Northland seeking notable hat trick

Northland Maori teams have the opportunity to send all of their representatives to the nationals as they face-off against their Auckland opponents at Hikurangi tomorrow.
The likelihood of all three teams representing the Northern Zone at the national finals in Rotorua next weekend is a mouth-watering one for NRU rugby development officer Hector Davies.
Davies said the union had been building up its Maori rugby programme over the past few years and after original success at the Colts level, the women and senior team were now poised to progress into the finals together for the first time in years.
"To be honest we were pretty awful for a number of years but since we've got the Johnny Isaacs Memorial programme up and running, things have taken a turn for the better," Davies said.
The recent emphasis on improving the standards of Maori rugby has seen continuity among the teams breed success.
"All but two of the current senior team have come through the colts and that has to be one of the reasons the seniors are doing so well," he added.
Northland Maori beat North Harbour Maori 46-7 in the first round last weekend at Old Boys and, in the curtain-raiser, Northland Maori Colts were also a class above their North Harbour contemporaries, beating them 50-24.
With no North Harbour team in the competition the Northland women were supposed to play Counties-Manukau at Old Boys as well but the visiting team defaulted, leaving Northland with an edge going into tomorrow's match.
Counties women did show for their midweek clash with Auckland, beating them 7-0, meaning Northland have a one-point lead in the competition and, if they can avoid a bonus-point loss, should progress through to nationals.
Auckland were defeated by North Harbour 21-5 in the Colts match and 46-10 in the senior match on Wednesday, leaving Northland as clear favourites before tomorrow's matches get under way.
The Northland Maori Women's match kicks off at Hikurangi at 12pm, the Colts at 1.30pm and seniors at 3pm.