Taniwha assistant coach in 2019, George Konia (left) will be head coach for Northland in 2020 after Derren Witcombe resigned from the head coach role last month. Photo / File
Taniwha assistant coach in 2019, George Konia (left) will be head coach for Northland in 2020 after Derren Witcombe resigned from the head coach role last month. Photo / File
George Konia is the new Northland Taniwha head coach after Derren Witcombe resigned from the role last month.
Konia, who was Taniwha assistant coach this year, was selected for the position last week, beating 23 other candidates for the job. Waipū premier team coach Graham Dewes was chosen as assistantcoach.
With a year still left on his contract, Witcombe handed in his resignation in November, which was accepted by the Northland Rugby Union (NRU).
Despite a poor Mitre 10 Cup season which saw the Taniwha lose eight of 10 games, NRU chairman Ajit Balasingham said he had not asked Witcombe for his resignation and had planned to have Witcombe stay on as coach in 2020, which was also the NRU's centenary year.
With a year still left on his contract, Derren Witcombe has resigned from his role as Taniwha head coach. Photo / Photosport
Neither Witcombe's resignation nor Konia's appointment had been publicly announced on the NRU's website. Balasingham said he didn't see the need in publicly announcing Witcombe's resignation before a replacement was found.
Witcombe was contacted by the Northern Advocate but declined to comment on why he resigned.
The NRU is also on the hunt for a new chief executive after Alistair McGinn left the role to become commercial manager in 2020. NRU finance manager Jeremy Ratu is the current acting chief executive before the role is marketed in January next year.
Konia's record as a player and coach speaks for itself. After a short time teaching in his home region of Hawke's Bay, Konia had long playing stints with provincial teams Manawatū and Hawke's Bay before playing with the Hurricanes in 1996, the first year of Super Rugby.
The powerful centre featured in a number of New Zealand development sides as well as the New Zealand Māori, but could not break into the All Blacks.
Konia then left New Zealand for Japan where he played for eight years, including appearing for the national team in the 2003 Rugby World Cup. In 2005, Konia returned to Hawke's Bay as their assistant coach before heading back to Japan as a coach for the Kintetsu Liners rugby team.
George Konia in Hawke's Bay colours in 2005. Photo / File
Now with four years under his belt with the NRU, the 50-year-old was excited to build on good performances in recent years, which included two championship semifinal appearances.
"I'm really excited by not just the people in the community but also the natural talent in Northland, there's some real potential for growth in our province."
The Taniwha had a horrific injury record this year, which saw more than 10 frontline players missing from the 23-man squad during some games this season.
Konia believed the large number of injuries was the overriding factor in Northland's poor results this year, but he accepted the squad's preseason, and strength and conditioning work needed improving in 2020.
"A lot of our younger players were exposed probably earlier than originally planned and not just playing earlier in the competition, but also doing some heavy minutes.
"Some guys were under-prepared and some guys probably had been pushed too hard, so it's about getting that even balance between everybody."
Northland scouts now face the monumental task of replacing superstar first five Jack Debreczeni (pictured), who will play in Japan next year. Photo / File
Nevertheless, Konia said he was committed to NRU's policy to look at signing local players before looking outside the region. As of November, 22 players had been contracted, with about 10-15 more contracts available to Northland club players.
One notable omission from Northland's contracted players was superstar first five Jack Debreczeni, who would be playing in Japan next year and would not be available for Northland.
Fellow first five Daniel Hawkins would also be unavailable for Northland next year. Konia confirmed Rene Ranger, who was contracted last year but did not take the field due to injury, was available for 2020.
Scott Gregory, who was a stand-out for Northland this year, did receive a contract but could miss some games for Northland next year if he is selected in the New Zealand sevens team for the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Scott Gregory, who was a stand-out for the Taniwha in 2019, could be missing in some Northland games next year with his eyes on the Tokyo Olympic Games next year with the NZ sevens team. Photo / File
While he was confident Northland could reach its regular goal of a home semifinal, Konia said he wanted to make progress in a three-year plan which would see young players in Northland develop in high-performance academies.
"What we need to do collectively is get a hold of our younger players a lot earlier, so by the time they are playing club rugby, they've been involved in a high-performance programme and they are a lot more advanced than some of our players have been in the past."
Northland Rugby Union contracted players (as of November 19):
Ross Wright (Wellsford) Jack Straker (Kamo) Paddy Atkins (Wellsford) Jordan Olsen (Mid Northern) Josh Goodhue (Blues/United Kawakawa/Moerewa) Sam Caird (OBM) Temo Mayanavanua (Waipū) Rob Rush (TBC) Tom Robinson (Blues/Kerikeri) Sam McNamara (Waipū) Kane Jacobson (Kamo) Saimoni Uluinakauvadra (Waipū) Aorangi Stokes (OBM) Sam Nock (Blues/Kerikeri) Harrison Levien (OBM) Blake Hohaia (OBM) Jack Goodhue (Crusaders/United Kawakawa/Moerewa) Tamati Tua (Kamo) Rene Ranger (Wellsford) Jordan Hyland (Blues/Wellsford) Scott Gregory (Highlanders/Hikurangi)
