Rugby: Northland well deserve the admiration they got

By CHRIS RATTUE

To the general sporting public, and even Northland's administrators, the northern-most NPC province's team were a great success this season.

To coach Bryce Woodward, missing out on a top-four place was a failure.

Like Taranaki, who were bitterly disappointed not to make the NPC final, the expectations within the Northland side are probably higher than those who observe them from a distance.

But despite that, there can only be admiration for the way a Northland union, whose squad are continually chipped away at by larger unions, have challenged so strongly.

They have had to cope with the loss of players such as Nick White and Norm Maxwell in recent seasons.

And it immediately raises the question of who will they lose next season.

Norm Berryman has gone to France, so is lost to the Northland cause.

Woodward has already talked to outstanding flanker Justin Collins about his possible move to Auckland. The outcome is unresolved, but it seems likely that he will move.

The Hurricanes want South African halfback Joggie Viljoen to move to one of their NPC sides and three unions are chasing inside back Jason Shoemark.



And Samiu Vahafolau, who was on loan this season, might be required by an Auckland side who have lost loose forwards Dylan Mika and Andrew Blowers.



For Northland, who base their campaign around a lot of players whose major diet is club football, it could be a major hurdle to continue pushing the top NPC first-division sides.

Yet Northland have shown a fighting spirit which makes them very tough at home, and capable of causing any sort of upset away. Their best performance was the surprise victory over Wellington in the capital this season.

The pivotal loss was against North Harbour in Whangarei, one of those games any top-four aspirant really has to win.

"At our prizegiving at the weekend our chairman hopped up and said how delighted the board was with our performance," Woodward said. "I immediately got up and said how we were disappointed in ourselves for not going on with the job.

"In a competition of only nine rounds, there is such a fine line between success and failure."

Collins was probably the outstanding player for Northland, following on from a strong Super 12 season which has put him in the All Black frame.

Woodward also handed out the plaudits to fullback Hayden Taylor and lock Vula Maimuri.

Woodward's original planning last season was to use the powerful scrummaging of lock Geoff Crawford, but Maimuri got his chance this year, alongside inspirational captain Glenn Taylor. Fijian Maimuri put in performances which have at least reduced the impact of Maxwell's departure to Canterbury.

"His strength is his defence and his go-forward. He has good hands in the lineout, although he needs to work on his technical ability there," Woodward said.

So where will Northland go to to make up for any player losses next year?

Sam Pinder, who has played for the New Zealand under-19s, is in the wings if Viljoen departs and flanker Allen Tubbs, unavailable this year, has said he is back in the frame next year, which will help if Collins departs.

But a union with limited resources, and which uses many players not honed by Super 12 action, can only go to the well so often. Woodward, who works fulltime as a surveyor, will talk to his wife first before committing himself to a third season of coaching.

If he returns, as seems likely, he will face another searching test of his coaching and man-management skills with a Northland side who do not enjoy many advantages that lie with the big unions.

But Northland have won enormous respect over the past two years and, with Taranaki, they inject a small-city flavour that is so vital to the health and spirit of the first division.