All Access. All in one subscription. From $2 per week
Subscribe now

All Access Weekly

From $2 per week
Pay just
$15.75
$2
per week ongoing
Subscribe now
BEST VALUE

All Access Annual

Pay just
$449
$49
per year ongoing
Subscribe now
Learn more
30
NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • All Blacks
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Sport

Liam Napier: The most intriguing battles to watch in North v South

Liam Napier
By Liam Napier
Senior Sports Journalist·NZ Herald·
4 Sep, 2020 06:00 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌

Subscriber benefit

The ability to gift paywall-free articles is a subscriber only benefit. See more offers by clicking the button below.

Already a subscriber?  Sign in here
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

All Blacks coach Ian Foster, right, and selector Grant Fox. Photo / Photosport
All Blacks coach Ian Foster, right, and selector Grant Fox. Photo / Photosport

All Blacks coach Ian Foster, right, and selector Grant Fox. Photo / Photosport

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

For all the gripes and grumbles, the absence of spectators and coronavirus complications, the North against South fixture should produce a compelling spectacle. With the best talent in New Zealand on display, how could it not?

Blending teams inside one week presents many challenges. Yet in the age of intensely analysed professionalism, the flipside means less structured confines; keeping things simple, throwing off the shackles to play what's in front of you and working in the odd trick move.

Even the officials should be on board with disruptive whistle hopefully kept in check.

Despite the short preparation window there is more than enough established combinations, inherent skill and personal pride in both teams to expect a free-flowing contest that will deliver plenty of head-turning moments.

The selection criteria which bizarrely split the Barrett brothers along provincial lines and forced others to bite their tongues in public muddies the waters of a genuine interisland rivalry. But the positional duals alone garner ample intrigue that will draw global attention this evening.

Stay ahead of the game

Get the day's sports headlines straight to your inbox.
Please email me competitions, offers and other updates. You can stop these at any time.
By signing up for this newsletter, you agree to NZME’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
All Access. All in one subscription. From $2 per week
Subscribe now

All Access Weekly

From $2 per week
Pay just
$15.75
$2
per week ongoing
Subscribe now
BEST VALUE

All Access Annual

Pay just
$449
$49
per year ongoing
Subscribe now
Learn more
30
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

How will Beauden Barrett and Damian McKenzie's dual playmaker pairing fare? Can 20-year-old Chiefs lock Tupou Vaa'i bolt into the All Blacks?

How will Beauden Barrett link up with Damian McKenzie? Photo / Photosport
How will Beauden Barrett link up with Damian McKenzie? Photo / Photosport

Which midfield has the edge? How much will Jordie Barrett add to the South's Crusaders backline?

"In terms of a spectacle I'm not going to be playing force back with Damian the whole game - put it that way," Barrett said in confirming the attacking intent.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Ten weeks of Super Rugby Aotearoa derbies left fans craving more. This match, if it delivers on the hype, should be of similar quality.

While buying into the origin rivalry is difficult in this context one only needs to consider the last North against South fixture in 2012, when four players were cited after a brawl involving Dane Coles, Kendrick Lynn, Filo Paulo and Tom Donnelly, to gauge where tensions might reach come kickoff.

Discover more

All Blacks

Liam Napier: The players with most to gain in North v South clash

03 Sep 07:00 AM
All Blacks

Gregor Paul: Why All Blacks' fixtures are about more than just rugby

03 Sep 10:57 PM
NRL

'Freak of nature': Steve Hansen reveals 'best athlete I ever coached'

04 Sep 02:30 AM
Sport|rugby

Phil Gifford: How Rieko Ioane is 'doing an Umaga'

04 Sep 07:00 AM

"Any game could have the potential to boil over," North hooker Ash Dixon said. "I'd say the boys will be pretty keen we haven't played footy for a few weeks. Things could get out of hand but, who knows, we'll have to wait and see.

"That was eight years ago. We've got our big boy pants on now and there would be a few repercussions if things like that do happen.

"Tempers do tend to get out of hand but boys these days have a lot of self-control."

All Blacks coach Ian Foster, right, and selector Grant Fox. Photo / Photosport
All Blacks coach Ian Foster, right, and selector Grant Fox. Photo / Photosport

North have rightly been installed favourites, given the power profile of their forward pack in particular, but it would be foolish to overlook the savvy Brad Mooar-coached South side which contains 11 starting Crusaders. They claimed the last four Super Rugby titles, after all.

Even for someone such as Codie Taylor, who grew up down the road from the Wellington match venue in Horowhenua and could therefore easily feel conflicted about representing the South, searching for motivation has not been contrived.

"I've got a good reason to play for the South," Taylor said. "My wife is from there, my kids are born in Christchurch. That's what I'm trying to connect to this week. I'll never forget I'm from Levin but the opportunity to play in such a unique game is special to me and I get to represent my family back in the South.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"The players that have gone before us creates a bit of excitement and energy. You see some superstars of the game, names we still remember today, that played in these fixtures. For some of them it created their careers. We've put a lot of emphasis on what it means to play for the South so we're looking forward to getting stuck into it.

"That test match intensity will be there. There's definitely no love lost when you're up against good mates."

Codie Taylor is representing the South. Photo / Photosport
Codie Taylor is representing the South. Photo / Photosport

The naming of Ian Foster's maiden All Blacks squad tomorrow underlines Taylor's point about making careers. While this is not a make or break All Blacks trial for the vast majority of the 46 players, it could be for some.

Standout performances or match-turning plays that outshine opposing players in a highly scrutinised arena such as this have the potential to shift the selection needle. When lacing up the boots, this aspect certainly heightens incentive to shine.

"At the end of this there is a team that gets selected for the All Blacks," Dixon said. "I'm guessing that will be in the back of some of the boys' minds so they'll want to prepare as well as they can and go out there and put their skills out for everyone to see."

In an eerie atmosphere Foster and fellow selector Grant Fox will be the only people occupying the Sky Stadium yellow seats. In an All Blacks context, they are also the only ones that need impressing.

Subscriber benefit

The ability to gift paywall-free articles is a subscriber only benefit. See more offers by clicking the button below.

Already a subscriber?  Sign in here
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from Sport

Sport|netball

Frustrated Silver Ferns taking offshore club offers seriously

25 Jun 03:00 AM
All Blacks

'Keep the All Blacks guessing': Why weakened French squad could still surprise

25 Jun 02:00 AM
Racing

'World-class': Entain promises fair odds as new betting law takes effect

25 Jun 01:51 AM

Kaibosh gets a clean-energy boost in the fight against food waste

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Recommended for you
Why some Māngere homeowners reject council's flood buy-out offer
Talanoa

Why some Māngere homeowners reject council's flood buy-out offer

25 Jun 02:49 AM
'Unique opportunity': Live demonstrations of waka carving, lashing
Bay of Plenty Times

'Unique opportunity': Live demonstrations of waka carving, lashing

25 Jun 02:40 AM
MAFS drama explodes in Sydney court
World

MAFS drama explodes in Sydney court

25 Jun 02:39 AM
US report shows 150,000 travelled to another state for abortions
World

US report shows 150,000 travelled to another state for abortions

25 Jun 02:38 AM
Primary industry award winners on The Country
The Country

Primary industry award winners on The Country

25 Jun 02:19 AM

Latest from Sport

Frustrated Silver Ferns taking offshore club offers seriously

Frustrated Silver Ferns taking offshore club offers seriously

25 Jun 03:00 AM

Kate Heffernan says the ANZ Premiership's murky future means players will look abroad.

'Keep the All Blacks guessing': Why weakened French squad could still surprise

'Keep the All Blacks guessing': Why weakened French squad could still surprise

25 Jun 02:00 AM
'World-class': Entain promises fair odds as new betting law takes effect

'World-class': Entain promises fair odds as new betting law takes effect

25 Jun 01:51 AM
From All Blacks to Barbarians: Sam Cane's rugby journey continues

From All Blacks to Barbarians: Sam Cane's rugby journey continues

25 Jun 01:17 AM
Engage and explore one of the most remote places on Earth in comfort and style
sponsored

Engage and explore one of the most remote places on Earth in comfort and style

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
All Access. All in one subscription. From $2 per week
Subscribe now

All Access Weekly

From $2 per week
Pay just
$15.75
$2
per week ongoing
Subscribe now
BEST VALUE

All Access Annual

Pay just
$449
$49
per year ongoing
Subscribe now
Learn more
30
TOP
search by queryly Advanced Search