October 15, 2024 • 9 mins
Taranaki Head Coach Neil Barnes joined D'Arcy Waldegrave to discuss the success of the recent NPC season and why it's still worth the investment.
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sports Talk podcast with Duncy Wildergrave
from News Talk Z'B.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
The NPC is almost at a close. There are a
couple of fixtures to go, and I'm sure that our
next guest that Neil Barnes would love it if he
was involved part of the coaching staff or the coach,
should I say of the Taranaki side. Unfortunately EDGs by
Wakatal over the week and not to be there, Neil,
welcome to the program. I suppose, first and foremost from
(00:35):
your point of view, not taking into account the results,
has this been a more successful MPC than on previous years.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
It's successful in the fact that I think the competition
has been really really close. There's not too many games
during the week that you can say, oh, Sanso's going.
Speaker 4 (00:53):
To beat him, mate.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
We've had upsets glare all the way through, exciting, high
scoring games that have gone to the wire. It's entertainment
that the public want. So yeah, it's been really pleasing
from what I've seen.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Anything you put that down to, particularly because you look
at a number of parameters. You look at obviously how
difficult it is to pick. You look at the grounds
that they go to some big, some small other style
of play, the way the referee is engaging that. There's
a number of different varieties there isn't it.
Speaker 4 (01:27):
Yeah, And there's a whole heap of things go to
make a good competition.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
And you just mentioned one of the referees, and I
take my hat off to Chris Pollock and his team.
They've worked really hard to come up with things that
they're focusing on which will help our game to be
a better product for people.
Speaker 4 (01:42):
To watch rather than so much stop start. So that's
one thing too.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
I think a lot of real provinces are returning to
their own people, working hard on their communities to bring
through their own talent, which is what EPC is there for.
And it becomes, i suppose, at the end of the day,
way more connected when you're using your own people, and
that gives you that tribal thing, isn't it. So people
will go to the Bla depths for their own province.
(02:08):
So there's a whole lot of factors in there, really
rapped with a lot of a lot of coaches are
adopting a way more attacking mindset now, which is a
joy to watch and a joy for the players to play.
Speaker 4 (02:19):
So, like I said, it's pleasing to see. Has there
been any.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Edict atol from Rugby New Zealand up top saying we'd
like this, we want this, or has this been more
of a case of an organic way of developing these
teams at that level.
Speaker 4 (02:34):
No, there's been no direction from the top.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
It's more like when you watch other teams be successful
doing something, you're more likely to go and have a
cracket that yourself and hope it works for you. That's
a natural concept. And I think you know what we
showed last year, we want it. We didn't have a
care free attitude, but we certainly gave the ball a
lot more ere than most. And yeah, and a lot
of people are adopting that type of attitude at the moment.
(02:58):
So defense has dominated our game for a long time
and I'd like to think people are trying different things
now to expose the defense and it'll continue to adjust.
But that's all part and passerl with what keeps the
game interesting.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
And there's a lot of this neil at the feet
as you mentioned before, of the rest willing to let things.
I'd say let things go, but understand flow a little
more and be part of that, that dynamic product. There's
a lot to do with them.
Speaker 4 (03:23):
Yeah, one hundred percent.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
So you probably haven't got the level of referees and
ther tmos and assistant referees and all that sort of thing.
Speaker 4 (03:32):
So they've lessened those roles and the impact they have
on the game.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
But at the same time, you get less accuracy inside
the game, so as coaches you have to suck it up.
Speaker 4 (03:39):
There's going to be mistakes out there.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
But the public get to watch a game that has
a lot more float to it, so we all want
to see more accurate decisions. But everyone's human. You can't
see everything on the field. So I take my head
off to the referees. They've done a fine job this year,
and like I said, the guidance they get from above
is really important.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
In that scene, you said tribal O'Neill Barns, and I
think that's very interesting. It's back back in my day.
Speaker 4 (04:02):
Listen to me.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Sounded like I'm seventy plus. That's what it was. It
was people from your school and your district. You see
no directive from upstairs. So why do you think the
MPC sides are basically coming back to their own local product.
Where does that come from.
Speaker 4 (04:17):
Oh again, I suppose people look at what other people
have done for the last three years.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
To get in our side, you have to issuely play
club Rugby and our province and show you better than.
Speaker 4 (04:26):
Our local people. Where before that there.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
Was a mindset we'll go and get someone better from
outside because we want to win the competition. Well, we
still want to win the competition, but I'd like to
think when you get out in your community and do
a lot more work in the coaching side of things,
you'll see some talent and you try and grow that.
If you have an understanding that NPC is only semi professional.
Speaker 4 (04:45):
These are amateur players.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
A lot of them that give three months off get
three months off work to come and be a professional
and show their weirs in front of the super franchises
to try and pick up a professional contract. And that's
our job is to unearthed talent, to give them an
opportunity plan on a level playing field with all the
superboys that come back and see how they go to
that end.
Speaker 4 (05:05):
I think it's been very successful.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
And they're watching, aren't they. The super coaches aren't paying
it lip service. They want to see the next big thing.
I think every season you find a player, people go wow,
where did he come from? So that's working, that step
is working.
Speaker 4 (05:21):
Yeah, that's what a pathway should look like.
Speaker 3 (05:24):
I'd like to see even more contracts left open at
super level for emerging talent. At the moment, there's probably
still a bit of a rush to secure who they
think the talent are. But yeah, I'd love to see
some rules in place for each superfranchise where they have
to have X number of positions open and that the
home franchise would get first shot at their local talent
(05:45):
and then if they weren't picked up by then the
others could pick them up. That way, there's a pathway
for NPC players to get Super But yeah, I don't
see too many positions opened late in the piece. A
lot of them already been secured, so yeah, that would
make it even better.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
Neil Barnes, what about the all black involvement. No, we
haven't got the absolute rock star, but the fact they're
getting filtered back every week, how good's that for the product?
Speaker 4 (06:12):
Yeah? It was awesome.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
I've always been a big believer that if everyone works
in Unison, if there's respect for all levels of the
rugby and you have your programs to suit and so
I'm well aware when you need to have all black.
Speaker 4 (06:23):
Programs running, all empssis going.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
But at the same time, all the all blacks need rugby,
so you want them back.
Speaker 4 (06:29):
That's what the public want to see.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
They want to see a connection back to their provinces
that they played for, and that increases your crowds and
interest side of it. That allows all blacks to come
and play alongside your MPC player and they pass on
stuff all the time.
Speaker 4 (06:41):
That's where you get your growth.
Speaker 3 (06:43):
So all of that stuff is like there's a natural
integration of those people and all the skills and the
knowledge that they have.
Speaker 4 (06:50):
For us.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
Having Stephen petterfeeder back and Josh Lawd back for a while,
how good.
Speaker 4 (06:54):
They just pass on so much to the younger guys.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
What about the grounds. I've really enjoyed watching these teams
play at smaller grounds. It's given such a sense of
community and the fact that you're there. It fears like
from TV land, but from a coaching point of view,
when you're playing at smaller grounds all over the nation,
how good is that?
Speaker 3 (07:16):
Well, it just adds to atmosphere. I mean, not many
of the royal provinces have that problem. But if you're
playing in the big smokes, the last thing you want
to do is be in a concrete jungle when there's
no one there. So for them to take their rugby
into the smaller grounds and get a bigger community involvement
gives a bit of atmosphere and people enjoy the entertainment.
But if you're sitting there with in one of those
(07:37):
big grounds that can cater for twenty thirty thousand people
and it's only got bloody one thousand people, it's practically empty,
isn't it. But an atmosphere and a smaller ground with
a thousand people is way different.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
It is always a draw card. It never seems to
get tied the ran fairly shield and again what that
has created intertwined through the competition this year has been extraordinary.
Speaker 4 (08:00):
Yeah, and massive respect for it. Loved it.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
When Hawks, Bay and Tasman have it, they treat it
with the respect that deserves. Their teams get up for it,
the part come to support it. I'd like to think
next year we'll be able to replicate that. Like we've
had to put it away when we're getting.
Speaker 4 (08:15):
Ready for our quarter. But the boys have.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
Got it out of the cupboard and they're carting around
the community now. So yeah, it's massive for everybody. So yeah,
long mate, continue.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Do you think this product that we've seen has saved
the NPC to a degree, Like, where do you see
it going from here? Because I've new broadcasting contracts in
the offering and the like, there may be some adjustments.
We know what it's like at that top level. So
do you think it's saved the product? What happens now?
Speaker 3 (08:44):
Well, like I said before, when you keep everything in balance,
the people that negotiate these deals, you need to give
it respect and market the competition as it should be
marketed in alignment with super and International, and then you.
Speaker 4 (08:59):
Get a good balance product.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
But when you ignore it, that will be at your
detriment down the track, because NPC is your breeding ground
for all your future talent for coaches and players, and
people need to understand that there's a feeling out there
at the moment they can take kids into academies and
grow them in the superfranchises and then they'll make their
X from there. Well, I say good luck with that.
To me, it's a crocod ship. Well, we got at
(09:21):
the moment has kept us at the top of the game.
For songs, you don't need to change it, you just
need to respect it.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
For more from sports talk, listen live to news talks
they'd be from seven pm weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to the Sports Talk podcast with Duncy Wildergrave
from News Talk Z'B.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
The NPC is almost at a close. There are a
couple of fixtures to go, and I'm sure that our
next guest that Neil Barnes would love it if he
was involved part of the coaching staff or the coach,
should I say of the Taranaki side. Unfortunately EDGs by
Wakatal over the week and not to be there, Neil,
welcome to the program. I suppose, first and foremost from
(00:35):
your point of view, not taking into account the results,
has this been a more successful MPC than on previous years.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
It's successful in the fact that I think the competition
has been really really close. There's not too many games
during the week that you can say, oh, Sanso's going.
Speaker 4 (00:53):
To beat him, mate.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
We've had upsets glare all the way through, exciting, high
scoring games that have gone to the wire. It's entertainment
that the public want. So yeah, it's been really pleasing
from what I've seen.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Anything you put that down to, particularly because you look
at a number of parameters. You look at obviously how
difficult it is to pick. You look at the grounds
that they go to some big, some small other style
of play, the way the referee is engaging that. There's
a number of different varieties there isn't it.
Speaker 4 (01:27):
Yeah, And there's a whole heap of things go to
make a good competition.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
And you just mentioned one of the referees, and I
take my hat off to Chris Pollock and his team.
They've worked really hard to come up with things that
they're focusing on which will help our game to be
a better product for people.
Speaker 4 (01:42):
To watch rather than so much stop start. So that's
one thing too.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
I think a lot of real provinces are returning to
their own people, working hard on their communities to bring
through their own talent, which is what EPC is there for.
And it becomes, i suppose, at the end of the day,
way more connected when you're using your own people, and
that gives you that tribal thing, isn't it. So people
will go to the Bla depths for their own province.
(02:08):
So there's a whole lot of factors in there, really
rapped with a lot of a lot of coaches are
adopting a way more attacking mindset now, which is a
joy to watch and a joy for the players to play.
Speaker 4 (02:19):
So, like I said, it's pleasing to see. Has there
been any.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Edict atol from Rugby New Zealand up top saying we'd
like this, we want this, or has this been more
of a case of an organic way of developing these
teams at that level.
Speaker 4 (02:34):
No, there's been no direction from the top.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
It's more like when you watch other teams be successful
doing something, you're more likely to go and have a
cracket that yourself and hope it works for you. That's
a natural concept. And I think you know what we
showed last year, we want it. We didn't have a
care free attitude, but we certainly gave the ball a
lot more ere than most. And yeah, and a lot
of people are adopting that type of attitude at the moment.
(02:58):
So defense has dominated our game for a long time
and I'd like to think people are trying different things
now to expose the defense and it'll continue to adjust.
But that's all part and passerl with what keeps the
game interesting.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
And there's a lot of this neil at the feet
as you mentioned before, of the rest willing to let things.
I'd say let things go, but understand flow a little
more and be part of that, that dynamic product. There's
a lot to do with them.
Speaker 4 (03:23):
Yeah, one hundred percent.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
So you probably haven't got the level of referees and
ther tmos and assistant referees and all that sort of thing.
Speaker 4 (03:32):
So they've lessened those roles and the impact they have
on the game.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
But at the same time, you get less accuracy inside
the game, so as coaches you have to suck it up.
Speaker 4 (03:39):
There's going to be mistakes out there.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
But the public get to watch a game that has
a lot more float to it, so we all want
to see more accurate decisions. But everyone's human. You can't
see everything on the field. So I take my head
off to the referees. They've done a fine job this year,
and like I said, the guidance they get from above
is really important.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
In that scene, you said tribal O'Neill Barns, and I
think that's very interesting. It's back back in my day.
Speaker 4 (04:02):
Listen to me.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Sounded like I'm seventy plus. That's what it was. It
was people from your school and your district. You see
no directive from upstairs. So why do you think the
MPC sides are basically coming back to their own local product.
Where does that come from.
Speaker 4 (04:17):
Oh again, I suppose people look at what other people
have done for the last three years.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
To get in our side, you have to issuely play
club Rugby and our province and show you better than.
Speaker 4 (04:26):
Our local people. Where before that there.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
Was a mindset we'll go and get someone better from
outside because we want to win the competition. Well, we
still want to win the competition, but I'd like to
think when you get out in your community and do
a lot more work in the coaching side of things,
you'll see some talent and you try and grow that.
If you have an understanding that NPC is only semi professional.
Speaker 4 (04:45):
These are amateur players.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
A lot of them that give three months off get
three months off work to come and be a professional
and show their weirs in front of the super franchises
to try and pick up a professional contract. And that's
our job is to unearthed talent, to give them an
opportunity plan on a level playing field with all the
superboys that come back and see how they go to
that end.
Speaker 4 (05:05):
I think it's been very successful.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
And they're watching, aren't they. The super coaches aren't paying
it lip service. They want to see the next big thing.
I think every season you find a player, people go wow,
where did he come from? So that's working, that step
is working.
Speaker 4 (05:21):
Yeah, that's what a pathway should look like.
Speaker 3 (05:24):
I'd like to see even more contracts left open at
super level for emerging talent. At the moment, there's probably
still a bit of a rush to secure who they
think the talent are. But yeah, I'd love to see
some rules in place for each superfranchise where they have
to have X number of positions open and that the
home franchise would get first shot at their local talent
(05:45):
and then if they weren't picked up by then the
others could pick them up. That way, there's a pathway
for NPC players to get Super But yeah, I don't
see too many positions opened late in the piece. A
lot of them already been secured, so yeah, that would
make it even better.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
Neil Barnes, what about the all black involvement. No, we
haven't got the absolute rock star, but the fact they're
getting filtered back every week, how good's that for the product?
Speaker 4 (06:12):
Yeah? It was awesome.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
I've always been a big believer that if everyone works
in Unison, if there's respect for all levels of the
rugby and you have your programs to suit and so
I'm well aware when you need to have all black.
Speaker 4 (06:23):
Programs running, all empssis going.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
But at the same time, all the all blacks need rugby,
so you want them back.
Speaker 4 (06:29):
That's what the public want to see.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
They want to see a connection back to their provinces
that they played for, and that increases your crowds and
interest side of it. That allows all blacks to come
and play alongside your MPC player and they pass on
stuff all the time.
Speaker 4 (06:41):
That's where you get your growth.
Speaker 3 (06:43):
So all of that stuff is like there's a natural
integration of those people and all the skills and the
knowledge that they have.
Speaker 4 (06:50):
For us.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
Having Stephen petterfeeder back and Josh Lawd back for a while,
how good.
Speaker 4 (06:54):
They just pass on so much to the younger guys.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
What about the grounds. I've really enjoyed watching these teams
play at smaller grounds. It's given such a sense of
community and the fact that you're there. It fears like
from TV land, but from a coaching point of view,
when you're playing at smaller grounds all over the nation,
how good is that?
Speaker 3 (07:16):
Well, it just adds to atmosphere. I mean, not many
of the royal provinces have that problem. But if you're
playing in the big smokes, the last thing you want
to do is be in a concrete jungle when there's
no one there. So for them to take their rugby
into the smaller grounds and get a bigger community involvement
gives a bit of atmosphere and people enjoy the entertainment.
But if you're sitting there with in one of those
(07:37):
big grounds that can cater for twenty thirty thousand people
and it's only got bloody one thousand people, it's practically empty,
isn't it. But an atmosphere and a smaller ground with
a thousand people is way different.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
It is always a draw card. It never seems to
get tied the ran fairly shield and again what that
has created intertwined through the competition this year has been extraordinary.
Speaker 4 (08:00):
Yeah, and massive respect for it. Loved it.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
When Hawks, Bay and Tasman have it, they treat it
with the respect that deserves. Their teams get up for it,
the part come to support it. I'd like to think
next year we'll be able to replicate that. Like we've
had to put it away when we're getting.
Speaker 4 (08:15):
Ready for our quarter. But the boys have.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
Got it out of the cupboard and they're carting around
the community now. So yeah, it's massive for everybody. So yeah,
long mate, continue.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Do you think this product that we've seen has saved
the NPC to a degree, Like, where do you see
it going from here? Because I've new broadcasting contracts in
the offering and the like, there may be some adjustments.
We know what it's like at that top level. So
do you think it's saved the product? What happens now?
Speaker 3 (08:44):
Well, like I said before, when you keep everything in balance,
the people that negotiate these deals, you need to give
it respect and market the competition as it should be
marketed in alignment with super and International, and then you.
Speaker 4 (08:59):
Get a good balance product.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
But when you ignore it, that will be at your
detriment down the track, because NPC is your breeding ground
for all your future talent for coaches and players, and
people need to understand that there's a feeling out there
at the moment they can take kids into academies and
grow them in the superfranchises and then they'll make their
X from there. Well, I say good luck with that.
To me, it's a crocod ship. Well, we got at
(09:21):
the moment has kept us at the top of the game.
For songs, you don't need to change it, you just
need to respect it.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
For more from sports talk, listen live to news talks
they'd be from seven pm weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio.
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