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MacLeod was after “actions and intent” from his players and said he saw plenty of that. He said they let themselves down in areas such as the lineout and exiting from their own half, but that was a lot to do with the limited preparation time for many of the players. MacLeod got to have a look at various players who had not played a lot at a level above club rugby, and he said those players would have learned a lot from that outing. He said some players were waiting for players to come to them in defence, while those more accustomed to the next level were getting up quickly and “smacking” opposition players in defence.
When the final whistle blew at Eden Park last month sealing Tasman s tense 13-12 victory over Auckland in the premiership final, Christie was part of the pandemonium in the Tasman coaches box, bear-hugging co-head coaches Clark Dermody and Andrew Goodman in unrestrained joy. “The boys were courageous and stuck to the gameplan relentlessly – that’s what made it such a proud moment,” he said. “It was definitely the biggest buzz I’ve had as a coach or player – on the back of a really hard fought season we had to learn from our mistakes and our losses and grew so much as a team – part of me wishes we were only halfway through the season because we were starting to hit our straps.”