Rugby: Lots to do before semifinal says Taniwha coach

Derren Witcombe, Northland Rugby coach. Photo / Michael Cunningham

The Taniwha's new never say die attitude could be their biggest asset heading into this weekend's semifinal against Hawke's Bay in Napier, after being put to the test by Auckland.

Despite losing 38-10 - and a home semifinal - in their ITM Cup clash, Northland looked to have an attitude different to previous Taniwha sides.

With the game seemingly out of reach on Saturday night, Northland kept coming at their big city opposition without a care of the scoreline.

That trait is something coach Derren Witcombe believes will stand them in good stead ahead of their semifinal.

"It was a tough night at the office for the boys, Auckland needed to front for a semi and they did.

"The guys didn't give in, I know the score blew out at the end there a bit but the guys stuck at it and didn't throw in the towel," he said.

"[Auckland] have got a good team and their three All Blacks stepped up and were quite prominent - that was a bit of a boost for them. [But], we kept trying which is good to see."

Witcombe, who has never coached a team to the semifinals, agreed that even though the loss was disappointing it didn't change the fact that the Taniwha team are playing in a semifinal this weekend.

In what will be Northland's first showing in a semifinal in 17 years, Witcombe said they would wash their hands of Saturday's game and move on. However, he added there was plenty of work needed.

"Nothing will change, yes it's a semifinal but we need to focus on our game and get the little bits right we didn't [on Saturday] and play some footy.

"For us our set piece needs some work," he commented, adding it was mainly to with scrums, rucks, and lineouts.

First port of call for Witcombe, though, would be nursing the injuries that forced golden oldies scrums on Saturday night.

Witcombe noted the influence the crowd had, with the Northland support at Eden Park outweighing the Auckland noise.

With this weekend's semifinal being another away game, Witcombe said the team would appreciate any support they could get in Napier.

"It's a long way [to Napier], and probably pretty expensive, but if we had supporters there it's going to help us big time.

"It was fantastic [on Saturday], our supporters were far noisier than theirs so it was great the support is still there and they have still got our backs."

Northland found out details on the semifinal last night.