Tiatia can’t wait to head back down memory lane

Simon Thomas

It will be a special trip down memory lane for Filo Tiatia when he heads to Swansea this weekend.

The former All Blacks forward spent some five years with the Ospreys as a player, establishing himself as a true legend of the region.

Now he’s travelling back there in his new role as Dragons RFC head coach for Saturday afternoon’s BKT URC Welsh derby.

Old haunt

“I can’t wait to get to Swansea, my old haunt,” said the ex-back row man.

“I am looking forward to seeing some old mates.

“I have a lot of family down there, not blood, but they are my family, people I made strong relationships and bonds with over time and it’s still strong today.

“I loved the east stand, I made a lot of bonds with the fans. I was always out in the community. They are special people, no different to the Dragons.”

Reflecting on the challenge the Ospreys will pose this weekend at the Swansea.com Stadium, he said: “They are a very good side.

“We beat them at Rodney Parade in the first game of the season, so they will be waiting for us.

“We are under no illusions about the DNA of the Ospreys and what’s coming. They will be tough, but we are excited for it.”

Toyota Verblitz

It’s 19 years since Tiatia first arrived in Wales, joining the Ospreys from Japanese club Toyota Verblitz in 2006.

Although he had won two caps for New Zealand during his time with the Hurricanes in Wellington, his signing didn’t come with the fanfare that had accompanied the likes of Justin Marshall, Jerry Collins and Marty Holah showing up in Swansea. Plus, he was already in his mid-30s.

But he was to become one of the region’s all-time greats through his teak-hard performances and the standards he set, helping them win two league titles.

“I was an old guy, I wasn’t young,” he recalls.

“I made my debut at 34, but I played 99 games for the Ospreys, one short of 100.

“The friendships I made there were special.”

After hanging up his boots in 2011, Tiatia returned to Toyota Verblitz as coach, ahead of spells with the Sunwolves, Japan, Auckland and Moana Pasifika.

Then, last summer, he headed back to Wales to take charge of the defence at the Dragons, stepping up to become head coach in November following the departure of Dai Flanagan.

Testing

It’s been a testing assignment, with the Gwent region having not won a league game since that opening day victory over the Ospreys.

“The URC is a competitive league and we are playing against some very good sides,” he said.

“If you look at the ledger, we are still at the bottom and we have got lots to learn and need to keep growing.

“We have just got to learn a little bit faster around parts of the game.”

It looked as though they were on course for a second league win when they led the Scarlets 20-7 in last weekend’s Judgement Day clash at the Principality Stadium, only to go down 31-23.

“It’s fine margins,” said Tiatia. “It’s momentum and when you have momentum how do you keep your foot on the throttle and don’t let it off. We applied pressure, we scored tries and then we let them back in the game.

“We gave ourselves an opportunity to win, but we have just got to be more clinical around some of the basics.

“I felt for the group, but it’s hard to win games when you are giving so many penalties away.

“We had two yellow cards, so we were having to fight hard with 14 players on the field for 20 minutes. The penalty count was too high. If you are trying to stay in games, you want to be under ten.

“We have just got to improve some of the little things we are not doing well and work better with the referee that’s in the middle. It’s an opportunity for us to learn.”