Rugby: Taniwha hope for back to back wins

Northland will have to do without one of their most dependable players against Manawatu tonight with prop Matt Wallis likely to miss the rest of the season with a broken arm.

Wallis underwent surgery on Monday to mend the arm he injured against Waikato and his absence will be a major loss for the Taniwha.

The former New Zealand Colt and current Kamo captain is in his third season with the Taniwha. He is respected for his accuracy, high work rate and has become a leader on the field and off.

Coach Adriaan Ferris says the prop will be missed but stresses injuries are part and parcel of the ITM Cup competition.

Justin Davies will take his place at loosehead and add extra mobility to the pack, while Pene Kaufusi moves on to the bench.

There are other worrying injuries for the coach after the intense Waikato win. Derek Carpenter, who was exceptional at inside centre on Saturday, is also nursing an injury and has been bracketed with Eddie Paea for tonight's- match.

Hooker David Hall will also undergo a fitness test this morning to see whether he will be fit for the match. If he is not, Ferris might be tempted to bring Ross Wright back from injury.

Like Cam Goodhue, Wright was hoping to be available for Sunday's North Harbour match but, if his broken wrist is healed, he may be willing to return early.

The injuries are a concern for the coach but so is Manawatu.

"Dave Rennie has coached them for six years so they're a good side and they have the ability to beat any team ... and after two losses they'll be coming here with everything they've got," Ferris said.

Manawatu have had the misfortune of opening their campaign with matches against premiership teams Wellington and Auckland and were well beaten in both.

"They're a proud province and they're not going to like what's happened to them in their opening games and they'll see us as an opportunity to put that right," he said.

The coach says his team will have to play with the same attitude and intensity that they did at Waikato Stadium if they are to beat the visitors.

Taniwha co-captain Bryce Williams says the side has plenty of motivation to make it back-to-back wins at home for the first time this season.

"We want to play really well at home like we did last year, so there's a lot of motivation for the boys to do well in the Manawatu game," he said.

"Both teams are in the same boat, we've both had short turnarounds so it comes down to who prepares and recovers the best but it's our first home game so we will make sure we're ready."