Harbour vow to build towards better days

North Harbour coach Allan Pollock is determined his team won't "do a Bay of Plenty" as they lick their semifinal wounds and look ahead to next year.

The Bay, semifinalists last year, tumbled to eighth this season, and struggled to produce the inspired rugby of 12 months ago.

Harbour, who finished sixth a year back, deserved their place in the semifinals, and could not complain at the 38-24 loss to a rampant Auckland at Eden Park on Saturday night.

Of the starting XV, classy hooker Joe Ward is off to Wasps and busy openside flanker Tom Harding is heading to Worcester.

Harbour are confident the rest will be back with the aim of going at least one step further.

"We'd be very disappointed if we lose anyone else. We're doing everything we can within budgetary constraints," Pollock said yesterday.

"The planning's already started. You've got to deal with yesterday's grief and now it's all about looking forward.

"We want to build on what we've achieved and not let it dissipate and you've got to be proactive."

But no amount of proactivity would have got former All Black Troy Flavell back to Harbour next year. The big loose forward is believed to have signed for Auckland.

Flavell, who is returning from Japan and is sure to be in the Blues for the inaugural Super 14, is out of Harbour's price range.

"We'd love to have Troy. Harbour is where he made his name, but it comes down to pure economics.

"The number of games he'd be likely to play at NPC level [perhaps three] as against the likely dollars he'd cost, I couldn't look any of my players in the eye and say that's a good investment.

"We haven't got the money to spend on the nice-to-haves. We have to concentrate on the got-to-haves."

The younger Harbour players went through a big learning curve at Eden Park in a match which, apart from a sizeable quality gulf in the opening half hour, had the sniff of an Auckland side totally committed to not letting little brother from over the way put one over on them. There were signs of nerves in that opening onslaught during which Auckland bagged four converted tries.

Harbour missed plenty of tackles, left significant gaps in the defensive line and the forward pack, which had been impressive most of the season, failed to cope with the muscular, committed Auckland forwards at the breakdown.

By the time Harbour found their feet in the third quarter - and in the second half it was a genuinely even contest - it was too late.

Pollock reckoned it was not the first four tries which did the real damage, but the two by Joe Rokocoko and Mils Muliaina a minute either side of halftime, when Harbour let their guard down.

"They were points that didn't need to be conceded," he said, pointing a thinly veiled finger at sloppy officiating by Bryce Lawrence, Matt Peters and Gary Wise.

If some were off their game on Saturday night, a handful did catch the eye, particularly winger Viliame Waqaseduadua, who showed blistering pace to get two tries - and as they got back into the contest after halftime, Harbour would have benefited by getting the Fijian more involved - while No 8 Nick Williams was strong and committed.

Harbour's players will be the better for the experience, but of immediate interest will be what the game did for their Super 14 prospects.

Getting more fulltime footballers into Harbour's squad is important for the development of both players and union. They'll find out on October 28.