The season may not get underway until August, but the Bay of Plenty Rugby Union's new Steamers coach is already at hard at work.
Daryl Gibson is taking up his first head coaching role since leaving Super Rugby side New South Wales Waratahs in 2019, after a seven-year stint with the club.
Gibson, whose last role was as an assistant with Fiji at last year's Autumn Nations Cup, brings with him a fearsome track record of coaching experience with the likes of the Glasgow Warriors, Crusaders, Maori All Blacks, Samoa and Waratahs on his CV.
After what he calls a Covid-19 enforced break, Gibson is now ready to sink his teeth in to his new job with the Steamers.
'I'm feeling pretty privileged to be given the opportunity,” says the 46-year-old. 'I've had a good break from coaching and I've had some good discussions with the CEO and the board. I felt that the team is in a really good space, the union is really ambitious and, like most of the region, it's in growth mode.
'So I think it's a really excellent time to get involved and give back to Bay of Plenty rugby and the community.
'I'm feeling energised and really keen and possessed about getting back into coaching.”
Gibson arrives in place of Clayton McMillan. His predecessor has replaced Warren Gatland as Chiefs head coach, with the former Wales supremo on secondment for the upcoming British and Irish Lions Tour.
The first job is to complete his coaching team, with Gibson pleased to be joined by the experienced former Hurricanes assistant Richard Watt as his right-hand man, as well as plugging any gaps left in the current roster. The overall aim is to go one better than McMillan's impressive run to last year's Mitre10 cup semi-final.
'We've still got a few spots up for grabs,” says Gibson.
'We're getting around the region and watching club footy and Super Rugby to see if we can put together a strong roster to challenge and go one better and get to the final, to give us a chance to win the cup.”
Whilst success on the pitch is a key goal for Gibson, he has also made it clear that part of his remit is to use his experience of world-class coaching to lift already high standards in the Bay to the next level.
On top of that, another goal is to bring through young talent from the region, as seen with the recent signings of Cassius Misa, Benet Kumeroa, Kali Vaipulu and Kohan Herbert, who have come through the Bay of Plenty Rugby High Performance program.
Using that recent, and hopefully ongoing, success can help the club's growing stature in the community. Steamers fans fully got behind the team's impressive cup run last season and Gibson hopes that continues during his tenure.
'It's important that the team forges a real identity that the region can identify with and relate to,” says Gibson.
'Bay of Plenty have got a particular way they like to play the game, and I'm certainly not going to try and change that.
'We're a wide region and very diverse, so getting a community sport, particularly during that Covid period where it was a little bit crazy, was incredibly important.
'It reignited people's passion for rugby again, and that really showed what the community game is all about and where the national championship fits in the rugby landscape in New Zealand.”