Nothing risky about the Makos [Nelson Mail]
The Tasman Makos are nearing the end of another ground-breaking season. Wayne Martin speaks to head coach Kieran Keane about the team's on-going success.
Don't call them high risk.
That's not what they're about, according to Tasman Makos head coach Kieran Keane.
He's happy to adopt the entertainers tag - in fact he enjoys the notion that people are switching on to one of the ITM Cup's most watchable rugby teams.
But while they're geared to attack, the Makos' entertainment value is the product of planning and consensus and not individuals indulging their fanciful pursuits.
"We're not high-risk; that's a perception from other people," says Keane on the eve of their premiership semifinal showdown with Canterbury.
"We try to lift the pace of the game but taking high risks has never been part of the plan or the thinking. It might look that way, but in actual fact, we're trying to get rid of that aspect.
"It's a result of our nuts and bolts and our cogs working well. It's nice to be able to entertain and it's nice [that people] like what they see, but the fundamentals are the same.
"When you watch Canterbury play well, you'll see their fundamentals going well. When you watch Otago play well, it's the same deal. The fundamentals are the fabric that you build your success around."
After winning last season's championship title, there's no question that Tasman remain one of New Zealand provincial rugby's most marketable teams.
Their ‘Fins Up' catch-cry is becoming recognised across the country. Win or lose tomorrow, Tasman can still lay claim to another ground-breaking season.
This is Keane's fifth year at the helm, in tandem with Leon MacDonald, and he's not the least bit surprised that last year's success has carried over into this season
The bulk of last year's title-winning squad are back and with their winning blueprint already well established and succession in place, there's been little room for ambiguity.
"I don't call it continuity, I call it stability," Keane says.
"I think stability's been a really important factor, both in terms of the coaching and the playing personnel where the relationships have been built up over the years.
"The fact that we know one another so intimately well and we've worked pretty happily together - it's that stability that breeds success in my eyes. We've been able to retain the people that we've wanted to and haven't had to convert somebody from somewhere else."
"We've never been satisfied about resting on our laurels or bathing in reflected glory. We've kept moving and we've tried to improve at every stage.Keane says that in terms of nurturing a positive team culture, everyone's striving for improvement.
"We have an aspirational culture. We aspire to be better and we always have.
"We've been the small fry with the small budget and the small player pool, the small this and the small that, but we've thought big and we think big and we aspire to be better - and I think that's been stimulating for everybody."
He also calls it a GC culture - "good chaps, good citizens" - with no hint of disruptive influences within the squad.
The players' on-field confidence and self-belief is an obvious by-product, not only of their continued success, but also of all the components blending together. It's an all-inclusive operation involving ever facet of the organisation from the front office to the team management and the players.
"Success breeds success, so after last year's success it was a matter of making sure that we continued to succeed and how we did that is down to a host of things.
"So I'm not surprised [by the team's success] and I'm actually delighted it's carried on because it means that what's happening in the organisation is good and positive. It's a reflection really of what's [happening] behind the scenes."
Critical to maintaining the team's approach has been the "outstanding" work of strength and conditioning coach Glenn Stewart, with whom the coaching staff are in constant contact.
However, Keane reserves some of his most heartfelt praise for assistant coach MacDonald who joined forces with Keane in 2010. Happy to remain in the background, MacDonald has been a vital part of the Makos' makeup.
"The relationship between the two of us is almost symbiotic," Keane says.
"We're both on the same page, we both challenge each other with ideas. It's a marriage made in heaven and it works for both of us. He is an outstanding young man and an outstanding coach.
"We've never had an argument and I wouldn't be the easiest bloke to live with, so it's been remarkable relationship really.
"We challenge and we question but we listen and we share and everything we do, we agree on."
Keane also describes the team environment as an "open shop" where players are encouraged to air their grievances.
"Conflict's never a bad thing in our eyes and if there's conflict, it's addressed; it's never pushed away. It's healthy and it's inclusive and everybody has a right to say what they want to say.
"Learning is stimulating and we want people to be stimulated," he said.
Whatever happens tomorrow, Keane's convinced that the Tasman Rugby Union is heading in the right direction - six years after they were threatened with expulsion from the national provincial competition as the New Zealand Rugby Union seriously questioned their financial viability.
"It's been rewarding to see and at times it's quite emotional to see people excel. It's been a bit of journey really and it seems to be getting better," Keane says.
"We have our ups and downs and we have our moments, like everybody, but it's been a very pleasant and rewarding journey."
Just don't call them high risk.
- Nelson Mail
