Rugby: Young look to Auckland's NPC defence

In his first year at the helm Wayne Pivac led the Auckland team to win the NPC title, but he is not one to dwell on the past.

He is now setting his sights on winning the 2000 version of a competition he sees as quite different to that experienced in 1999.

There is a decidedly young look about newcomers like Amasio Valence and Malili Muliaina, and his new players are an integral part of Pivac's long-term planning.

He played 25 times for North Harbour before a horrific knee injury ended his playing career.

Under his coaching Takapuna won two championships in four seasons. In 1997, after a stint as coach of the North Harbour 2nd XV, with a victory in the Coronation Shield district competition on his CV, he was appointed coach of the Northland side in the NPC second division.

Northland won their championship and with it a coveted promotion to the first division. But in 1998 Northland were frustrated by some very close score lines that invariably went against them, and they were relegated.

In 1998 Auckland had fared poorly in the NPC. Former championship-winning coach, Maurice Trapp, was a stop-gap appointment until Pivac got the nod as permanent coach.

Now he has the task of defending the title, although like his skipper, Paul Thomson, he hardly regards it as a defence.

It was a whole new competition, he said, and it "is obvious that Canterbury and Otago are going to be near the top again, and we expect the table to be congested."

The Auckland A team will face their biggest hurdle when Canterbury comes to Eden Park on September 1, complete with their All Blacks.

But beforehand there are matches against Taranaki, Counties and Southland to be won.

"It is important that we start strongly," Pivac said, "and I believe we can. I am not over confident, "except in the fact that these lads (the A team) will give it their very best shot."