Rugby: Southern rivals set for final

Fullback Matt Wright, left, played an important role in Wellsford's semifinal win. Photo / Tania Whyte

Sleepless nights for Wellsford coach Ross Neal and Mid Northern coach Craig Edwards will hopefully ease after tomorrow's Bayleys Southern Districts Premiers final at Toll Stadium.

The head serangs of the 2015 premier division's two most dominant sides have poured hours of effort into their respective teams during the past three-and-a-half months and will go head to head for premier rugby bragging rights from the shrill of the first whistle.

"The nerves are good, the boys are all ready to go, they're all fired up. This is the last game of the season and they'll bring everything they've got to the game," Mid Northern coach Craig Edwards said of his team's build-up.

Looking to unleash a few weapons in the backline, Edwards said the pitch and conditions at Toll Stadium could serve up some interesting options. "We know it's going to be a different sort of game and the last one was a bit wet, of course, so our game plan will be a little bit different. The tempo will be lifted way better than last week hopefully," he said.

On the injury front things are looking positive for Mid Northern. However, Cory Evers will be missing from the squad after being suspended by the Northland Rugby Union after his involvement in a stomping incident against Otamatea in the semifinal.

With Evers out Mid Northern will have to re-evaluate who takes over the goal-kicking duties - an interesting task after Evers missed five out of six conversions in last week's semifinal.

If it came down to it, Wellsford coach Ross Neal felt positive his first five, Tyler Landsdowne, could seal the deal with his boot if the game came down to it.

"That's a bit of a bugger for them," Neal said of Evers' exclusion from the final.

"We've got Tyler in at first five and he's kicked really well all year. He was slotting from the sideline last week so hopefully he carries that on."

Coming away unscathed, but slightly shaken, from Mid Western's second-half comeback last weekend, Neal said his players were looking toward putting in an "80-minute performance".

"It's just the way the match went on the weekend. They had a lot of ball in that second half and it's obviously a lot easier to play when you've got the ball. When we do have the ball, we'll want to look after it."

With preparation coming along nicely for Wellsford, Neal said he was expecting a down-to-the-wire final.

"We had a good training on Tuesday and we'll get into it again tonight [Thursday night]," Neal said.

"[The] boys are really excited for the weekend. A few of them haven't played at the stadium before so it'll be a new experience - no excuses really, [it'll] be the two best teams and the best pitch combined."

In the premier reserve final, Mid Northern's reserve team will take on Otamatea while the division two final between Pipiwai and Southern will also take place at Toll Stadium.