History beckons in the NPC Final
- 1156
History will be on the line for either team in the NPC final this weekend.
Wellington will host Bay of Plenty at Sky Stadium on Saturday afternoon (2.30pm kickoff local). The Bay of Plenty Steamers will be making their maiden appearance in a top-flight decider, and while the Wellington Lions will be chasing a first-ever title win on home soil.
To top it all off, this will be re-match of the golden-point thriller staged at the same venue four weeks earlier.
The fixture saw the Lions score a stunning try to prevail 30-25 which ultimately proved to be crucial in the finishing order that saw Wellington finish first and the Steamers fourth, the top-four only separated by just two points − and earning hosting rights in the playoffs.
However, Wellington broke 21-year drought when claiming their last championship in 2022 and will look to overturn a history of unfortunate home finals, having been tipped over all four previous times they have hosted the big dance.
The losing streak dates back all the way to 2003 when they were beaten by Auckland. The following year they suffered the same fate against Canterbury, with the red and blacks again proving party poopers in the capital in 2008 and 2013, the latter marking the first edition of a Scott Robertson breakdancing celebration.
Sky Stadium has become some sort of fortress for the Lions in recent times having remained unbeaten at the venue for four years, and 20 games, against teams not by the name of Hawke’s Bay (three losses), after holding their nerve to see off a spirited Waikato 29-24 in their semifinal on Saturday night.
Having dominated for much of the first half, the hosts were made to come from behind, but they did it well, on the back of a superb captain’s knock from Du'Plessis Kirifi, who, in just his second game back after six weeks out with a fractured cheekbone, was at his menacing best at the breakdown in the second stanza.
“Dups, the way he plays, he wears his heart on his sleeve,” first-year coach Alando Soakai, himself a former loosie, told The Post the day after the semifinal victory.
“And he’s someone that we’ve missed the last few weeks, just around his leadership, around his presence.
“I feel he’s probably one of the best in the country over the ball, and he showed that last night. He had some really big moments.
“He’s a player where you’ve just got to let him go and do his thing. He’s a caged animal.”
Wellington will retain the services of their skipper this weekend, with the All Blacks XV squad reps involved in the final being allowed to jet out a day later than their national team-mates, the Lions still have question marks over the fitness of three experienced backline men.
Matt Proctor was replaced at halftime against the Mooloos with a shoulder injury that Soakai said was still getting checked out, while the coach was hopeful of getting both Jackson Garden-Bachop (hamstring) and Peter Umaga-Jensen (concussion) back after being sidelined for the semi.
Bay of Plenty, meanwhile, will go into the final with no fresh injury concerns out of their impressive 32-20 semifinal win over Canterbury at the Tauranga Domain on Saturday.
In what was a first-ever home semifinal for the Bay, they gave their packed crowd of around 5000 plenty to cheer about as they notched a maiden semifinal win in what was their fourth attempt, a slice of revenge going with it, having twice previously gone down to the Cantabs at that stage.
The hosts came to life in the second half to score some trademark eye-catching tries, in a revival coach Richard Watt revealed was down to “a decent rev-up” at halftime from captain Kurt Eklund.
