Taniwha face Manawatu in ITM Cup

There's no doubt in Northland back Lachie Munro's mind that Manawatu will be out for revenge tomorrow, when they face the Taniwha, who dismantled the hapless Turbos 77-8 last year at Toll Stadium.
"It's a give-in they are going to be geed up to get revenge over us. I think there was a bit of embarrassment on their part that afternoon, and they will be wound up to get the wood over us," the 24-year-old right wing said ahead of tomorrow's clash at Palmerston North's FMG Stadium.
When the two sides last met, the right-wing helped make history for Northland, recording their biggest win in the National Provincial Championship, and also claiming the most player points in a game, clocking up 32 points from two tries, two penalties and eight conversions.
Northland skipper Jared Payne - one of the architects of the win with a strong game at centre, added another record against Manawatu picking up four tries. But 2011 is a different kettle of fish altogether, with a new look and truncated competition, with both teams bidding for the ITM Cup Championship title.
Northland enter tomorrow's match on the back of a morale boosting 19-9 win over Tasman last Saturday and a round two mid-week bye.
"We had a good start to the season. Tasman have been a troublesome side for us in the past. And our team probably didn't have as much preparation together as some of the other teams in the competition as myself, Rene Ranger and Jared Payne only started training with the team on the Thursday before the match. And to slot in and be part of their systems and get the win was great - and hopefully this weekend we will have those systems working better," Munro said.
The Super 15 Blues backline trio of Ranger, Payne and Munro joined the team late in their ITM Cup preparations due to a compulsory two-week rest period for players, and while it was good to rest the body, it was a good feeling coming back into the Northland fold, Munro said.
"We all love playing for Northland, it's a different feeling playing for the Taniwha than playing for the Blues, there's more of a hometown feeling," he added.
While the Taniwha have been busy preparing for this clash, Manawatu have played two games with minimal turnaround. They won Saturday's round one home game against Hawkes Bay 32-23, and were just pipped by Counties Manukau at Pukekohe, 32-25 on Wednesday.
Fortunate enough to score a round two bye, the Taniwha have had the small luxury of being able to analyse Manawatu in their first two clashes. "We've done our homework that's for sure. Their strengths definitely lie at Cruden [Aaron] at 10, and Smith [Aaron] at 9 ... the two Aarons will be dangerous and we'll need to be careful. If you rush them they are type of player who can often beat you. We will have to be sure of ourselves and make the tackles." Shutting down the first five-eighths and halfback combination would go a long way in helping Northland keep their winning momentum going. Northland intend on playing smart footy, playing to the conditions, Munro added.
 
Teams
Northland team to play Manawatu at FMG Stadium, Palmerston North, tomorrow kicking off at 12.35pm.
1 Matt Wallis, 2 Ross Wright, 3 Scott Vessey, 4 Marty Veale, 5 Cam Goodhue, 6 Dan Faleafa, 7 Joel McKenty, 8 Cam Eyre, 9 Rhyan Caine, 10 Jack McPhee, 11 Bryce Heem, 12 Aaron Bancroft, 13 Rene Ranger, 14 Lachie Munro, 15 Jared Payne (C). Reserves: 16 Tim Dow, 17 Justin Davies, 18 Mark Burman, 19 Dan Pryor, 20 Wayne Ngaluafe, 21 Ash Moeke, 22 Simon Munro, 23 Jamie Corsi/Tevita Vaipulu.
Manawatu: 1 Grant Polson, 2 Rob Foreman, 3 Ma'afu Fia, 4 Fraser Stone/Reece Robinson, 5 Michael Fitzgerald/Reece Robinson, 6 Nick Crosswell (C), 7 Callum Gibbins, 8 Hamish Gosling, 9 Aaron Smith, 10 Aaron Cruden, 11 Tomasi Came, 12 Francis Bryant, 13 Johnny Leota, 14 Aseli Tikoirotuma, 15 Nehe Milner-Skudder. Reserves: 16 Bryn Templeman, 17 Jared Brock/Peni Kaufusi, 18 Reece Robinson, 19 James Oliver/Doug Tietjens, 20 Isaac Thompson, 21 Lewis Marshall, 22 Casey Stone, 23 David Te Moana/Peni Kaufusi.