Munro inks deals with Blues and Northland

The renaissance of Lachie Munro as a try-scoring outside back for Northland has continued with him earning a contract with the Blues for the 2011 season and a new two-year deal with the Taniwha in the same week.
The former first five played mainly on the wing and at fullback this season, scoring six tries, and kicking 142 points, making him the top-scorer in the competition and a valuable proposition for the Blues.
"It's been a lot more fun for me running outside guys like [Jared] Payne and [Rene] Ranger, I've learned a lot playing with them so I'm happy out there and I don't really want to play 10 any more," he said.
A call from Pat Lam after the last Taniwha match telling him he had been included in the Blues 28-strong squad took some uncertainty out of his immediate future, allowing him to re-sign with Northland.
"I've enjoyed playing out wide this year, it took me back to my roots and where I played a lot when I was growing up and I think it's where I'm more suited to playing overall so I'm happy to play there and try and push for a starting spot [in the Blues]," he said.
His kicking skills in particular, developed as a five-eighth, has made him a different proposition on the wing.
"It's something a little bit different than most wingers can offer, you can use your different skills to get different results, so kicking is often an option because I can't always run right around people," he laughed.
He has also worked hard to improve his defence throughout the season, often making tackles on much larger opposites and he will be a handy back-up goal kicker in the Blues with his success rate this season around 75 per cent.
"I think it's just concentrating more on the actual process of kicking, now I try and lose myself in each kick, say my mantra and it's worked for me, I kicked a lot better than last year," he said.
It might well have turned out differently for the 23-year-old had he gone to Hawke's Bay, after he was deemed surplus to requirements for Auckland in 2008. NRU Chairman Andrew Golightly got Northland's offer in just as he was ready to sign for the Magpies.
"He called me the day before I was going to sign with Hawke's Bay, it was a better deal for me because it allowed me to finish my university degree - my last paper will be finished on November 9 - and then I'll be into the Blues so it's all worked out very well for me," Munro said.
Northland skipper Jared Payne said Munro's statistics this season speak for themselves.
"Lachie's played pretty solidly this season and scored a lot of points, so it wasn't a big surprise, I'd imagine he'd be there or thereabouts," he said.
Munro's contract makes him the third Northland player in the Blues squad alongside Rene Ranger and Jared Payne, and the fourth Super-15 player, with Bronson Murray rejoining the Highlanders for his second season at the franchise.
"There's still a chance that Aaron Bancroft, Dean Budd or Rhyan Caine might pick something up in the draft - it's a numbers game and there are a lot of talented footballers in New Zealand at the moment but those guys stood up this season and if they don't make the full squad somewhere, at least they'll be included with the Blues wider training group, so that'll be good for them," he said.
Munro, who has made Mid-Western club at Maungakaramea a home away from home, now has the satisfaction of returning home to his native Auckland to play for the Blues as a Northland player.
"It's quite ironic that I get the relocation fees to go back to Auckland and set up for the Blues - it feels pretty cool," he said.