Makos v North Harbour Preview [Nelson Mail]

Makos' whipping by Harbour not forgotten

RUGBY WAYNE MARTIN
Like the rest of his Tasman Makos team-mates, Tim Perry doesn't need reminding about last season's North Harbour encounter.

With Tasman merely needing a victory over the previously winless cellar-dwellers to secure a home ITM Cup championship semifinal, North Harbour instead embarrassed Tasman with a shock 42-10 win at Trafalgar Park.

Tasman's supporters might see some similarity in both teams' respective situations heading into tomorrow night's rematch at Albany's North Harbour Stadium, with Tasman currently sitting atop the championship standings on 14 points after four games and North Harbour again languishing at the bottom on 5 points after five games.

But Perry clearly recalls last year's humiliation and insists Tasman won't be caught napping again.

"I think we might have just gone out there and taken it a bit too lightly," said Perry. "By the time we tried to turn the game [around] it was a wee bit too late. We're definitely not going to take that approach again this year.

"No-one's going to get complacent and take them too lightly. They're capable of playing good footy, so we're just taking it as another game. We're just preparing the same [as for every other game] and hopefully we can get a result."

The 25-year-old 118kg loosehead prop has been an integral part of a conspicuously effective Tasman scrum so far this season and said there was no deep secret to Tasman's set phase efficiency. With fellow front-rowers Quentin MacDonald and Sila Puafisi providing the stability and locks Alex Ainley and Joe Wheeler the horsepower, everyone knew their roles.

"It's good having familiar people around you who've been there before," he said.

"I think everyone's just buying into the ideas at training and putting it all together. Everyone's keen to work and learn and everything's going good so hopefully we can keep it up."

A former New Zealand secondary schools and under-19 representative, Perry's Super 15 season with the Blues was another important phase of his development.

"I learned a lot up there, lots of technical things and how to deal with different things [opposition] props try on you on the field."

He said there was a "good vibe" within the Tasman squad, with plenty of honest feedback also creating a conducive work environment.

"Everyone's looking at their game . . . and just putting more onus on each other if things aren't right. If you want to do a wee bit more, we just spend that bit more time out on the machine or having live scrums just so everyone's feeling confident and ticking off all the boxes before [entering each game] with a clear head.

"We want to go out there and be confident but not complacent, do all our roles right and it should all fall into place hopefully."

Tasman's coaching staff have the luxury of being able to field virtually the same lineup that thumped Otago 49-16 last Friday. The only change is at No 8 where Tevita Koloamatangi has been forced out with a chest injury, prompting George Stowers' return via last weekend's outing with the Tasman White Pointers.

Tasman head coach Kieran Keane said there'd been no specific mention of last year's debacle. The plan was simply to continue the team's winning momentum and to tick off another box by becoming the first Tasman team to win three consecutive games - something they've remarkably never achieved in their eight-year history.

"No, there hasn't been any mention of last year," said Keane.

"It's a different scenario and I think we've grown a bit as a team since then, so the focus has been entirely on preparing well and being prepared to roll our sleeves up and dig in on this one because there are banana skins everywhere. But we can't worry about that.

"We're ticking off a few achievements this year at this early stage so it would be nice to carry on with that. The boys are in good fettle and there's a bit of bounce in the step."