RUGBY - And now ... help from our very, very, very good friends

Ted Griffin might be turning in his grave at the prospect, but that hasn't stopped Northland rugby coach Mark Anscombe from improving his playing stocks by forging a new kiss-and-cuddle arrangement with Auckland.
Griffin made a name for himself as a hard-nosed Northland coach who ran the provincial rugby side for 21 years, a tenure exemplified by deep-seated antagonism toward Auckland.
But times are a-changin' and Anscombe is making the most of a sudden benevolence on behalf of Auckland rugby coach Pat Lam - the new Blues head coach - to bulk up the Northland squad three days before the Air NZ Cup campaign kicks off.
Now the Northland squad, already on a roll after rounding off an unbeaten three-game pre-season programme by defeating Counties-Manukau 28-0 on Friday night, will be bolstered by the addition of four Auckland squad members: prop Chris Heard, flanker Hamish Patterson, halfback Breyton Helleur, and first five eighths Ash Moeke.
And if injury problems hit the Northland team later in the season, there may be more to come yet.
"We need cover for Dooley (David Holwell) at first five, that has been a key area of concern for us, and now if we get an injury in a key area we have got a situation (with Auckland) where we can go to them and say `can we get help'," Anscombe said.
As Blues franchise partners, Northland is in an ideal position to call on Auckland rugby stocks, especially with Lam eager to see more players exposed to provincial rugby.
But the move may not sit too well with some die-hard Northland rugby fans and comes with a word of caution from former All Black lock and Northland rugby skipper Glenn Taylor.
"I quite like the idea of loan players coming north early and showing commitment to Northland by playing in the club scene here. I think the general rugby public quite like that too," Taylor said.
"But having players rock into the representative team at this stage makes it hard for the local guys who have done the hard yards in the club scene here. It is a tough one in the professional era, and we always need a couple of loan players to help out, but we need to be careful we don't go too far," he said.
As it stands the Northland squad this season has already taken on a totally different look. The game on Friday night was the first of the season to be given first-class status, and subsequently saw 11 players make their Northland debuts.
Of those 11, five could be classed as ``imports' although three of them, halfback James Rodley, lock Marty Veale and loose forward Blair Urlich, have been playing club rugby in Northland this season.
Anscombe said he was comfortable with the balance of his squad this season, with a strong forward pack complementing a talented backline. But with depth an issue, he said the allegiance with Auckland could be important.
Northland kick-off their campaign against Waikato at Okara Park on Thursday night.