Turn pressure into points
Otago has shown its ability to hold possession and hammer away at defences all season. Its ability to be clinical with that and take its opportunities has not always been so prevalent. Last week’s semifinal against Manawatu was the first time it has genuinely executed in these situations. In a final, and against a quality Taranaki team, Otago has to find ways to make its good play count on the scoreboard.
Win the battle up front
Otago’s forwards were superb last week. They tackled ferociously and carried well to provide go-forward. But most telling was a dominant scrum, in which the front row of Jermaine Ainsley, Liam Coltman and Josh Hohneck led the way to provide a winning platform. That will be tougher this week. Taranaki has one of the best, if not the best, forward packs in the NPC. It is the oldest cliche in rugby that the game is won up front, but it remains as true as ever.
Make tackles
Pretty basic, this one. It was what has cost Otago in its losses this year, though. Included in that was a 30-23 loss to Taranaki under the roof. On that night, Otago did not do a lot wrong defensively, but a handful of soft one-off missed tackles proved its undoing. It takes only three or four misses for a team like Taranaki, which has a lethal back three, to rack up 20 points that could have been avoided. Otago has been much better in this regard lately, but doing it against a potent attack will be the real test.
Handle the occasion
Otago has historically not done well in finals. Of the nine it has played, its 1998 triumph was its only win. Certainly it has been underdog in the majority of those finals, as it is against an unbeaten team this time around. It will have to find a way to reverse that historical trend — surely that is due, as well — to emerge a champion.
Unleash the threats
There is plenty of attacking power in this Otago backline. While that was not always evident early on, in recent weeks we have seen it in full flight. When Josh Ioane is taking the ball to the line and the likes of Freedom Vahaakolo and Vilimoni Koroi get the ball in space, few can contain them.
• This will actually be Otago’s 10th NPC final. In yesterday’s story, we omitted the 2010 Championship final. It is not a memory to cherish, to be fair - Otago got thumped 41-16 by Counties-Manukau.
