enough to win the Air NZ Cup," said Joseph.

After losing last year's Cup final 14-23 to Auckland, Joseph said the team decided they would adopt new measures this season such as working harder and giving the young talent in the squad a realistic chance of making the playing XV.

"That is part of the approach I have taken as the coach and the players have bought into that," Joseph said.

As an example of giving new players their opportunities, Joseph plucked fly-half Fa'atonu Fili out of club rugby after Wellington lost New Zealand U20 star Daniel Kirkpatrick to injury.

Fili delivered an assured performance and kicked a penalty and eight conversions against Counties-Manukau.

"It was a bit of a punt and it paid off," Joseph said.

"We had a lot of youthful energy mixed in with the experienced players and that's probably what has taken us to a new level."

Six points separate the top six after three rounds, and Joseph said he was not surprised by the closeness of the competition.

He believed it hammered home the point every team had to get their mental preparation spot on or risk being knocked over.