Rugby: Only wins will do for Taranaki

Taranaki's Jonny Willis in action. Photo / Greg Bowker

Finals pressure has arrived early for Taranaki, who are walking an Air NZ Cup rugby tightrope.

One slip and they will fall from semifinals contention, a precarious position coach Adrian Kennedy hopes will concentrate the minds of his players.

"It really is do or die for us," Kennedy said.

"It's already got that finals feel to it. Teams have to be at peak performance and they have to ensure they deliver a performance."

With three rounds remaining Taranaki are one of nine sides still in the playoffs equation, with runaway leaders Canterbury the only team who can feel comfortable.

Restored to full strength for two of those rounds due to the return of the bulk of their All Blacks, Canterbury have a seven-point head start on their pursuers.

But just six points separate the other eight aspirants, meaning every match from here on in carries heavy ramifications.

That is particularly true for Taranaki, who presently occupy ninth place on 24 points.

They have a difficult run home, too, with a home match tomorrow night against Auckland followed by away fixtures against Southland and Bay of Plenty.

Kennedy knows he and his players cannot yet afford to even think about Southland and Bay of Plenty, not when confronted in New Plymouth tomorrow by an Auckland side wounded by weeks of heavy criticism.

Auckland have wavered between woeful and highly adequate in a wildly inconsistent campaign which had one of its few upswings last week when they lifted their performance levels considerably to beat Southland 28-13.

But they sit just two points above Taranaki in seventh place and face a similarly anxious approach to the playoffs.

Kennedy senses Auckland's vulnerability despite the return of All Blacks wing Joe Rokocoko.

"We certainly respect Auckland as one of the powerhouses of New Zealand rugby and we know they are chockablock full of good, young talent," he said.

"Having said that, we know we have a real opportunity to beat them tomorrow. We will pay them the respect they are due but we know it's a chance to get one over an Auckland side."

Kennedy's confidence is borne from his team's last outing when they reached a season's high point with a clinically efficient bonus-point 38-10 win at home over Otago.

That came after a difficult week when five players were stood down for breaching the team's drinking protocols. All five have been welcomed back this week, with No 8 Jarrad Hoeata due to start in a rearranged pack.

Lock Leon Power has been sidelined by an achilles complaint, meaning Jason Eaton has been shifted from the blindside flank and Hoeata included at No 8.

Kennedy said last week had been "difficult for all concerned" but the players used responded in the best possible manner.

He said the other four players stood down - Ed Jenkins, Asalemo Malo, Chris Walker and Beydon Phillips - would return via the reserves bench tomorrow.

Given the circumstances, Kennedy was delighted how his players rose to the challenge. Now he wants more of the same.

"I thought it was an outstanding performance against Otago given the (wet) conditions. We were looking to be more precise and we felt as if we played the game with structure and pace.

"That is what we have been after and the challenge for our guys is to now recreate what we did last weekend."

In other matches, second-placed Hawke's Bay should easily account for last-placed Counties-Manukau in Napier tonight, while Canterbury are likewise heavily favoured to continue on their merry way at home and retain the Ranfurly Shield against Manawatu tomorrow night.

There is much less certainly surrounding the outcomes of Saturday's fixtures.

The lure of the semifinals should tip the balance Waikato's way over Otago, who are already out of contention, while fifth-placed Southland's home game against fourth-placed Tasman is a toss up.

Bay of Plenty, in sixth place, have the form behind them to account for North Harbour on Saturday while third-placed Wellington venture to Whangarei where they can be expected to collect valuable points.

Northland will have an emotional element on their side though, with veteran first five-eighth David Holwell to play his 100th match for the province and extend his first-class career to 255 matches.

- NZPA