Tight contest expected for Lion Cup final

Te Rapa and University have made a habit of contesting close encounters in recent times and it seems that tomorrow's final of the Lion Cup should be no different.

The two sides which assured themselves promotion to next year's 10-team premier division meet again in the decider at St Andrews Park.

The Shed Bar University are the defending champions after beating Seafood Bazaar Te Rapa last year, and the teams have a one-point win apiece after meeting twice this season.

But the teams have had a contrasting lead-in to the final.

Te Rapa had a good hitout in beating Taupiri 27-19 in their semifinal last weekend, while University beat Southern United by default because their opponents did not have the required number of front rowers.

A friendly game was played out and Southern ended up taking it 42-41, giving University coach Eric Stevens plenty to consider ahead of the final.

"We've had a lot to work on this week defensively," Stevens said.

While he felt there were mainly negatives to come out of the friendly, he was encouraged by his team's attacking endeavours.

There were also four players coming back into the side after injury and Stevens believed his team would have the better of things up front.

"We've done a lot of work with them technically and they've really responded well," he said of his large forward pack.

Prop Jerry Pomare is one who will lead the way. "He's a big boy with a huge workrate so we'll be looking forward to him contributing quite a bit," Stevens said.

Locks Kelly Anderson and Whetu Douglas are also key players and the midfield combination of Joseph Murray and Arnold Meredith is also crucial to University's chances.

Stevens acknowledged the teams were "pretty even" and was looking for his side to do the simple things well. "They've got a young talented backline and their forwards are pretty consistent," he said of Te Rapa.

"We've just got to work hard to shut them down across the park really. Their 8, 9, 10 combination is quite an important one. We need to keep them pressured.

"[Halfback David] Bason, you give him half an inch and he'll take 20 metres, he's very good."

And it was Bason who was the instrumental figure for Te Rapa in their semifinal, with coach Garry Crossman describing him as "absolutely outstanding".

"Davey Bason had one of the best games at halfback I've seen in club rugby since I've been in the Waikato.

"His cover defence is outstanding and he's just really hitting his straps at the right time of the year. We're very fortunate to have him going into the final."

He scored a brilliant try from halfway at a crucial stage and along with him, first five-eighth Nathan George and fullback Jordan Cameron went well, while skipper Marc Morunga again led by example at lock in a contest which Te Rapa had to battle until the last 20 minutes to seal.

"And that actually did us a lot of favours. We wanted a good hard hit out, we got that and came through unscathed injury wise," Crossman said.

Wanting revenge for last year wasn't a priority although Crossman said they certainly hadn't forgotten last season's loss.

He knew his side were hard to beat on their home track and but said they respected University and had to match their forwards as they had the stamina to finish strongly.

Crossman knew his side needed to be on their game from the start and not allow University to get into any rhythm.

"Finals rugby's way different, with every minute that goes by, [you have to treat it like] that's the last minute of the game and you've got to make sure that you don't make mistakes, that you're accurate, you're patient – you don't try and win the game from minute one. And hopefully we'll make less mistakes than them and I think that will determine the game. And if we can do that and take our opportunities when they come then I have no doubt that we can win.

"I'm confident that the boys will reverse the result of last year but in saying that it's finals footy and it's just about how we handle that occasion I suppose."

- © Fairfax NZ News