Rugby boss Tony Lewis predicts more success for Tasman
Tasman Rugby Union CEO Tony Lewis is hoping for even better times ahead.
The Tasman Rugby Union's once shaky foundations are now on much firmer ground and current boss Tony Lewis is anticipating even more prosperity ahead.
Lewis inherited a revitalised union from former chief executive Andrew Flexman in October 2013, the financial troubles of the past having been addressed through stringent fiscal management and the Tasman Makos having also left their mark on the national provincial scene.
Within four days of Lewis taking over his new position, the Tasman Makos were crowned national provincial champions after their championship win over Hawke's Bay at Trafalgar Park. Last year, Tasman narrowly missed the opportunity to claim both the championship and premiership titles in consecutive seasons when they lost to Taranaki in the grand final.
So it's been a heady ride for the former South Canterbury rugby and cricket boss, Lewis having also previously managed the contracted players for New South Wales Cricket and Cricket Australia for six years.
"When I heard about the [amalgamation] concept back in 2005, I thought, `what a great idea, how good this is going to work'. I thought that everything would have been smooth sailing because the passion for rugby on both sides meant there'd be a desire for it to happen," Lewis said.
"I think what I found, as with any arranged marriage, is you've got to get to know the person. And I think here, a number of things were done in haste and the marriage sort of had [to get] a bit of momentum before they fell in love with each other.
"Like any marriage, if you communicate well, then nine times out of 10 your problems disappear. In the past 18 months, we've got the parties to talk more than they've ever talked before and like any arranged marriage, if you have any sort of success, you start falling love."
People are still passionate about supporting and representing the Nelson Bays and Marlborough sub-unions.
"I think the passion's great, because [people] feel strongly about their region and if the passion's channelled in the right direction, it enables the Makos to grow."
But Lewis isn't concerned about any lingering entrenched regional parochialism sidelining Tasman's future development.
"To be honest, in my time here in the last 23 months, I haven't met any person from Marlborough or Nelson telling me they want to go back and play Heartland rugby. What I have met is people with passion wanting to make sure we do it right and making sure there's no band aid solutions - that it's here for the long term."
Lewis said that from a strengthened union framework, the team's on-field success had become the catalyst for young players to aspire to become Makos. Community rugby was also strong.
"We've got both sides of the divide wanting to play in the Tasman Trophy [combined club competition]. We're in the schools and we're making a significant difference. At the moment we've got six RDOs [rugby development officers] out working the schools and when I first started we had two.
"We've got everyone on the same page - everyone wants a strong club competition and they want what's best for rugby in the region. From the community rugby space, the board's charter is community rugby number one, get your base right and everything should flow from there."
Another key part of the succession plan has been ear-marking young talent that will hopefully become fully-fledged Makos with a number of rookies having been involved in this year's pre-season programme. It's all about building a stronger player base.
"When I took over, [head coach] Kieran [Keane] said he had 15 good players and last year we wanted to increase the strength off the bench, and I think we did. I think we've gone a step further this year. The idea is, we've created something special that people want to be a part of and I think that's quite exciting.
"Kids want to be Makos, they want to get that jumper on, so the generation change that I see from a whole community perspective is that they want to be Makos players."
Also central to the union's improved health, said Lewis, was it's strong front office.
"The current batch of staff that the Tasman Rugby Union has at the moment is first class. There wouldn't be another rugby union on the country that would have the quality we've got across the board," he said.
"No-one just does their job, they do 1.5 jobs. We've got great staff in Nelson, fantastic staff in Blenheim and a board that's really focused on the community game and giving the staff the resources to grow that."
So what of the future?
"I suppose in a perfect world, what I'd love to see is that we've got sustainable age-group and club rugby competitions that runs off the back of what is already an extremely successful JAB [Junior Advisory Board]."
At the top representative level, Lewis doesn't see any reason why Tasman players shouldn't be pushing for All Blacks honours. To date, eight All Blacks have worn the Tasman jersey. Lewis wants to see more. Tasman's links with the Crusaders must also remain strong.
"I'd like to ensure that we've got more All Blacks, we are dominant in that Crusaders' space and the relationship with the Crusaders is absolutely bearing fruit. I think what we've done in the last couple of years, we've given the Crusaders the impetus to embrace Tasman now."
