Makos announce ITM Cup lineup [Nelson Mail]
Providing entertainment will remain a key part of the Tasman Makos' ethos, although creating a winning environment will be paramount this season.
Makos head rugby coach Kieran Keane and his fellow selectors Leon MacDonald and Gary Stevens have confirmed their 26-man squad to contest this season's national provincial championship, with Keane insisting that he wants to move beyond the realms of being mere entertainers by developing a consistent winning habit.
The squad includes five new players - former Samoan international No 8 George Stowers, Wanderers prop Siua Halanukonuka, former Leicester Tigers utility back Andy Symons, Kahurangi midfielder Mike Wells - a former New Zealand under-20 triallist - and Waimea Old Boys midfielder Billy Guyton, who has spent the past couple of seasons playing with North Otago in the Heartland competition. Waimea's Kaide Whiting has been named as backup to South African-born Brumbies Super 15 halfback Mark Swanepoel.
Besides Swanepoel, new captain Shane Christie, Quentin MacDonald, Tim Perry, Joe Wheeler and Tom Marshall have Super 15 experience, and Bryce Heem was a member of the New Zealand sevens team that recently won the World Cup in Russia.
So there's a useful blend of experience and some fresh talent, which Keane is confident can be moulded into a squad genuinely capable of contending for this season's championship title.
"It's very much in line with last year's philosophy, and we just want to put some more polish on it," Keane said. "I don't intend to reinvent the wheel.
"Most of the processes are pretty much [set] in concrete, so mobility is a key, fitness, skill . . . and while we still want to entertain, we'd like to win as well."
The Tasman Rugby Union is running an apprentice scheme in conjunction with the main squad, meaning Waimea team-mates, Tongan international tighthead prop Sila Puafisi and former Buller representative utility back Marty Banks, are on provincial union development contracts.
"In our thoughts, they are right there, ready to step into the breach if required," Keane said. "Both of them will have the opportunity, I suspect, to make their mark."
Keane said he was pleased with what he believed was "a fairly settled squad" with "some familiar names across the board".
He said it was important to retain continuity with last year's squad, which qualified for the championship semifinals before losing to Otago in Dunedin.
He was also aware of the pressures of attempting to take the side a couple of steps further this year.
"There is a little bit of pressure there because there's expectation. But that's just normal.
"There's always pressure, as we know, but I'm not feeling it unduly. I have a lot of faith in this group of young fellas, and it's how we gel and come together . . . and we haven't got a lot of time to do that, so we have to be efficient in what we're trying to do."
Without the distraction of last season's Highlanders coaching commitments, Keane said he had enjoyed a more relaxed start to the pre-season.
"I'm ahead of where I was last year, so that's a plus in itself.
"Coaches always want a little bit more time, but there's been a lot of planning and a thorough selection process and everything's gone quite smoothly.
"So fingers crossed, [there's] no injuries at this late stage . . . and I'm confident that we'll perform well and be a good team.
"There's a degree of excitement, and there always is . . . but I'm feeling much more comfortable in our own skin about what we're about."
Tasman union chief executive Andrew Flexman expressed confidence in the squad's potential to improve on last year's efforts.
"Kieran Keane, Leon MacDonald and Gary Stevens, together with our strength and conditioning trainers, have done a great job in getting the players mentally and physically primed for what is a very tough competition.
"I know that each and every one of them will wear the Tasman jersey with pride and hopefully go where no other Makos side has gone in our short history", Flexman said.
The squad will assemble next Monday to prepare for pre-season matches against Canterbury in Kaikoura on Wednesday, July 31, and Otago in Nelson on Sunday, August 4.
They'll head to Picton for a four-day camp starting on Tuesday, August 6 ahead of their opening ITM Cup clash, against Southland in Invercargill on Saturday, August 17.
