With regular first-five Kelly Haimona on an overseas contract until the end of April, Whakarewarewa fans may have had some concerns with their team losing a key player for part of the club rugby season.
However, it appears Whakarewarewa haven't missed a beat and in fact the only problem seems to be adjusting to a new style of play.
"Kelly's probably got a bigger kick than Tyson and we're still learning from Tyson," Lee said. "It's the first game I've seen him play."
Lee said he was happy with the way his team performed.
"It was a good hit-up. We went to Otorohanga as a preseason and got whipped there. We didn't know where we were in terms of our game plan and fitness. So first game up, it's given us a bit of an indication of where we stand now."
Ripia recently moved from Cambridge's Hautapu Rugby Club to play for Whakarewarewa and told The Daily Post he had settled in nicely at his new club.
"Yeah it's good so far. I'm looking forward to seeing what's available here. I'm pretty excited about being here. I'm keen to try and take [the club] to the top."
The young first-five said he hadn't felt any pressure stepping in to fill the role Haimona had left.
"I've been out [of rugby] for about a year with a knee injury. I wasn't too nervous about playing. But I'll get more confidence [as the season progresses]."
Whakarewarewa showed they still have a lethal backline who will punish any team who doesn't come up in a straight line on defence. They have plenty of class in the midfield with hard running second-five Paula Asaeli constantly a threat. He combined well with his centre partner Shaun Hill who often found space for his wings Tofu Pomalo and Tetihi Vercoe who scored a hat-trick of tries against Ngongotaha.
They are led by Dave Marinkovich who isn't the tallest lock in the competition but more than makes up with it with heart and determination.
Although the scoreline wasn't flattering for Ngongotaha, coach John Moore said the team played well in patches. "We competed probably for the first 40 minutes and then [Whakarewarewa] just fed off our mistakes really - that's what a champion team does. Our boys, some of them haven't played this level," Moore said.
"Definitely huge positives for us. We had goals; to try and be patient with the ball and control our rucks a bit better. I think we did that from last week so we're heading in the right direction."
