NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • 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 / Rugby / All Blacks

Liam Napier: How rugby's North versus South match should work

Liam Napier
By Liam Napier
Senior Sports Journalist·NZ Herald·
7 Apr, 2020 06:30 PM5 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.
‌
Save

    Share this article

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

Aaron Smith in action for the Highlanders against the Chiefs. Photo / Photosport

Aaron Smith in action for the Highlanders against the Chiefs. Photo / Photosport

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

COMMENT:

The prospect of reviving the North versus South rugby rivalry has sparked interest from All Blacks and punters alike. The next question is how it would work in the modern environment?

Government-imposed lockdowns and other social distancing restrictions will, of course, determine when sporting endeavours at any level can resume.

It could be months yet before teams dust off the boots, bibs, bats and balls.

Amid the everyday struggles, though, it's important to find morsels of inspiration.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Whether that's walking, running, or the return to simpler social interactions, anything to look forward to in these confined times can't hurt.

With that in mind, and with rugby's resumption expected to start domestically, it's far more relevant to consider the North against South concept than French rugby boss Bernard Laporte's proposed World Club Cup, which faces major barriers from international travel restrictions let alone the many blindsided European clubs.

The North against South concept has a number of elements in its favour. History is the first, having been staged 80 times over 123 years, though only twice since it was last held annually in 1983.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

READ MORE:
• Covid 19 coronavirus: New Zealand Rugby respond to Crusaders players breaking lockdown rules
• Rugby: The truth behind Wallabies coach Dave Rennie's threat to walk away from Rugby Australia
• Coronavirus: New Zealand's Super Rugby substitute takes another blow
• UK critic Stephen Jones rates 1995 All Blacks 'the best rugby team of all time'

It last appeared eight years ago, in a fundraising effort for the Otago Rugby Union, which drew a luke-warm response with under 7500 turning out at Dunedin's Forsyth Barr Stadium.

Discover more

Super Rugby

Richie Mo'unga hits back: What really happened at Crusaders lockdown breach

06 Apr 11:15 PM
All Blacks

All Blacks coach: 'Somehow we'll play some rugby this year'

07 Apr 07:29 AM
Super Rugby

Michael Burgess: The PR spin that made Crusaders' lockdown breach worse

07 Apr 02:08 AM
Super Rugby

Ardern's stern warning for Crusaders stars after lockdown breach

07 Apr 03:28 AM

Understandably so, too.

On that occasion, players were selected based on their Super Rugby allegiance, effectively rendering the lure of such a match irrelevant.

Fringe All Blacks and Super Rugby players, rather than the full top shelf selection, largely propped up teams to further diminish appeal.

Coached by Graham Mourie, Dane Coles and Charles Piutau were the North's headline drawcards; Matt Todd and Luke Whitelock the Tony Gilbert-led Southern team's standout figures.

In that last 2012 fixture, South prevailed 32-24 thanks to tries from Palmerston North's Kurt Baker, Tom Marshall, Todd and Whitelock, who is also from the Manawatu.

Overall the North holds a 23 win advantage - 50 to 27, which excludes three draws.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

For this match to capture the public's imagination later this year, as New Zealand Rugby boss Mark Robinson suggested to the Herald last weekend, it needs to be done right, or not at all.

While New Zealand's rugby public will naturally crave any action whenever possible, they are also savvy enough to know when being sold a second-rate product.

NZR can't attempt to wedge a money-spinning North and South match - or series - in among other domestic competitions and not ensure the best talent is available.

If that's the case, they shouldn't bother.

Aaron Smith in action for the Highlanders against the Chiefs. Photo / Photosport
Aaron Smith in action for the Highlanders against the Chiefs. Photo / Photosport

As Super Rugby quickly discovered with its ill-fated expansion to 18 teams, throwing mass content at consumers doesn't work. Quality matters.

Paying viewers want to see the best of the best.

Prior to the coronavirus outbreak, New Zealanders had lost patience with the stringent rest protocols that deprived Super Rugby squads of several All Blacks each week.

Eyeballs are, however, near guaranteed to flock to a fiercely contested North and South match featuring New Zealand's leading talent.

All Blacks halfback Aaron Smith and Lima Sopoaga were among those to express interest in the concept following Robinson's comments.

Smith, who represents the Highlanders but hails from Feilding, suggested eligibility should be based on where players attend high school – and he's dead right.

This is the only way to give the match true credibility.

Professionalism has overhauled New Zealand rugby's landscape, forcing most players to now sign contracts at high school. The scrap to secure emerging talent often shifts athletes straight from school to provincial unions that would otherwise not be considered their home.

Auckland, for instance, will never retain all its talent.

Franchise contracting, which allowed Super Rugby teams to select squads well beyond their traditional provincial boundaries, further opened the door for widespread recruitment and player movement.

Selecting North and South teams by original school attendance is, therefore, the only way to protect authentic lines of origin.

Achieve this core aspect, inject top-line All Blacks, and attention is sure to follow.

Tribalism would receive a welcome shot in the arm.

Passionate debates will break out across the country as to who might win the proposed match or series, which could attempt to mirror league's State of Origin and involve staging three games in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch or Dunedin.

Depending when the All Blacks are next likely to play again, it could double as a national trial.

The chance to represent their roots is likely to find favour with leading players, as Smith's immediate interest implies.

Intrigue would not be in short supply.

A North and South match along school selection lines would involve the Crusaders contingent of George Bridge, Codie Taylor, Nepo Laulala, Scott Barrett, Jack Goodhue, Braydon Ennor and Sevu Reece returning north and squaring off against their Super Rugby teammates.

All Blacks and Chiefs duo Anton Lienert-Brown and Damian McKenzie would, meanwhile, be among those switching to southern colours.

Among the myriad touted rugby resumptions within New Zealand's borders, the North and South match, done right, could be one positive to emerge from the doom.

• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website

Save

    Share this article

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

Latest from All Blacks

All Blacks

All Blacks captain says inexperienced French team will ‘fire everything at us’

04 Jul 06:23 AM
Premium
All Blacks

Why switching Ioane and Vaa'i could redefine All Blacks' strategy

03 Jul 06:01 PM
All Blacks

France name eight newcomers to face All Blacks

03 Jul 05:39 PM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from All Blacks

All Blacks captain says inexperienced French team will ‘fire everything at us’

All Blacks captain says inexperienced French team will ‘fire everything at us’

04 Jul 06:23 AM

Eight uncapped players have been selected in the French side for the first test.

Premium
Why switching Ioane and Vaa'i could redefine All Blacks' strategy

Why switching Ioane and Vaa'i could redefine All Blacks' strategy

03 Jul 06:01 PM
France name eight newcomers to face All Blacks

France name eight newcomers to face All Blacks

03 Jul 05:39 PM
All Blacks v France: All you need to know

All Blacks v France: All you need to know

03 Jul 05:20 PM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

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
TOP