Former captain Danny Lee home to cheer on Magpies' finals run

Former Magpies captain Danny Lee backs his former team ahead of this weekend's semifinal. Photo / NZME

If the Hawke's Bay Magpies make history by winning a first-ever National Provincial Premiership title in the next couple of weeks, few will be prouder than former captain and coach Danny Lee.

The two-time All Black halfback is home in Havelock North waiting for his visa to be rubberstamped so he can fly to the US and prepare for his first season as head coach of Major League Rugby club San Diego Legion.

Lee said while he'd love to be in town for the Magpies' finals campaign, he already began his three-year contract with the Legion a couple of months ago:

"They've been expecting me for a while now so as soon as my visa comes through unfortunately I'm gonna be up and on a plane and out of here and onto the new challenge."

This is Lee's longest stay in the Bay since he left his job as the Magpies backs coach in 2017 to become head coach of the Honda Heat in Japan.

"I've enjoyed being home, catching up with family and friends," he said.

Having followed his old team closely from Japan, being home again has also allowed a proud Lee to see how the Magpies have developed in person.

"The rest of Hawke's Bay are equally proud as well," he said.

"There's a lot of hype about it, you talk to people around the place and it's the first thing on their mind."

Lee said like everyone else involved with Hawke's Bay rugby over the years he has been looking on at outstanding recent performances and holding his breath at the prospect of an inaugural first division title.

"It's gonna take two pretty big games which everyone knows, but they're capable of doing it," he said, adding he is feeling positive that this Magpies side can deliver.

And Lee should know – he was captain of the Hawke's Bay teams that made the province's first ever semifinals in 2007 and 2008.

Lee said the Magpies of that era (they made the semifinals again in 2009 after he left to play for Newport Gwent in Wales) were very much the underdogs and embraced that fact.

"We had a really good bond and we had a mindset that we didn't really care who we played... whoever turns up we're gonna take them on and look to beat them," he said.

Former Magpies captain and assistant coach Danny Lee is preparing for his first season as head coach of Major League Rugby club San Diego Legion. Photo / NZME

While Lee noted some similarities between then and now, he said the biggest difference is the current Magpies depth that means they have a stacked bench every week and even quality among the non-playing reserves.

"With that depth comes competition, and if they've got everyone hunting for starting spots or bench spots that's an advantage to any coach because players are hungry," he said.

The Magpies teams Lee helped coach from 2012 to 2017 also achieved successes with an NPC Championship title in 2015 and a year as holders of the Ranfurly Shield.

"We probably didn't have the consistency that we'd hoped for, or that this group has at the moment," Lee said, adding that the remaining players from that era bring valuable experience to the current side.

He said as Hawke's Bay has become more established as one of the country's strongest provinces for development and high performance, the Magpies have been more able to retain the talent the region has always produced.

"It's awesome to see that we're actually creating really good pathways within Hawke's Bay," Lee said, noting the ever-growing number of Magpies in Super Rugby.

He will be hoping to build something similar with San Diego once he gets there.

"It's been exciting to get involved in a new competition, a competition that's ready to explode," Lee said.

All Black legend Ma'a Nonu was recently re-signed by the Legion, which Lee describes as one of the leading lights in Major League Rugby since the competition was founded in 2017.

Lee can't wait to begin his new adventure in earnest, with his family set to join him in California at the end of January.

With no international school near Suzuka where the Honda Heat were based, they remained in Havelock North during Lee's time in Japan so his two boys could continue their education in New Zealand.

Lee said while he was proud of his work taking the Heat from Japan's second tier to become an established side in the first division, he was largely alone over the four years there.

"With school holidays there were visits, end of season I'd get home for a couple of months," he said.

But when Covid made even that impossible, the Lee family looked for a move they could make together with San Diego being the perfect fit.

He just hopes he can see a couple more Magpies wins at McLean Park before he gets on that plane.