The Northern Swords Premiers were taught a lesson by last year's National Zone Competition champions Auckland in the opening round of the 2011 season.
The neighbouring zones went head to head at Kaitaia's Arnold Rae Park yesterday, kicking off the second season of the competition, in a game showcasing thestrength of rugby league in Auckland. Auckland dominated the Swords from start to finish, and defeated them 82-18. But instead of the cricket score disheartening the Swords, the Swords were keener than ever to get to training tomorrow and build on the positives they took out of the match, premiers coach Joe Rau said.
"The boys played to the best of their ability and ran hard, attacked well and defended as good as we could ... Auckland came out like a juggernaut, they were awesome, their guys are big and strong and they play at a high level of intensity," Rau said.
Rau's troops never gave up however, and Steve Rau brought some respectability to the score margin with a try, while Kyle Hool added two tries, with Richard Koroi converting all three.
The Swords will have plenty to think about as they prepare for their next hit out against Southern, in Christchurch.
"The game was a good one to start with, because now the boys realise what football is like in Auckland and around the country. We need to get used to playing at that intensity, it's such a step up from what they are used to," Rau said.
Last year, the Swords remained winless in the representative season despite some impressive efforts from the Northern zone team, but Rau is confident his side is capable of matching some of the teams in the competition. "As a coach I was really proud of the guys, I didn't really have much to say except to keep learning and they are willing to do that, so that's a start ... there were a lot of positives to come out of the game."
Playing the Southern zone team at home will be another story all together, with travel thrown in the mix, Rau said.
"It doesn't get much easier in this competition, and travel is another challenge."
Earlier, the 15s and 17s Northern Swords teams kitted up to take on their Auckland counterparts. Many of last year's team returned to play for the Jim Larkin-coached 15s, who showed vast improvements on defence despite going down to Auckland 34-4. The 17s game was one-sided with Auckland taking the victory 62-12 and the Les Howe-coached Swords not quite gelling as a unit, as they tried out combinations in the season's opening match.
