When the final whistle blew at Eden Park last month sealing Tasman s tense 13-12 victory over Auckland in the premiership final, Christie was part of the pandemonium in the Tasman coaches box, bear-hugging co-head coaches Clark Dermody and Andrew Goodman in unrestrained joy. “The boys were courageous and stuck to the gameplan relentlessly – that’s what made it such a proud moment,” he said. “It was definitely the biggest buzz I’ve had as a coach or player – on the back of a really hard fought season we had to learn from our mistakes and our losses and grew so much as a team – part of me wishes we were only halfway through the season because we were starting to hit our straps.”