Rugby: Coaches aiming to revive Taniwha

Next year will be business as usual for Northland head coach Richie Harris. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Taniwha coaches Richie Harris and Dale MacLeod will see out the remainder of their contracts with the Northland Rugby Union.

Noting it would be hard to sink lower than last season's record, Northland Rugby Union chief executive Jeremy Parkinson said "it's business as usual and we're in behind Richie to turn the ship around".

"Obviously we'll take quite a few learnings out of this year and look to put some parameters and structures in place," he said.

"They've obviously got their heads around what it takes for an Northland ITM Cup team ... [now] we're just looking forward to Richie and Dale working together and building."

With a good portion of Northland's 2015 side staying on board for next season, Parkinson said the boost in Super Rugby contracted players brought a sigh of relief.

"We've got the most Super Rugby players we've ever had out of a season, so they're going to come back in a lot better condition after being in a fully professional rugby environment.

Adding that the remaining Taniwha players will be staying in the province to play club footy next year, the continuity will add another degree of confidence for Harris and MacLeod.

Hoping to emulate the success of the 2014 ITM Cup semifinal-making Northland squad, the Taniwha won't need to work too much harder next year to put the shaky season of 2015 in the rear-view mirror. Ironically they are up for Team of the Year at the 2015 Konica Minolta Northland Sports Awards, while coach Derren Whitcombe has been nominated for Coach of the Year.

"It's a little bit ironic in that ... their [Sport Northland's award] calender year runs a little bit differently to our one," Parkinson said.

"Derren was in his fourth year at coaching ITM and George [Konia] his second, so we [now] have two new rookie coaches who we believe are the right men for the job. We're looking forward to Richie and Dale doing the job."