Du’Plessis Kirifi: The Selfless Seven Come 12

Du’Plessis Kirifi packs down with the Wellington Lions scrum in their season opener this past Sunday. This week he makes a move to the midfield. 

• By Steven White

Being the consummate professional, Du’Plessis Kirifi is channeling any disappointment at not being with the All Blacks in South Africa by focusing on the Wellington Lions for the remainder of the NPC.

With 10 players on debut in their first match on Sunday against Hawke’s Bay, Kirifi knows that Sunday’s 33-52 loss to the Magpies was a poor start to the competition. They must improve, starting with Auckland in round two this Saturday.

If one player can galvanise the Baby Lions, it’s Kirifi. The passion is genuine.

“I absolutely love playing for Wellington, and my own personal disappointments aside, getting to represent the province is always a pleasure for me, the Northern United openside flanker told Club Rugby this week.

“Part of that challenge now is helping the next generation grow their game. Although there is another team many of us would like to be in, it doesn’t mean we don’t stop challenging ourselves to be better and for me right now that is the Wellington Lions, a team that gave me my first crack and a team I adore. I will never turn down the opportunity to play for them and am looking forward to spending the season with this talented group and learning and growing as much as I can.”

This weekend his education includes a shift in position. For the first time in his first-class career, Kirifi will play at second five-eighth. Wellington is riddled with midfield injuries, with Ben Gordon, Julian Savea, Losi Filipo and Matt Proctor among those on the sidelines. Kirifi will wear one for the team by playing in 12. Previous experience in the backs includes a stint at halfback while in the Francis Douglas Memorial College First XV a dozen years ago.

Kirifi’s midfield selection was a tight-lipped secret and post-dated our catch-up with Kirifi on Tuesday (we didn’t think to ask him him that question) until Wellington’s roster for the Auckland game was publicly announced. Speaking on Newstalk ZB, Wellington coach Trent Renata described the move as “a bit of optimism ”

“He’s a professional, he gets into his book, he does his work, he understands the challenge,” Renata said.

“He bowls a hard ball when he runs and he’s a great reader on defence. We know the threat he is there so he’ll be looking to utilise those things and the team to his advantage so hopefully you know it’s optimistic and one of those exciting ones we’re all looking forward to seeing.”

Kirifi told the same network: “We picked up a couple of injuries on the weekend. By no means did I nominate myself to play second-five. If the team needs me there, then I’ll happily do it. We’ll see how we go on the weekend.”

Against Hawke’s Bay, Kirifi played like Kirifi does. With seven tackles and three turnovers, he scored a try and set up another. It would be hard to go past him for Wellington’s best and fairest points from the contest.

“With 10 guys making their debuts and many coming from club rugby it was always going to be a challenge to go out there and play the game at the level we want to be playing it,” he said. “A game like that provides us with many opportunities to learn and grow.

“NPC rugby is a sprint, not a marathon. We didn’t have an extensive pre-season, and you often rely on the experience within the group and players who have been together for a long time to take some ownership.”

“As you can see from our teamsheet, that is one part of our game we don’t have as much as we used to.

“Looking to this week it is nice to sink our teeth into some tactical problem solving because we are going to need it.”

This week the Lions play Auckland on Saturday afternoon in their second round fixture.

Auckland traditionally play a similar game to Wellington, in a rivalry that goes back to 8 September 1883 when Wellington won 4-3 at Newtown Park.

“They are a good team with strong powerful athletes and are always a challenge, particularly at home,” Kirifi warned.

Auckland are coming off a 38-31 first round loss to Canterbury in their first match at their new stadium and will be just as eager to register their first win.

Recent history is on the Lions’ side. Wellington has won their last six matches against Auckland going back to pre-covid times. Last year Wellington won 36-17 in Wellington, and on their last visit to Auckland two years ago won 29-21.

The match is being played at Western Springs Stadium, home of the Ponsonby club.

“That is a historic club in Auckland so that will  be nice to play there and a change from Eden Park.’

The venue also carries some family meaning for Kirifi.

Earlier this year, his father Jack received his blazer for making 100 appearances for Ponsonby. Jack, also a flanker, helped Ponsonby win the Gallaher Shield in 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988, and 1990. The 1986 Ponsonby team won all 20 matches, and from 1980 to 1989.

“That is very exciting and will definitely have a sentimental note to it. I have been to the clubrooms plenty of times and seen dad’s name and photos on the walls. It will be nice to play there for the first time and in a way to close a loop. I know dad will be watching back home in New Plymouth.”

The Lions recently played their second pre-season match at Corbett Park, Ōakura in coastal Taranaki.

The venue for this match was also somewhat of a full circle moment for Kirifi.

“When I was 10 years old that game was on the exact same field we played on – and that was the only time I ever played there. So that was nice to go back and be reminded that we all started somewhere. It was a proud moment for me and dad and there will be another one this weekend being able to play on his hallowed Ponsonby ground where they won many trophies.

“It was a reminder that we are always conscious of where we have come from, no matter how far we go in our careers.”

That first game of junior rugby and many more that followed was for Tukapa, and he also played a season of senior club rugby for that same club.

“That is the best thing about NPC and provincial rugby, is that you have boys coming into the fold for the first time who have come up from grassroots and you have boys coming down from Super or international so you have got such a vast mix of players. “There is homegrown talent as well as talent that has been out there on the international stage.”

Kirifi is a proud Northern United player in Wellington, winning two Jubilee Cups. He was going to try and play a game or two for them after the Super Rugby win but had injury niggles to get right.

Above: Norths go beastmode and Kirifi and runs in this try in 2018 against MSP. 

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FRED LUCAS CUP

The Lions and Auckland will also be opening the season contesting one of several coveted inter-provincial trophies they play for most years, playing for the Fred Lucas Memorial Cup.

Auckland player Fred Lucas played 41 matches including seven Tests for the All Blacks between 1923-1930, was a North Island selector from 1939-46, All Black selector in 1945-46 and was a foundation member of the New Zealand Barbarians club.

The Lions are holders of the Fred Lucas Cup, having won 36-17 last year in Wellington.

Last year was their fifth straight win over Auckland, so will be going for a six-peat of victories over them on Sunday.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

Wellington and Auckland will be meeting for the 52nd time in the National Provincial Championship on Saturday.

Wellington and Auckland’s overall head-to-head record in 142 years of inter-provincial rivalry and in 183 encounters stands at 83 wins to Wellington, 97 to Auckland and three draws.

In 51 competition matches played between the sides in the modern NPC era (since 1976), Wellington has won 20 and Auckland 31.

Wellington has scored 1,120 points against Auckland in all NPC matches, including 132 tries, while Auckland has scored 1,243 points against Wellington, including 150 tries.

WELLINGTON V AUCKLAND HISTORY

Updated from last year

• Wellington and Auckland were the first pair of North Island unions to meet in a first-class match, on 8 September 1883 and Wellington won 4-3.
• During their match at Potter’s Paddock in Epsom in 1894, hail storms were so severe that the players left the field to shelter in the grandstand. When conditions improved play was resumed and Wellington went on to win 13-0. When Auckland beat Wellington in 1897 it was Wellington’s first defeat at home by another New Zealand provincial team in 33 games since the WRFU’s formation in 1880.
• In 1926 Kenneth Svenson scored a hat-trick of tries and kicked a penalty for all Wellington’s points in a 12-16 loss.
• In 1933’s 27-9-win, Wellington scored eight tries with four players scoring twice each. B.A. Killeen, J.L Griffiths, H.T. Lilburne and J.G Dellabarca each scored braces in this game.
• In Wellington’s 23-6 Ranfurly Shield defence against Auckland in 1953, left wing Ron Jarden scored a try and kicked four conversions for 14 points (today worth 16 points).
• In 1955 Jarden enjoyed even richer pickings against Auckland: In the first match between the sides at Athletic Park on 17 September he scored two tries and kicked nine points for 15 points (today worth 19 points) in a 24-19 win. scored four tries and kicked 13 points for 25 points (today worth 33 points). Thus in two games in a week against Auckland, Jarden scored six tries and scored 40 points, which with today’s five-point try values (then three) he would have scored 52 points.
• On 29 September 1956, Wellington defended the Ranfurly Shield against Auckland, winning 9-6.For the final time in his glittering career, Ron Jarden walked off Athletic Park as the star player, having scored a stunning 60-yard try in support of his friend and openside flanker Bill Clark. Jarden’s try (worth three points) and an earlier penalty by him were the match winning points in Wellington’s tense and tight win. Prior to Jarden’s heroics, little separated the two teams with Wellington ahead 6-3 at halftime and the game on a knife-edge.
• In 1963 Wellington famously won the RS off Auckland (8-3) only to lose it seven days later to Taranaki – the shortest ever tenure. This was also the 100th game between the two unions. Then in 1974 Auckland beat Wellington in their second defence 18 days after Wellington had won it off South Canterbury.
• Graham Williams scored two tries in consecutive games against Auckland in 1969 and 1970, and Graham Wallis also bagged two braces in a row in the following two years, 1971 and 1972.
• There have been just three instances of players scoring three or more tries in a match for Wellington against Auckland. These were: Svenson (1926) and M.J Hourigan (1952) with hat tricks and Jarden’s four tries in 1955.
• The 54 points scored by Wellington in 2022 (won 54-19)  is their highest score against Auckland in all NPC matches. Their previous highest score was the 48-23 victory at Auckland in the Semi-final of 2000.
• The eight tries scored by Wellington in 2022 was a new record for them against Auckland. Their previous record was six, on three occasions: at Auckland in 1997, at Auckland in 2003 and Auckland in 2020, the last time the two sides played each other.
• Wellington has won each of their past four matches against Auckland. On Sunday they will be gunning for their fifth straight win over them. This six-match winning streak has been achieved just once before, row, between 1964-67 (eight in a row).