RUGBY - Magpies may test winning combo

If it hasn't dawned on you yet, the latest move from Northland rugby coach Mark Anscombe should finally prove that old school rugby dictums lie at the heart of his philosophy.
Especially when it comes to selecting his rugby teams.
Anscombe has named an unchanged side to tackle Hawke's Bay in Napier on Saturday night, falling back on two sound pieces of rugby folklore to justify his selections. For a start if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Secondly, you don't change a winning team.
So the players who step out in front of what is expected to be a rabid crowd somewhere near the 10,000 mark in Napier on Saturday night are the same ones who trotted out on a damp Thursday evening and beat Waikato last week in front of about 2000 spectators.
The only change is on the bench, where Kaino Kaino steps in for Auckland import Brenton Helleur. That came about only because Helleur was called back to Auckland about two hours after Auckland lost to Counties Manukau on Sunday.
"You have got to have a reason to change and I don't have any," Anscombe said.
The only area up for debate from last week's heart-warming victory was the lineout, a facet of the Northland game that will surely be a target for the rest of the season. But when it comes to lineout options in the tight five, Anscombe hasn't got much to draw on.
Front row back-up from Aucklander Chris Heard has yet to materialise, as well.
So it has fallen on the same abrasive tight five that somehow held it together to topple the Mooloo men to step up again and tackle Hawke's Bay in what Anscombe expects to be a heady atmosphere.
Locks Dan Goodwin and Marty Veale proved strong lieutenants in the rough stuff for captain Justin Collins and have been handed the job of fixing the lineout on Saturday.
John Cocker holds the No7 jersey in a close call over Joel McKenty and the midfield combination pairing of Leo Taliu and Aden Dewes survives despite both carrying injuries at training.
Selecting the team appeared to be the easy bit for Anscombe. He is trying to prepare his side for is a fired-up home team that he thinks will be smarting from a first-up loss to Wellington.
"We see a couple of areas where we would like to have a crack at them but I know they will be a lot stronger this weekend. We have got to be up for this because they (Hawke's Bay) have a lot of support, they have a lot of enthusiasm and they rate themselves," Anscombe said.
"These guys think they are all right and are playing like they think they are all right; that can be a dangerous proposition for any team."
The game is at 7.35pm on Saturday.
Northland:
15 Jared Payne
14 Rene Ranger
13 Aden Dewes
12 Leo Taliu
11 Fetu Vainikolo
10 David Holwell
9 James Rodley
8 Blair Urlich
7 John Cocker
6 Justin Collins (c)
5 Dan Goodwin
4 Marty Veale
3 Bronson Murray
2 Francis Smith
1 Tony Coughlan
Reserves: Tyler Ashworth, Justin Davies, Roy Griffin, Joel Mckenty, Derek Carpenter, Mike Davis, Kaino Kaino.