Rugby: Rennie confident of Turbos' comeback

Dave Rennie. Photo / Greg Bowker

Palmerston North was the centre of the soul-searching universe this week as Manawatu tried to come to terms with their meltdown against Northland.

Coach Dave Rennie, who enjoyed success with the New Zealand under-20 team in Argentina this year, was left shell-shocked by the capitulation and had the difficult task of instilling confidence among his troops.

"We didn't want to sweep that game under the carpet," Rennie said. "We spent the first part of the week talking about what happened [in Whangarei] and why and then we moved on."

Rennie is not naive enough to think there is no danger of a Northland hangover, but is confident Manawatu can regain lost ground.

"You could sulk for the rest of the year after that," he said. "We were all a bit shellshocked. When you get walloped like that it's not part of the plan."

In seasons past, an encounter with Counties Manukau might have been looked upon as a great opportunity to restore confidence - not so now. Bristling with confidence, even after their Ranfurly Shield loss, Counties will be looking forward to returning home for the first time since week one in the evening kickoff.

Rennie has admiration for the way Milton Haig and Tana Umaga have transformed a group of talented athletes into a "team" of talented athletes.

"There's a fair bit of belief in what they're doing," he said.

The sort of belief his side desperately need to recapture.

In today's other matches, Canterbury travel to Nelson to face Tasman in the early kickoff, with the match again overshadowed by the non-appearance of "star" signing Sonny Bill Williams who is still nursing a tight hamstring.

The more rugby Williams misses, the harder it gets for the All Black selectors to justify his inclusion on the All Blacks' end of year tour.

In the late kickoff, it's a battle between franchise bases Wellington and Waikato. Neither side has been utterly convincing this season, though both come in with winning records. Wellington had too much class for a weak Otago side last week, while Waikato were beaten by Taranaki in a feisty encounter.

With Waikato failing to secure any bonus points thus far, they will travel to the capital with a sense of urgency.

Their desperation is unlikely to match that of Hawkes Bay, home to Shield holders Southland in the final match of the weekend.

After a promising draw with Canterbury to open their ITM Cup season, Hawkes Bay has slid to ugly losses against Bay of Plenty and Tasman. A loss here would seriously damage their semifinal credentials.