COMMENT RUGBY- Freezing Out The Demons

And so the ghosts of Northland's recent rugby past are slowly being exorcised.
One demon at a time.
A couple were despatched to the netherworld, or where ever these nasty gremlins go, when Northland hung on for a draw with North Harbour, then produced a heartening performance the week after losing to Otago.
The first was impressive if only for the fact that Northland managed to salvage a draw - in the past three seasons or so they would inevitably have relinquished the game.
The second was important for two reasons. Firstly, they managed to compete for two weeks in succession, and secondly they banked a bonus point for the effort.
These might seem like minor victories. For a team trying to rebuild some character, they are far more significant than that.
Which is why last week's win over Bay of Plenty was the curtain call for another Northland bugbear. They won one at the death.
The 24-17 win over Bay of Plenty was plucked from the clutches of a lifeless dead heat. Until Rene Ranger slipped past some over-anxious defenders and dotted down the winning try with just 10 seconds left on the game clock, there had been very little to savour.
Once he did there was suddenly much to celebrate.
That might not be dawning on the new breed of Northland rugby player, the ones who have arrived in the province at the behest of coaching staff Mark Anscombe and Bruce Robertson.
Tony Coughlan, Dan Goodwin, Tony Koonwaiyou and Fetu Vainikolo don't have the baggage of recent indignities to cope with.
But it does seem to be a factor for some of the older heads in the team.
Take, for example, Tim Dow and Brad Taylor.
These two guys played every game of the three-year, 30-game losing streak, including one particular fixture against Bay of Plenty in Rotorua in 2003.
Northland lost that day - heavily - producing one of the most uncompelling displays of representative rugby defence in the process.
Last week's game was the first time Northland had revisited Rotorua's ``International Stadium' since 2003. The end result could not have been any more different.
Back then Dow and Taylor were the young blokes, still serving their representative apprenticeships.
In the time-honoured tradition of rugby, Dow and Taylor now occupy the back seat of the bus with 46 and 64 representative games under their belt respectively.
For them last week's victory was tasty revenge. It was served ice cold.
The difference between Northland circa 2003 and Northland 2007?
Well, fitness is probably one. Belief seems to be another.
Taylor is playing the best rugby of his career. No longer the beanpole of the pack, he has substance to his frame and is using it to good effect in places on the field other than in the lineout, where his 2m-plus height is an obvious asset.
Dow is under some pressure to hold his spot at hooker, but is slowly emerging as a key member of the squad again after a disappointing season last year.
For him the Northland performance last week was worthy of a healthy celebration.
But it is perhaps Dow's post-match comment that signals the significant change.
"I can't even remember the last time, apart from that it was when Donny Stevenson was coaching and he came in at halftime and just ripped into us. Mark (Anscombe) did the same this time, except it worked," Dow said.
From all reports Anscombe's halftime tirades are a thing of great beauty, depending on how you look it of course. The key part is that they seem to be working.
Undoubtedly Ansombe is looking forward to the day when he doesn't have to deliver one, but until then his tactics seem to be useful and can only be encouraged.
Come Thursday, Northland has another demon to slay. Tasman are the only province Northland has never beaten. Now that's a bogeyman worth eliminating.