Rugby: Wellington pack hoping to ambush Cantabs

A Wellington pack that has bonded well since a mid-season revamp could be the ambush factor in tonight's rugby final against Canterbury, says sidelined Lions lock Jeremy Thrush.

When they met in the fifth round, Canterbury romped home with the Ranfurly Shield by thumping an out-of-sorts Wellington 36-14.

That game ended Thrush's season, when he dislocated his left shoulder .

An alarming collapse in Wellington's locking stocks followed his departure with Api Naikatini, Chris Middleton and Mark Reddish all casualties.

Staring at an empty cupboard, coach Jamie Joseph pushed skipper Jacob Ellison from prop to lock to partner former Southlander Daniel Ramsay, a band-aid move that proved a canny one as Wellington progressed to the final. It forced the side to be innovative with their lineouts and rebuild the scrum.

"We lost three locks in three weeks and I think the boys have done really well in the circumstances," said Thrush. "We haven't been lifting Jacob too much but with [loose forward] Victor Vito as a jumping option, the lineouts have been pretty good.

"The boys have stuck together and dug in and thought of new ways to win lineout ball and it has come off."

Canterbury's rangy tall timber of Isaac Ross and Sam Whitehouse were a force, but Wellington had dealt with players like them with other teams such as Southland.

Thrush spared no blushes in describing Wellington's scrum in the shield defeat: "Last time we played Canterbury, our scrum went to the dogs."

However, the rebuilt first-choice front row of John Schwalger, Ged Robinson and Anthony Perenise had been going well since and had become an attacking force.

"Canterbury are also missing some of their big names in the front [away with the All Blacks] and we have still got some big boys and hard workers in our team as well. It's going to be a good challenge there."

The key for Wellington would be in game smarts. "We just have do what we have been doing in the last four or five weeks - just front up being smart with lineout options, have a bit more focus on the scrum for attacking ball.

"We have to hit the rucks hard and enforce our full pack on the game. We have got to look after our ball, that's pretty obvious, but when we do get turnover ball we have to be smart about where we look to attack."

Joseph has resisted the temptation to tinker with the side who beat Southland 34-21 in last weekend's semifinal.

With No 8 Mathew Laumanu having a calf niggle, he must have thought about moving Vito to the back of the scrum and partner Scott Fuglistaller at No 6 alongside Serge Lilo at No 7.