David Leggat: Cinderella men get to the ball

As the players count down to the final, spare a thought for their coaches.

Had the Auckland and Otago unions been populated by less tolerant people, it might be that Pat Lam and Wayne Graham would have been doing something other than sitting at Eden Park plotting victory tomorrow night.

Remember last year's NPC? Both men were in their first year in charge of their respective teams. Auckland finished seventh, Otago eighth.

Not good enough for either union. Both had contracts but in other sports, in other jobs, such a result in these days of instant gratification would often have meant dusting off the CV.

So how have they turned their situation around in a year?

First, some background.

Lam took over last year from Wayne Pivac, who had overseen back-to-back final victories in 2002 and 2003. The previous year, Auckland finished fourth, thumped by Canterbury in the semifinal.

Graham had been Greg Cooper's assistant in 2002 and 2003, when Otago finished fourth, losing a semifinal to Waikato, and then won the round robin, but lost the semifinal to Auckland. They'd reached the 2001 final under Laurie Mains.

The point being that both unions had grown accustomed to, at least, making the playoffs. So it's fair to say last year both Graham and Lam did it tough.

"I think Pat and I are both fiercely competitive people and we were probably finding our way, looking for the answers but not necessarily getting the environment correct," former All Black flanker Graham said.

"We had an opportunity to dwell on it over summer, rectify the situation, surround ourselves with the right people, both players and in the management team. Now we're probably a lot better coaches than we were this time last year, and a lot wiser."

Lam stepped into the hot seat at the country's biggest union. They were chasing a hat-trick of NPC titles. They had dominated the competition since the playoff system was introduced in 1992, winning seven titles.

He was without several All Blacks in the early rounds, and when they returned it was difficult for a new face to get the blend right.

"A lot of it was finding your way," Lam said. "I was very clear on how I wanted to play the game.

"We had to develop leaders and decision-makers. We were put in a situation where guys potentially would be good leaders but they'd had no experience of it.

"As a player, when you win a championship you don't want to change too much. Normally when a coach comes in it's when a team has been unsuccessful and they want to improve. When you're back-to-back champions it does make it harder to change things."

Both are strong believers in having the environment right and that doesn't happen overnight. They also acknowledge the rugby public are hard markers.

"The New Zealand public can be very harsh," Lam said. "It's very much results-based and I understand that is important, but a coach needs time to put plans in place.

"I'm very pleased for Wayne. I know he took a hard time, both of us have worked hard with our squads."

Graham, 48 and who played eight games for the All Blacks in 1978-79, including one test against France as a replacement, talks of coaching as being "a fickle business".

"Sometimes hasty decisions are made when a coach is only growing into the job. You can't build a team in a year. It takes longer than that."

He believes it is important for coaches to learn for themselves what works and what should be discarded.

"People tell you this and that. You do know it, but it's a matter of finding your own way in what works and having the right people round you. Good people doing it for the right reasons with the right support in the end will come through, I believe."

Lam is 11 years younger than Graham. He went to three World Cups with Samoa after his solitary All Black appearance in Sydney in 1992. Lam puts the improved relationship among his players down as a key difference between this and last year.

Not that a year back players didn't get on, but now they have grown accustomed to each other, both as rugby players and as people.

"It doesn't matter what the job is, if you're a rugby coach or a lawyer. The first year is always about getting to know your workmates," Lam said. "When the new boss comes in, it takes time to know what his expectations are."

For both men, expectations are now understood, the unions have been justified in sticking by their men, but only one will get the ultimate reward tomorrow night.

NPC facts

Previous NPC playoff matches between Auckland and Otago

1993: Auckland 27 Otago 18, at Eden

Park (final)

1994: Auckland 33 Otago 16, at

Carisbrook (semifinal)

1995: Auckland 23 Otago 18, at Eden

Park (final)

1996: Auckland 59 Otago 18, at Eden

Park (semifinal)

2003: Auckland 39 Otago 32, at

Carisbrook (semifinal)

Did you know?

* Auckland v Otago is the most contested of all NPC rivalries. The teams have met 74 times, Auckland winning 47, Otago 19 with eight draws.

* It is considered the oldest provincial rivalry, dating back to the clash between Auckland clubs and Dunedin clubs in 1875, which is considered the first inter-provincial match in New Zealand.

* Of their 35 NPC clashes, Auckland have won 27, Otago seven with one draw.

* Canterbury heroes Andrew Mehrtens and Daniel Carter hold the record for individual points record in a division one final. Both scored 20, Mehrtens in the 2001 match against Otago, Carter against Wellington last year.

* Auckland have played 19 NPC playoff games, winning 15, and have won the title seven times. Otago have played 15, winning seven, and were champions in 1998, and beaten finalists four times.

Paths to the final

Otago

v BOP (h) W 29-6

v Auckland (h) L 16-31

v Wellington (a) W 26-10

v Southland (a) L 22-28

v North Harbour (h) W 21-13

v Northland (a) W 41-3

v Taranaki (h) W 26-10

v Canterbury (h) W 24-19

v Waikato (a) L 13-25

Semifinal: v Canterbury (a) W 37-22

Auckland

v North Harbour (a) W 27-10

v Otago (a) W 31-16

v Southland (h) W 38-37

v BOP (a) W 41-30

v Waikato (h) W 40-30

v Taranaki (a) L 19-40

v Northland (h) W 53-7

v Wellington (h) W 29-22

v Canterbury (a) L 12-27

Semifinal: v North Harbour (h) 38-24

NPC stats

Tries

Auckland scored 38 (equal best with North Harbour), conceded 32 (second most behind Northland)

Otago scored 29 (fourth best), conceded 19 (equal best)

Penalties

Auckland conceded 80, gained 89; Otago conceded 78, gained 89