Roaring Like a Lion, Purring like a Pussycat

Like their senior cousins, The Hurricanes, the Wellington rugby team has been an enigma.  Often touted as a team that should be top 4 material in domestic rugby, years have seen them struggle to match it in the top flight.  But if one was to look at the past 7 years one would be surprised.

2008 AirNZ Championship  1st
2009 AirNZ Championship  2nd
2010 ITM Cup  4th

Then the Chris Boyd as Coach era:

2011 ITM Cup  6th
2012 ITM Cup  2nd
2013 ITM Cup  1st
2014 ITM Cup  7th and relegated.  OOPPSS!!

So why did that oops happen?  That's a million dollar question and one educated Wellington rugby followers and knowledgeable types can pin down.

Was it better teams in the ITM Cup ahead of them?.  Well no, they lost 9, won 1 and lost a majority of their crossover games versus supposedly weaker opposition.

Was it a poor selection of club players on offer? Possibly.  Is the club competition robust enough to provide top tier players?

Was it the coaching staff?  Well Boyd slipped from top four in his first year finishing the team next year second last in the comp.  Sure he picked it up again in his second and third years, but the bubble burst on the fourth year.  Relegation of a big city team (forget Dunedin, Hamilton and Tauranga are bigger these days) is frankly preposterous.  Did last years team have the bulk of players from the previous year when they won ITM Cup?  Must be the coach!

So Boyd moved away from the team to take up a role as Hurricanes coach and so far has proven a winner.  I'm guessing he does that job knowing his wards can't be relegated.