'War' in the north; Shield in the south
Thu, 09 Sep 2010 14:02
Auckland captain Daniel Braid said he was expecting the Wellington Lions to come out all guns blazing when the two teams go head-to-head in Round Seven of the NPC at Eden Park on Saturday.
The home team, Auckland, has already been on the receiving end of one backlash - against Canterbury in Round Five, and they find themselves in a familiar position as they welcome a Wellington outfit still fuming from their loss to Manawatu.
"If you look at the whole competition this year, some teams have been poor one week and the next they've come out and put in a great performance so we are aware of how Wellington will be feeling this weekend and we've got to make sure that we've prepared well and we get off to a good start," Braid said.
While Braid concedes his side has not been at its scintillating best so far this season, he feels there were some glimpses of what his side is capable of in the second half against Taranaki and believes they are not far away from clicking into gear.
"I think our defence has been pretty good," he said. "Apart from that Canterbury game we've been restricting sides to mostly one try a game so that part of things has been very pleasing but we've just got to get some confidence in our attacking game.
"We've turned over the most amount of possession in the competition so once we sort that side of things out I think we'll be very dangerous."
Auckland head coach Mark Anscombe has made three changes to the starting XV to face Wellington.
Ash Dixon replaces Tom McCartney at hooker while Adam Kleeberger (replacing Peter Saili) and Winston Stanley (replacing Ben Atiga) both make their first starts of the season after appearances off the bench last week.
Lock Liaki Moli's outstanding 80 minute effort against Taranaki sees him maintain his starting position ahead of veteran Kurtis Haiu, while Anscombe has also rewarded the impact replacement prop Angus Ta'avao and back Gareth Anscombe made last week by maintaining their spots on the bench.
Auvasa Faleali'i is back in action after a shoulder reconstruction to claim the reserve scrumhalf spot, and Dave Thomas is also on named the bench after overcoming a concussion sustained against Canterbury.
* Friday's clash against Southland is important for North Harbour to pick up crucial points in the NPC, but the game has extra incentive as the iconic Ranfurly Shield is on the line.
Thoughts will go back to September 24, 2006 when an unfancied North Harbour side slipped into Christchurch relatively unnoticed and made history by beating a powerful Canterbury line-up, to win the coveted Log of Wood for the first time in North Harbour's history.
Head coach Craig Dowd can see parallels with where his team is now compared with the 2006 success that has a permanent place in the Harbour highlights reels.
Dowd is under no illusions as to the difficulty of the task against a tough and experienced Southland team.
"Southland have just come off a loss against Northland and they will be hurting from that. They are back home after being on the road for a while and they are a good side on top of the table. Their set piece is very good and they have a very experienced forward pack and they like to dominate.
"But our focus is on looking at ourselves and sorting our own game out. We have done a lot of work defensively because we know once we have sorted that area out we have other parts of our game that are working."
* Twenty-one-year-old No.8 Elliot Dixon injured a hamstring at training Wednesday and has been ruled out of the Southland Stags' Ranfurly Shield defence against North Harbour in Invercargill on Friday.
Dixon has made a promising start to his debut national provincial championship season to date, but will now take a forced break because of the injury.
Stags forwards coach David Henderson said he wasn't yet able to put a likely timeframe on just how long Dixon would be sidelined for. Hamstring injuries tend to take a while to heal.
The Stags' second No.8 in the squad, Kane Thompson, was also in doubt heading into Friday, but was named in the starting line-up.
* Waikato coach Chris Gibbes has tweaked his side for their encounter with Hawke's Bay in Napier on Saturday.
"With [North] Harbour [last week] we were very happy to walk away with a win and the bonus point. We played pretty well in patches of that game and we are keen to keep building on this performance," Gibbes said.
"We have another big game this week and will need to be ready for what will be a big physical clash. We have had a solid week in terms of training and the boys are ready to get back onto the field."
Toby Smith returns to the starting tight forward pack after sustaining a hamstring injury last week at training and will feature alongside powerhouse Aled de Malmanche and captain Nathan
White.
Zak Hohneck makes his debut for the 2010 season in the No.7 jersey, as Liam Messam moves back into the No.8 position and Jack Lam moves from the openside to the blindside flank.
The Waikato backline remains the same as last week with the exception of Richard Kahui.
"Unfortunately for Richard he landed awkwardly on his shoulder during the game last weekend. He has been off with the flu this week and will see the surgeon tomorrow to see what extent the fall has had on his shoulder," commented Gibbes.
* There are six changes to the Canterbury starting line-up to play Northland in Whangarei on Saturday - the most notably Sonny Bill Williams' first start.
Hooker Steve Fualau, prop Peter Borlase and Luke Romano replace Corey Flynn, Owen Franks and Sam Whitelock, who are on All Blacks duty.
No.8 Ash Parker comes in for Nasi Manu, who injured an ankle in the victory over Bay of Plenty last weekend.
Williams starts at inside centre, replacing Ryan Crotty, who sprained his left foot again against Bay of Plenty, and Patrick Osborne comes on to the right wing, replacing Tu Umaga-Marshall, who injured a shoulder in the same match.
New Brighton hooker Marcel Cummings-Toon comes on to the bench for Paul Ngauamo, who is unavailable due to a family bereavement.
Scrumhalf Willi Heinz is available after recovering from a broken hand suffered in the match against Hawke's Bay and is on the reserves bench.
Canterbury assistant coach Tabai Matson is wary of the firepower in Northland's backline.
He said: "They're playing with a lot of confidence at the moment and we're going to have to be on the ball defensively.
"Northland are always tough to beat at home and Canterbury sides have traditionally struggled in Whangarei."
The Canterbury team have been out in the community visiting refuge
centres and helping with the clean-up following last Saturday's earthquake in the region.
Matson added that it was important the players were fully focused on the game come kick-off.
"Physically they will be ready but it's imperative that they're mentally ready too."
All the Round Seven fixtures and teams:
Thursday, September 9:
Bay of Plenty v Manawatu
(Mt Maunganui 0 19.35)
Teams:
Bay of Plenty: 15 Toby Arnold, 14 Lelia Masaga/Ben W Smith, 13 Corey Aporo, 12 Grant McQuoid, 11 Jason Hona, 10 Mike Delany, 9 Chad Tuoro, 8 Colin Bourke (captain), 7 Sam Cane, 6 Tanerau Latimer, 5 Culum Retallick, 4 Aiden Kuka, 3 Tristan Moran, 2 Daniel Perrin, 1 Joe Savage.
Replacements: 16 Simon Chisholm, 17 James McGougan, 18 Luke Katene, 19 Solomon King, 20 Phil Burleigh, 21 Daniel Waenga, 22
Smith/Nick McCashin.
Manawatu: 15 Craig Clare, 14 Shannon Paku, 13 Hadleigh Parkes, 12 Frank Bryant (captain), 11 Lote Raikabula, 10 Isaac Thompson, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Mitchell Crosswell, 7 James Oliver, 6 Hamish Gosling, 5 Reece Robinson, 4 Michael Fitzgerald, 3 Karl Haitana, 2 Sean O'Connor, 1 Shane Kingsland.
Replacements: 16 Rob Foreman, 17 Donal McNamara, 18 Fraser Stone, 19 Bertus Mulder, 20 Karl Bryson, 21 Asaeli Tikoirotuma, 22 Casey Stone.
Referee: Garratt Williamson
Friday, September 10:
Southland v North Harbour
(Invercargill - 19.35)
Teams:
Southland: 15 Glen Horton, 14 Tony Koonwaiyou, 13 Kendrick Lynn, 12 Matt Saunders, 11 James Paterson, 10 Robbie Robinson, 9 Scott Cowan, 8 Kane Thompson, 7 Tim Boys, 6 John Hardie, 5 Joe Tuineau, 4 Josh Bekhuis, 3 Chris King, 2 Jason Rutledge, 1 Jamie
Mackintosh (captain).
Replacements: 16 Bayden Mitchell, 17 Michael Peterson, 18 Alex Ryan, 19 Dion Bate, 20 Sonny Rangitohereri, 21 Seminar Manu, 22 Mark Wells.
North Harbour: 15 Jack McPhee, 14 Alipate Fatafehi, 13 Jack Tarrant, 12 Luke McAlister, 11 Nafi Tuitavake, 10 Michael Harris, 9 Chris Smylie, 8 Richard Mayhew, 7 Malakai Ravulo, 6 Matt Luamanu, 5 Filo Paulo, 4 James King, 3 Ben Afeaki, 2 James Parsons, 1 Michael Reid (captain).
Replacements: 16 Mike Mayhew, 17 James Afoa, 18 William Whetton, 19 Scott Uren, 20 Nalu Tuigamala, 21 Ben Botica, 22 Brendon Watt.
Referee: Vinny Munro
Assistant referees: Joshua Noonan, James McPhail
TMO: Doug Rodgers
Saturday, September 11:
Hawke's Bay v Waikato
(Napier - 14.35)
Teams:
Hawke's Bay: 15
Gillies Kaka, 14 Zac Guildford, 13 Jason Shoemark (captain), 12 Ryan McLeod, 11 Richard Buckman, 10 Daniel Kirkpatrick, 9 Kahn Fotuali'i, 8 Grant Webb, 7 Karl Lowe, 6 Mike Coman, 5 Leighton Price, 4 Bryn Evans, 3 Clint Newland, 2 Hikawera Elliot, 1 Josh Keys.
Replacements: 16 Eugene Smith, 17 Whetu Barber, 18 Ross Kennedy, 19 Michael Johnson, 20 Chris Eaton, 21 Star Timu, 22 Sinoti Sinoti.
Waikato: 15 Sosene Anesi, 14 Tim Mikkelson, 13 Save Tokula, 12 Christian Lealiifano, 11 Dwayne Sweeney, 10 Trent Renata, 9 Brendon Leonard, 8 Liam Messam, 7 Zak Hohneck, 6 Jack Lam, 5 Romana Graham, 4 Toby Lynn, 3 Nathan White (captain), 2 Aled de Malmanche, 1 Toby Smith.
Replacements: 16 Vern Kamo, 17 Ben May, 18 Dominiko Waqaniburotu, 19 Alex Bradley, 20 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 21 Sam Christie, 22 Henry Speight.
Referee: Kane McBride
Assistant referees: Marty Hantz, Barry McGaveston
TMO: Bruce Dockary
Northland v Canterbury
(Whangarei - 16.30)
Teams:
Northland: 15 Lachie Munro ,14 Mateo Malupo 13 Jared Payne, 12 Aden Dewes, 11 Iwi Hauraki, 10 David Holwell, 9 Rhyan Caine, 8 Cam Eyre, 7 Dan Pryor, 6 Dean Budd, 5 Mark Burman, 4 Pat O'Connor, 3 Matt Wallis, 2 Tim Dow, 1 Bronson Murray.
Replacements: 16 Mikaele Tuu'u, 17 Ross Wright, 18 Roy Griffin, 19 Cam Goodhue, 20 Luke Hamilton, 21 Adam Clarke, 22 Brock Mustard.
Canterbury: 15 Sean Maitland, 14 Patrick Osborne, 13 Robbie Fruean, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Telusa Veainu, 10 Stephen Brett, 9 Andy Ellis, 8 Ash Parker, 7 George Whitelock (captain), 6 Matt Todd, 5 Isaac Ross, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Peter Borlase, 2 Steve Fualau, 1 Andrew Olorenshaw.
Replacements: 16 Marcel Cummings-Toon, 17 Rodney Ah You, 18 Rob Verbakel, 19 Brendon O'Connor, 20
Willi Heinz, 21 Sam Monaghan, 22 Robbie Flynn.
Referee: Mike Fraser
Assistant referees: Kayal Collins, Boris Jurlina
TMO: Peter Nock
Auckland v Wellington
(Auckland - 18.35)
Teams:
Auckland: 15 Brent Ward, 14 Atieli Pakalani, 13 Winston Stanley, 12 Jamie Helleur, 11 Bryce Heem, 10 Matt Berquist, 9 Toby Morland, 8 Chris Lowrey, 7 Daniel Braid (captain), 6 Adam Kleeberger, 5 Andrew van der Heijden, 4 Liaki Moli, 3 Charlie Faumuina, 2 Ash Dixon, 1 Tevita Mailau.
Replacements: 16 Tom McCartney, 17 Angus Ta'avao, 18 Kurtis Haiu, 19 Peter Saili, 20 Auvasa Faleali'i, 21 Gareth Anscombe, 22 Dave Thomas.
Wellington: 15 Apoua Stewart, 14 Julian Savea, 13 Shaun Treeby, 12 Charlie Ngatai, 11 Hosea Gear, 10 Lima Sopoaga, 9 Alby Mathewson, 8 Rodney So'oialo (captain), 7 Scott Fuglistaller, 6
Faifili Levave, 5 Api Naikatini, 4 Jeremy Thrush, 3 Neemia Tialata, 2 Dane Coles, 1 John Schwalger.
Replacements: 16 Ged Robinson, 17 Jacob Ellison, 18 Nick Passi, 19 Dean Brunsdon, 20 Ruki Tipuna, 21 Fa'atonu Fili, 22 Tajhon Mailata.
Referee: Chris Pollock
Assistant referees: Robert Parkes, Steve Salton
TMO: Chris Morgan
Sunday, September 12
Tasman v Otago
(Nelson - 14.35)
Teams:
Tasman: 15 Robbie Malneek, 14 Blair Cook, 13 Kade Poki, 12 Tom Marshall, 11 James Kamana, 10 James Marshall, 9 Steve Alfeld, 8 Joe Wheeler, 7 Jonathan Poff, 6 Tasi Luafutu, 5 Chris Jack (captain), 4 Glen Gregory, 3 Hamish Cochrane, 2 Francis Smith, 1 Fai Mika.
Replacements: 16 Vernon Fredericks, 17 Sam Prattley, 18 Anthony Elisala, 19 Shane Christie, 20 Kaide Whiting, 21 Jack Umaga,
22 Afeleki Pelenise.
Otago: 15 Ben Smith, 14 Joe Hill, 13 Josh Tatupu, 12 Andrew Parata, 11 Ryan Shortland, 10 Glenn Dickson, 9 Johnny Legg, 8 Adam Thomson, 7 Alando Soakai (captain), 6 Brad Cameron, 5 Hayden Triggs, 4 Hoani Matenga, 3 Halani Aulika, 2 Liam Coltman, 1 Kees Meeuws.
Replacements: 16 Wyatt McKay, 17 Sam Hibbard, 18 Josh Townsend, 19 Charlie O'Connell, 20 Sean Romans, 21 Hayden Parker, 22 Chris Small.
Taranaki v Counties Manukau
(New Plymouth - 16.35)
Taranaki: 15 Kurt Baker, 14 Andre Taylor, 13 George Pisi, 12 Jayden Hayward, 11 David Smith, 10 Willie Ripia, 9 Tyson Keats, 8 Ben Souness, 7 Chris Walker, 6 Jarrad Hoeata, 5 Craig Clarke (captain), 4 James Broadhurst, 3 Michael Bent, 2 Mahonori Schwalger, 1 Shane Cleaver.
Replacements: 16 Timo Tutavaha, 17 Carl Carmichael, 18 Kane Barrett, 19 Samuela Vunisa, 20 Brett Goodin, 21 Beauden
Barrett, 22 Isaia Tuifua.
Counties Manukau: 15 Tim Nanai Williams, 14 Ahsee Tuala, 13 Siale Piutau, 12 Tana Umaga, 11 Sherwin Stowers, 10 James Semple, 9 August Pulu, 8 Fritz Lee, 7 Pepa Koloamatangi, 6 Ronald Raaymakers, 5 Jamie Chipman, 4 Taiasina Tuifua, 3 Jono Owen, 2 Grant Henson, 1 Simon Lemalu.
Replacements: 16 Mark Price, 17 Graham Dewes, 18 Sikeli Nabou, 19 Mark Selwyn, 20 Samisoni Fisilau, 21 Rey Lee-Lo, 22 David Raikuna.
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