SUPER 14 - Star of North goes south

By Sports Editor Tim Eves
Fetu Vainikolo had only just touched down at Auckland airport en route home from a holiday in Singapore when his cellphone rang.
He thought it might be his family checking up on him; turns out it was his club rugby coach with some very important news: He had just been selected to play Super 14 rugby for the Highlanders.
So instead of unpacking his packs in Whangarei today, Vainikolo is packing another bag with his rugby gear and trooping south to Dunedin.
"I was only just back in the country and my coach rang and said `you're in' and I was like, all right, sweet," Vainikolo said.
"I had no idea, really, but it has been a good year for me.
"I was surprised because I never really thought I was in the mix. I thought I had missed out," he said.
Vainikolo's selection made Northland's contribution to the Super 14 this year four players - Bronson Murray and Justin Collins were picked for the Blues and Dan Bowden included in the Highlanders with Vainikolo.
Vainikolo's selection was payback for a big gamble earlier in the year, though, when he fended off approaches from the Tongan rugby coaches who were offering a spot in the national team at the Rugby World Cup in France.
When he watched Tonga perform with distinction at the tournament, Vainikolo wondered if he had made a huge blunder. Now he thinks he made the perfect choice.
"It was good not to go in the end, but it got to me when they (Tonga) did good in France, I thought `ahhh, I should be over there', but now it is getting better," he said.
Vainikolo's elevation from the star of the Northland club competition to Super 14 professional was good news for Northland coach Mark Anscombe, too.
It was Anscombe who convinced Vainikolo to spurn the Tongan offer and shoot for a Super 14 slot instead.
Anscombe said getting four Northland players selected yesterday was a good result for the province.
It could easily have been five, but veteran David Holwell turned down the offer to have another season in the big time.
Anscombe also thinks it will just be a matter of time before Northland winger Rene Ranger gets the nod and, if Murray has a good Super 14 campaign, a place in the NZ Maori team playing in the Pacific Rim tournament next year is there for the taking.
"Fetu took a few games to get comfortable.
"Through one thing or another, it took him a little while to get to grips with it all, some of it being us as coaches not giving him enough opportunities.
"But he still scored five tries and showed what an attacking threat he can be," Anscombe said.
"The longer Fetu stays in a professional environment the better player he is going to be.
"It is good that these sort of opportunities are coming for players up here (in Northland)," he said.
"I think Rene Ranger is unlucky because he certainly has the skills and the ability to play Super 14, but even he has the chance in the New Zealand sevens squad.
"With Bronson Murray it was make or break this season and he knew it.
"If his move to tighthead did not work out, there was a fair chance even we would not want him in the Northland team next year, so he knuckled down and did the business."
Blues coach David Nucifora said selecting the squad had highlighted the depth of talent within the Blues franchise borders.
There are only two players drafted in from elsewhere - halfback Danny Lee and winger Bryn Evans, both from Hawke's Bay.
"We are pretty happy with the squad we came up with.
"This year we had 11 players not available from last year who have either stopped playing with injury, through transfer or taking up overseas offers.
"That has obviously opened the door for a lot of other people to take up the challenge of playing Super 14 rugby," Nucifora said,
"We have been able to name a squad that still will hopefully give us continuity.
"There are only a couple of players in the squad who have not been involved with us in some way or another.
"Also, there are a very low number of players who have not played this level of rugby," he said.
"That says a lot about rugby in this region and also says a lot about the development work the three teams are doing in Auckland, North Harbour and Northland."