On that occasion the Coast completed their best season in nine years, with three wins in the championship.
The Coast have won three from seven to date this year.
NPEC captain halfback Sam Parkes doesn't sugarcoat the truth.
“We're physically fit and have a good game-plan that we need to execute, which comes down to us switching on,” he said.
“We blow hot and cold at the wrong times, and that's where we need to be better.”
Parkes's crew will face a Bush outfit with extra motivation to earn the second Heartland win of their campaign: reserve centre Inia Katia is sitting on 99 caps, while openside flanker Eddie Cranston and starting 13 Tristan Flutey will both play their 25th (blazer) games tomorrow.
In his second stint as head coach of Wairarapa-Bush, Mark Rutene has worked well with a group led by blindside flanker James Goodger. The green-and-reds have shown truckloads of character in a rough year.
After North Otago beat them 35-5 on home soil to start with, they lost by only four points (30-26) to Poverty Bay in Gisborne.
A fortnight ago, unbeaten competition leaders Meads Cup champions South Canterbury (who have won 20 Heartland games in a row) gave the Bush on their own patch a hard time, 73-19.
But last week Rutene's gutsy unit finally tasted victory, 42-30 against West Coast at Greymouth.
They had lost five games in a row before that.
Rutene said: “We need to ensure that we win our own ball at set-piece, play the game at the right end of the field and be organised on defence against a dangerous Coast team.”
Goodger, whose men's hearts are set on a match-effort worthy of Katia's time in the colours, said: “Inia's gold for our team. He's well-respected, he brings us together, he keeps the kava flowing on our away trips. It's taken him 11 years to achieve this feat. He has a wealth of experience, and he's still a very good player.”
The Coast are at their most dangerous when either their backs are against a wall, or their tails are up. The feeling persists that they could have won at least two more games.
In Game 1, against Horowhenua-Kapiti in Ruatoria, they were up 14-13 at halftime but lost 32-14; and in Te Kuiti in Game 6, King Country were 22-0 ahead at the break, were tested at 25-21, and then ran out 32-21 winners.
Hosea Gear wants more of the Kaupoi. He knows they now have it to give.
“We need to sort things out early, start well, and not leave things to the last minute,” he said.
The uninhibited, off-the-cuff nature of their rugby is a source of great pride, joy and nourishment for NPEC fans, and has been for the past 101 years. But head coach Gear also has a right to expect fierce concentration to match their fearsome haka.
Sky Blue rugby will never be a dry offering — and with a heavy rain warning in place from 1pm today to 1pm tomorrow, temperature of 15 degrees and a sou'westerly breeze expected around kick-off, dry may be off the table.
The referee will be Andrew Morton, of the Bay of Plenty. He was assistant referee No.1 to Ben O'Keefe in Northland's thrilling 23-21 win against Bay of Plenty at Tauranga Domain on Wednesday night. In his sixth first-class game, he will have as assistant referees Eruera Kawhia (AR1) and Matt Richards (AR2), both of Ngāti Porou East Coast.
