5/09/2012
Northland and Manawatu experienced wildly contrasting fortunes last weekend, with Northland collecting their first win at Hamilton since 1986 and Manawatu going down heavily at Auckland. If the Turbos want to make a playoff push in 2012, it’s going to have to start in Whangarei against a tough opponent.
VENUE & TIME: Toll Stadium, Whangarei, Wednesday September 5 @ 1935
HEAD TO HEAD: Played 26; Northland 17, Manawatu 7, drawn 2.
LAST TIME: October 1, 2011 (Palmerston North) – Manawatu 30-22 Northland.
WALKING WOUNDED: Northland prop Matt Wallis left the game last week with a broken arm, which is likely to end his season. Manawatu will be without Hamish Gosling, who damaged a shoulder against Auckland, but Grant Polson was back in the team after a long injury-layoff. Jason O’Halloran also rearranged his midfield after the Auckland backs met little resistance there, but he has retained most of the players from that game.
FORM:
Northland:
Round 1: lost to Otago 34-46 (a)
Round 2: beat Waikato 29-27 (a)
Manawatu:
Round 1: lost to Wellington 11-30 (h)
Round 2: lost to Auckland 16-59 (a)
Northland’s win at Hamilton was well deserved, as they gave the heavily favoured Waikato side the run-around for most of the match. The Cambridge Blue pack played with good purpose, forcing the Mooloos to make a lot of tackles, while the backline looked sharp and posed all kinds of problems to the home defence. The game might have been won by a late, wide-angled conversion, but few would argue the right team came out on top.
Manawatu had one of those days at Auckland where 80 minutes seems far too long to be playing rugby. They had to bash into the wind in the first half and two late tries took Auckland out to a big advantage that was always likely to be too big, before the wind turned and Manawatu’s fortunes carried on in the same direction as before. Poor defence, especially out wide, cost the visitors dearly and Auckland’s spot-on goal-kicking only added to their woes.
WHO’S HOT: Everyone who took the field for Northland last week played well, but even in a good team effort a few players managed to stand out. Flanker Dan Pryor had a fine match, getting around the park quickly and doing a lot of good work on either side of the ball. His try was well deserved. Rene Ranger had one of his best games in some time, threatening the Waikato defence every time he got the ball and proving resolute in defence. He should be a dominant player at this level, and last Saturday he was. New fullback Fa’atoina Autagavaia made an excellent start to his ITM Cup career, showing good positional skill and plenty of attacking talent. It’s easy to see why this bloke has already made a name for himself on the international stage, both in sevens and the full game. If Manawatu cannot shut him down, they’re in for another long 80 minutes.
Not many players come out of a game where the opposition has scored 59 points with too much credit, but Manawatu hooker Rob Foreman was one who did. His lineout work, which is always of a high standard, was as good as ever and it’s easy to see why his team has won 96 percent of its own ball this season. He also had a busy game in general play and surely must attract some interest from a franchise somewhere, even if they’re only looking for a guy to put on the taxi squad. Michael Fitzgerald played to his usual good standard and Karl Bryson cleared the ball well, often under pressure, but the reality was that Manawatu had a bad day and missed too many tackles to ever have a chance of competing with the dangerous Auckland backs.
WE THINK: Northland has looked good so far and has a lot of reasons to carry that form on. They are playing at home for the first time this season, and before the game a tribute will be paid to Northland sporting legend Bill Kini, so motivation will be easy to find. Manawatu knows a tough challenge awaits, but it’s hard to see them getting up over a team that could be one of the surprise packets in the Championship. Northland should win this one quite handily.
TEAMS:
Northland: TBA
Manawatu: 1. Grant Polson, 2. Rob Foreman, 3. Ma’afu Fia, 4. Fraser Stone, 5. Michael Fitzgerald, 6. Nick Crosswell (capt), 7. Callum Gibbins, 8. James Oliver, 9. Karl Bryson, 10. Junior Tomasi Cama, 11. Asaeli Tikoirotuma, 12. Matenga Baker, 13. Jason Emery, 14. Craig Clare, 15. Nehe Milner-Skudder.
Reserves: 16. Bryn Templeman, 17. Eric Fry, 18. Reece Robinson, 19. Antonio Kirikiri, 20. Papa Wharewera, 21. Lewis Marshall, 22. George Tilsley.
REFEREE: Garratt Williamson
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