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
A wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
11 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
11 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
24 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
10 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
17 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to comments