Nikora, Gear to coach teams here

Player-coach: While Hosea Gear preferred to be on the sideline as Ngati Porou East Coast coach, he did make appearances on the field last year. They included the Coast's drought-ending Heartland Championship win against Buller. Whether he does again this year remains to be seen. Picture by Paul Rickard

Former All Black Hosea Gear is returning as coach of Ngati Porou East Coast coach for the 2022 Heartland Championship season while Miah Nikora will be head coach of Poverty Bay.

Nikora has been with the Bay team since 2018 — starting as a trainer — and co-coaching the sided with Tom Cairns last year.

On the Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union Facebook page, union chief executive Josh Willoughby said the promotion of Nikora to the top job was exciting for the man himself, his whanau and the Poverty Bay Heartland whanau.

“Miah quickly earned the respect of players and management back in 2018 when he came in as a late trainer replacement for the season,” Willoughby said.

“His tactical knowledge and experience as one of Gisborne's most gifted professional rugby players had the players firing each training and game.

“He and Tom worked incredibly well together last year as co-coaches and we saw the benefit of that last year with a tightknit team culture and exciting brand of rugby.”

The Bay at times produced scintillating rugby, no more so than their 76-14 demolition of Buller in Gisborne in Week 2 — an incredible turnaround from Week 1 when they were crushed 65-12 by Wanganui.

They ended up fifth on the 12-province table, which qualified them for the inaugural Bill Osborne Taonga match — a Ranfurly Shield-like format for Heartland teams named in honour of the former All Black and New Zealand Rugby president.

The Bay met sixth-placed Mid Canterbury in the Taonga game and won 33-26 to be the first holders of the Taonga.

Nikora, on the union's Facebook page, said his whānau had “a proud history” representing Poverty Bay.

“My ambition is to add to this legacy the way I can by building on the growth we saw last year both in our onfield performance, but more notably in the overall team culture and environment.”

Cairns was delighted to see Nikora continue his progress.

“The plan was always for Miah to support me in my first couple of years as head coach and, if things were going well, for me to eventually support Miah in a head coach role.

“Miah's coaching abilities over the past few years show he is going to be a great professional coach – to now step aside and play my part in him fulfilling that dream will be incredibly satisfying.”

Nikora's tenure will be tested to the ultimate early, with Poverty Bay scheduled to play Hawke's Bay in a Ranfurly Shield match on July 20 — that is unless Heartland Championship Meads Cup winners South Canterbury pull off a massive upset over the Magpies in a Shield challenge on June 29.

Gear is back for another stint with Ngati Porou East Coast, having led them to eighth place last year with three wins and five defeats.

Their 50-26 win against Buller at Whakarua Park, Ruatoria, on October 16 ended a Heartland losing streak of 54 matches and dating back eight years.

Gear also played himself, sparingly, and was responsible for enticing All Black great Ma'a Nonu to play for the Sky Blues on the condition that he come off the bench himself.

Gear's elder brother and fellow former All Black Rico also made his Coast debut last year.

In announcing Hosea Gear's reappointment on the Coast Facebook page, they said: “Hosea has built a strong player base over the past two seasons and is keen to advance the building blocks he has already put in place.

“Team culture remains a priority and he has his eyes set on the Meads Cup (overall champions) this year.”

In a Stuff story last year Gear said: “For us on the Coast, it is a lot more than a game and taking the field to try to win. It's more about that connection with our past, our family, our iwi, and this gives us that sense of belonging and representation.”