Harding preps Taniwhas

TEAM PLAYER: Taniwha first-five Dan Hawkins was just one ITM Cup player who helped up the quality of Harding Shield rugby this year.PHOTO/JOHN STONE

The increased emphasis put on Harding Shield rugby has paid dividends for some players with Taniwha contracts, coach Derren Witcombe says.

With progression in sport relying on opportunities, Witcombe believes the annual sub-union competition provides Northlanders with plenty of opportunities - ones that some players took more than others.

In April last year, Witcombe and assistant coach George Konia told the Advocate they wanted a Northland team made up of players from within the region.

Witcombe and Konia also said they wanted to see Harding Shield rugby strong, reminiscing of a time that when Harding Shield rugby was strong so too was Northland.

Now, 15 months later, Witcombe and Konia are pleased - and impressed - with the progress.

With Whangarei reclaiming the Harding Shield at Toll Stadium last weekend, the competition has served its purpose.

"The first two rounds were awesome, we got a lot out of it," Witcombe said from his office at the Northland Rugby Union's headquarters, adding that there were still positives for some in last weekend's matches despite the blowout in score lines.

"We're looking at players who aren't on contract and, for them, the Harding Shield gives these guys an opportunity to play with our contracted guys.

"Some of these guys you'll see, when we name the ITM Cup team next week, they've earned it through club and Harding Shield rugby.

"It's great to see our contracted guys standing up in club and Harding, which means it is sharing their experience with the rest of the players - the next best - and it's giving the next best guys an opportunity to stand up."

Players to catch Witcombe's eye were Waipu duo Dan Mccully and Brooke Gilmore, along with Whangarei hooker Jordon Olsen.

Witcombe added that without the Harding Shield having as positive a buy-in from clubs as it had, it would not have been possible for the likes of Mccully, Gilmore, and Olson to showcase their talents.

"[The clubs and sub-unions] have all put their best players forward and it's their passion and commitment to the game that is showing in the competitions, which is only going to be good for Northland rugby going forward, so a sincere thank you to them."

While plenty of positives have come from the 2014 Harding Shield, which has been in its centenary year, there have been criticisms.

Frustration from coaches has boiled over at times as clubs look to secure play-off spots in their respective competitions.

However, Witcombe sees that as a positive.

"To be honest it is quite a good thing people are grumbling because it shows there is passion out there.

"You look at the club competition there are still five teams vying for two spots, it shows it's competitive and those grumbles are coming from passion," he said.

"You're always going to have people who disagree with you, you've got to have a thick skin and we've got to believe in what we're doing. We're continuing with our local flavour from last year, we may end up only bringing in two or three players from outside and that's in specialist positions that we need - and that's in consultation with the development coaches and other high performance people from within the organisation."

Witcombe wants to see his Taniwhas in club colours too

"If players are injured it means they can't train for us and do the job we need them to do, we had 14 guys out injured for the Blues [versus Barbarians] game but we were optimistic about that and thought it's 14 more opportunities for guys - and some of them have earned contracts through that.

"The last thing we want to see is our contracted guys injured all club season and just coming right for ITM Cup, we want to see them out there in club and Harding competitions."

The Northland Rugby Union confirmed their ITM Cup squad would be named next week.