Magpies winger Lolagi Visinia (left) looks on as Mason Emerson and Danny Toala (right) try to wrap up ball-carrier Stacey Ili in training. Photo / Paul Taylor
Magpies winger Lolagi Visinia (left) looks on as Mason Emerson and Danny Toala (right) try to wrap up ball-carrier Stacey Ili in training. Photo / Paul Taylor
The Hawke's Bay Magpies focused on fixing their mindset this week ahead of their first Ranfurly Shield defence against Northland tomorrow
night at McLean Park.
Coach Mark Ozich said that was the key thing to work on off the back of last week's 46-10 loss to North Harbour, along withbringing greater physicality and intent to the contest.
He has made plenty of changes to his side in response to that effort, opting to return to the playing group that performed so well against Canterbury then won the Shield off Otago.
The main departure from that is at second five-eighth, where Ollie Sapsford keeps his place ahead of Hurricanes midfielder Danny Toala.
He said those elements would be particularly important against the Taniwha, with the likes of Rene Ranger and Scott Gregory in the backline and an imposing loose forward trio of Matt Matich, Kara Pryor and Tom Robinson.
"They've got lots of X-factor players right across the park, so our ability to be physical in collisions, be direct, work off the ball, scramble and have effort over the balance of the side is really important for us," Ozich said.
He said the Championship leaders are a team that play with a lot of heart, and their ability to create something out of nothing makes them hard to coach against.
"They can take a turnover on their goal line and go 100 metres and hurt you," he said.
"That means we've got to be on our game in all areas, everybody."
Hawke's Bay winger Jonah Lowe is among those to return to the starting lineup having missed last week's 46-10 loss to North Harbour. Photo / Paul Taylor
Northland sit top of the Championship table after five weeks of the Mitre 10 Cup, just three points ahead of the second-placed Magpies.
Ozich said that makes the game huge in the context of the season, and whichever team wins will take a lot of momentum going forward.
He said a bumper home crowd would be like a 24th man for Hawke's Bay, and they had already gotten his team over the line at the death against Canterbury this season.
Hawke's Bay Rugby Union commercial manager Dan Somerville said about 6700 tickets for the game had been sold as of Thursday morning, in addition to the usual expected walkup crowd of up to 2000 on the day.
That means the Magpies will be looking at their biggest home crowd since their last Ranfurly Shield reign in 2015.
Somerville said it will be a real financial boost to the Union, offsetting some of what they lost by not being able to host fans at their home opener due to Covid restrictions.
He said it's a huge boost to the players as well, who have been coming into the commercial office to check ticket sales every day this week.
"They love playing in front of big crowds," he said.
"I don't think the fans quite realise the impact they have."
The Taniwha will be well-backed too, with some 3-400 tickets sold to fans travelling down for the match.
Somerville said the good thing about Northland fans is they can be quite vocal, drawing the home fans into getting louder too.
He said after two weeks of non-stop community visits with the Shield, the Union are keen to hold onto it another week at least to fill more appearance requests:
"The Shield has been a merry-go-round this year, we don't want to lose it."
Kickoff is at 7.05pm.
Hawke's Bay Magpies
1. Pouri Rakete-Stones 2. Ash Dixon (captain) 3. Joe Apikotoa 4. Geoff Cridge 5. Tom Parsons 6. Marino Mikaele-Tu'u 7. Brendon O'Connor 8. Devan Flanders 9. Folau Fakatava 10. Lincoln McClutchie 11. Jonah Lowe 12. Ollie Sapsford 13. Stacey Ili 14. Lolagi Visinia 15. Kurt Baker Reserves 16. Kianu Kereru-Symes (C) 17. Jason Long 18. Joel Hintz 19. Isaia Walker-Leawere 20. Gareth Evans 21. Connor McLeod 22. Caleb Makene 23. Neria Fomai
Northland Taniwha
1. Ross Wright 2. Jordan Olsen (captain) 3. Kalolo Tuiloma 4. Josh Goodhue 5. Sam Caird 6. Tom Robinson 7. Kara Pryor 8. Matt Matich 9. Sam Nock 10. Dan Hawkins 11. Pisi Leilua 12. Blake Hohaia 13. Rene Ranger 14. Jone Macilai 15. Scott Gregory Reserves 16. Paddy Atkins 17. Luatangi Li 18. Coree Te Whata-Colley 19. Temo Mayanavanua 20. Rob Rush 21. Will Grant 22. Johnny Cooper 23. Kalani Going
