Players line up for coaching

Coaching staff were impressed with the talent on show when the Northland Rugby High Performance Satellite Programme kicked off around the region this week..

Northland director of rugby and ITM Cup coach Adriaan Ferris, accompanied by Derren Witcombe, Peter Nock, Bruce Robertson, Nick Collins and Brad Te Haara made their way to Kaitaia, Kerikeri, Dargaville and Kaiwaka during the week, putting players through their paces.

The programme is designed to provide quality coaching to players in the far-reaches of Northland, making resources and training more accessible. The current model of players having to travel to Whangarei two or three times a week to train was not feasible, Ferris said.

The Northland coaching staff were delighted with the response they received from players and their communities in the first week of the programme.

"It was a great start. It's only early days but it was pleasing to see the level of commitment from players about this new concept," Ferris said.

This week, players underwent fitness testing and, while several stood out, Ferris said the aim was to get all of the players into top condition.

Sixteen players attended Monday's first session in Kaitaia, there were 30 players at the Kerikeri training on Tuesday, 10 at Dargaville on Wednesday and 17 in Kaiwaka on Thursday.

The Whangarei programme will start in two weeks' time and will be open to any player 14 years and older who wants to develop their rugby further.

"Numbers were pleasing as many players are still in summer mode. There are still a few key players we have targeted to get along - those earmarked for rep rugby ... we are hoping to get more along as the more we have at training, the better it is for Northland rugby," Ferris said.

While it will keep the coaching staff busy, they are all enthusiastic about the programme and see it as a positive thing for the game in Northland.

"A byproduct of the programme is having the ITM Cup coaches engaging with the community. An exciting part of it is meeting some really good players who don't realise their true potential," the coach added.

The HPSP will run through until August when the representative season begins.