Injury robs Northland of All Blacks midfield as battle with defending champions arrives
Northland Taniwha’s clash with reigning Premiership champions, the Tasman Mako, in Blenheim tonight will be the ideal springboard to test the true state of their readiness to go deep in this year’s Mitre 10 Cup competition.
The loss of All Blacks midfielder Jack Goodhue and first five Dan Hawkins to injury is a huge blow for a side looking to overpower a team boasting a ridiculous amount of creative talent.
A 43-26 win for Northland over Manawatu in the opening round in Whang?rei last weekend was pleasing but a herculean effort is required for Northland to topple the Mako who can sniff weakness like their namesake shark.
The Cambridge Blue cannot give them even a hint they are playing for time – passively, rather than actively, managing their strategy — otherwise it will be all over by halftime.
Northland head coach George Konia is acutely aware of the challenge facing his side in Blenheim tonight.
“We just wanna focus on ourselves. It’s going to be a tough ask, no matter who you play with a five-day turnaround. Tasman showed in their win over Counties Manukau that they can be flustered and pressured.
“For us, the key is to play in the right parts of the field which is a big work-on for us, and to exert enough pressure,” Konia said.
He knows Northland cannot afford the sort of stuttering start they showed last weekend which he attributed to a lack of pre-season games and insufficient time for new combinations to gel.
However, the pleasing part from a coaching perspective was that the lack of cohesion became less obvious as the game wore on and it looked as if they were better able to pick when and where the ball should be going.
“We stayed in the fight, fought back and changed the momentum of the game. The emphasis on competing at set-piece paid off and our lineout was very good, and just nailing our core roles,” he said.
Tamati Tua will pair with Rene Ranger in midfield and the latter will have to lift his game big time after a relatively quiet game last weekend.
The duo will face off with Mako skipper David Havili, who returns from an extended injury absence, with Fetuli Paea wearing the No 13 jersey.
As if the @TasmanMako needed reinforcements ??https://t.co/ECQCiK5vds
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 17, 2020
All Blacks Tyrel Lomax, Shannon Frizell, Sevu Reece and Will Jordan will provide the extra firepower against Northland.
Johnny Cooper and Ben Tou are on the bench for Northland and could make their debut while Fijian lock Temo Mayanavanua will play his blazer match.
Wiseguy Faiane will slot in at first five, Sam Nock has been retained as halfback, Pisi Leilua and Jordan Hyland are the wingers and Scott Gregory is back at fullback.
In the forwards, skipper Jordan Olsen, Luatangi Li and Tyler Kearns make up the front row, Sam Caird and Josh Goodhue form the second row, and Tom Robinson and Kara Pryor are the sorts of loosies required to attack the breakdown.
Sam MacNamara provides an option at lineout from No 8.
Hawkins, Jack Goodhue, Aorangi Stokes, Saimoni Uluinakauvadra, Ross Wright, Kane Jacobson, Rob Rush, and Kalolo Tuiloma are all in the casualty ward.
The match kicks off at 7pm.
Comments on RugbyPass
Brayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
5 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.
29 Go to commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
5 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to comments