Convincing win buoys Gatland

Waikato 25 Otago 13

Warren Gatland admits he's been "doing it pretty hard" in the past month.

In that time he has watched his first term as Waikato coach go from promising to tear-your-hair-out frustrating.

Five successive defeats - a record for the province - ended any hopes of being in the NPC semifinal frame.

But Gatland is very much of the glass half-full mindset. And as he reflected on a difficult campaign, he had his eye on next year, buoyed by a convincing win in the final round on Saturday against an Otago team already in the semifinals and who lacked the urgency needed to win a match in testing, windy conditions.

"It's a starting point. There were some pretty good glimpses in terms of character, and a pretty good second-half performance," Gatland said.

He is rediscovering New Zealand rugby after several highly successful years in Ireland and England. He wants to put Waikato back on top, but admitted there's plenty of work ahead.

Waikato lost a clutch of experienced players this year, the likes of Michael Collins, Rhys Duggan, Todd Miller, the injured Jono Gibbes and Keith Robinson, which meant the learning process for the next crop of players had to be sped up, Gatland said.

"I've learned a lot this year in terms of making sure the organisation and preparation is done.

"I've got in my mind a game I want to play. We've got a way to go, but there have been positive steps in our forward play. We want to reach a level where we're not just there or thereabouts, but one of the best packs in the competition."

Gatland said that before the match, he'd issued a challenge to his senior players to step up and lead by example. Halfback Byron Kelleher and captain and No 8 Steven Bates were two who did, turning in strong performances on a day when clear thinking and smart rugby was required.

When Waikato had eked out only a 10-3 halftime lead, having played with the strong wind at their backs, the signs weren't promising.

But Otago weren't up to the job, made too many mistakes and Waikato, after a couple of dopey early attempted clearing kicks into the wind, worked out that keeping the ball in hand more often was the way to go.

Steven Donald's try eight minutes after the restart gave the hosts breathing space. Jason Shoemark's smart try 15 minutes from the end, coupled with Nick Evans' superb sideline conversion, put Otago back in the hunt.

But David Hill, in his 50th NPC game for Waikato, had the final say, slicing through on the angle to score wide.