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Lions roar into action with Mitre 10 Cup Championship final replay

The Wellington Lions won’t have to wait long for a chance to avenge their one point Championship final loss to Hawke’s Bay with the two provincial rivals drawn to play each other in the opening round of the 2016 Mitre 10 Cup.

The Lions season came agonisingly close to their goal of gaining promotion to the premiership in 2015 before they were edged 26-25 by the Magpies in the final match at McLean Park.

On August 20, at 5.35pm Lions coach Earl Va’a’s side will be back at the same venue to kick off their 2016 seasons in what promises to be an exciting start to the provincial season.

Wellington will play six home matches at Westpac Stadium including premiership rivals Taranaki and Waikato in the final two rounds of the regular season, as well as hosting North Harbour, Bay of Plenty and Southland.

The Lions’ home schedule includes two family friendly afternoon kick off times, against North Harbour at 5.35pm on Saturday, September 3, and Taranaki at 2.35pm on Sunday, October 9.

Va’a hopes his side can mix an attractive brand of running rugby with a hard edge up front as they chase their goal of gaining promotion to the Premiership in 2017.

“We came up just short last year, but laid a good foundation as a team and made some good strides toward the sort of rugby we want to be known for as a province.

“We’re not hiding from the fact that we aim to go one step further this year and we’ll be giving everything we have to achieve that goal.”

The 2016 Mitre 10 Cup will be played over nine weeks with every team playing one Wednesday night fixture in a double-up round.

For Wellington that comes late in the season with a midweek clash against the Manawatu Turbos in Palmerston North on October 5 squeezed in between home matches against Southland the preceding Friday, and Taranaki the following Sunday.

The semifinals will be played over the weekend of 21-23 October, with the Mitre 10 Championship final to be played on Friday, October 28 and the Mitre 10 Cup Premiership final on Saturday, October 29.

Wellington Lions 2016 Mitre 10 Cup draw:

August 20: v Hawke’s Bay, 5.35pm, McLean Park, Napier.

August 25: v Otago, Forsyth Barr, Stadium, 7.35pm, Dunedin.

September 3:  v North Harbour, Westpac Stadium, 5.35pm, Wellington.

September 9: v Counties Manukau, ECO Light Stadium, 7.45pm, Pukekohe.

September 16: v Bay of Plenty, Westpac Stadium, 7.45pm, Wellington.

September 22: v Northland, Toll Stadium, 7.35pm, Whangarei.

September 30: v Southland, Westpac Stadium, 7.35pm, Wellington.

October 5: v Manawatu, Central Energy Trust Stadium, 7.35pm, Palmerston North.

October 9: v Taranaki, Westpac Stadium, 2.35pm, Wellington.

October 15: v Waikato, Westpac Stadium, 7.35pm, Wellington. 

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