Mako coaches sign on for two more campaigns

The Tasman Mako have announced two new head coaches, locking in the top spot for the next two seasons.

Mako coach Gray Cornelius will helm the team for the next two years, having signed on to take sole responsibility of the team, while La Toya Mason will take charge of the women’s FPC team.

With his co-head coach from the 2022, Dan Perrin, stepping away from the team due to his commitments with the Crusaders, Gray’s first order of business is finding a suitable replacement.

He says that’s the next piece of the puzzle, but one they have already started solving ahead of another crack at the championship.

That’s always the ultimate goal, he says, but it’s not the only way to gauge success.

“Obviously we want to be successful, but what does success look like.

“As a coach at the NPC level, I get a lot of satisfaction from seeing guys go on. To use the Mako as a pathway to Super Rugby and even higher honours.”

La Toya, an Aucklander who represented England at the highest level 70 times and won a Women’s Rugby World Cup, was assistant to Mel Bosman in the 2023 Farah Palmer Cup season that saw the Mako team make the Championship semi-final.

With Mel moving into the USA Eagles coaching setup, the chance to take the reigns at the Mako was too good an opportunity to turn down for La Toya.

“I’m incredibly excited to be entrusted with the Mako for the next two seasons. Building on the success of last season is a great challenge, but one I’m relishing,” she says.

With some key players stepping away from the Mako, like midfielder Alex Nankivell and first five-eighth Mitch Hunt, there’s an opportunity for some new talent to step up to the plate, says Gray.

“There’s opportunities for boys in our academy, it’s pretty exciting to know those roles are there.

“We’re a young province stacked with so many players who return, and love to return because of that culture.”

Added to the firepower is the return of players who stepped away last season with World Cup duties and a handful of players who missed out on playing due to injury.

But with the likes of lock Viliami Napa'a back at training with Moana Pasifika and flanker Fletcher Anderson training with the Crusaders, they are looking fit to return this upcoming season.

For Gray, who started coaching Marlborough Boys’ College as a long-serving physical education teacher in 2009, it’s been a classic rise through the ranks.

He would take the school boy team led by future All Black Atu Moli to a Press Cup win in 2013 and continued coaching until 2018.

From there he coached Tasman’s B side, before stepping up to an assistant coaching role with the Mako for three seasons before being promoted to the top job last year.

He wanted to thank Dan for learning alongside each other, as well as head strength and conditioning coach James Holden.