Rugby: King Country come out swinging for NPC opener

King Country's fellow NPC third division rugby competitors take note -- there's a lot of fighting talk emanating from Te Kuiti this year.

In a reversal from the normal pre-season spiel where coaches tend to lavish praise on the opposition while talking down their own chances, King Country coach Garry Crossman has staked his objectives clearly into the turf.

"We're looking to win every game and the final," Crossman told NZPA.

"We want to play in the second division -- it's not a secret, it's a fact and we're going to make sure we tick off one game at a time to get there.

"We're dead-set here to win the third division."

After coaching club rugby in Sydney for 18 years, Crossman, who takes the reins at King Country for his second year, has no qualms about adopting a fighting approach ahead of the opening round this Saturday.

"If we were to get beaten on Saturday (against Horowhenua-Kapiti) there would be absolutely no excuse from us.

"We're better prepared than this time last year. We go into the game confident of winning, knowing that we're organised and what to expect.

"It just comes down to backing ourselves, and as long as we concentrate on what we're doing I'm confident we can get the game."

A fortnight after losing last year's final to Wanganui, Crossman started herding his squad.

Besides securing three loan players who represented Waikato B, he signed former Hawkes' Bay first five-eighth Tim Manawatu.

Crossman has also convinced his 2003 assistant coach and former Auckland and Blues Super 12 halfback Michael Scott to lace up his boots again.

"He might have lost some pace and his pass is half-a-metre shorter, but his experience in driving the front eight and organising the team is invaluable," Crossman said about his halfback.

"I doubt we could afford him if we had to buy that type of experience."

King Country are not the only team to have spent a busy off-season recruiting players.

Fellow favourites Mid-Canterbury, who were relegated from the second division after a winless season, have snapped up former Crusaders player Clark McLeod and Canterbury player Andrew Morgan.

They also have two new coaches in Mark Cousins and Mark O'Grady, a move emulated by neighbouring South Canterbury with Ken Wills replacing Steve Tarrant.

On the player roster South Canterbury -- who topped the 2003 table after the round robin -- have lost five players but are likely to feature in the semifinals.

Poverty Bay continue the coach swapping trend after landing a major coup in former Waikato coach Kiwi Searancke.

After a two-year stint coaching Glasgow in the Celtic League Heineken European Championship, Searancke has returned to lead a team in what he believes will be a very even competition.

"Coming down from second division, Mid-Canterbury will have an intensity about their game that we're not used to and with South-Canterbury, King Country, Horowhenua and Wairarapa-Bush it's probably a very even competition which makes it exciting."

Poverty Bay's main signing is former Wellington first-class cricketer Mark Jefferson who played 17 games at fullback for his home side before donning the whites.

Searancke has also included another three loan players from outside the province -- a policy that he doesn't feel stifles local talent.

"I don't see that as a bad thing. That's a great part of the game in New Zealand that you can still do that and provide a reasonable competition," he said.

"You're restricted by the local club competition and all the teams this year would have up to four loan players.

"I wonder what influence the loan players will have on the division and that probably in the end could be the difference between the teams."

Horowhenua-Kapiti have bucked the trend by relying mostly on local players, while Wairarapa-Bush have lost two top players in Divisional 15 and New Zealand Maori representative Germaine Anaha and Daryl Faha.

Battlers West Coast and Buller will pin their hopes on a solid supply of Canterbury club players, while the Coast have Kelly Hansen, brother of All Blacks assistant coach Steve at the helm this year.

In the remaining opening round games on Saturday, Wairarapa-Bush play Buller, West Coast host South Canterbury and Poverty Bay meet Mid-Canterbury.

- NZPA