Taniwha looking for rebound

When Northland take to the field against Hawke's Bay tomorrow afternoon, Taniwha assistant coach George Konia will be hoping his side will be able to get one up on his former team.

Konia said he was focusing on getting Northland to fix little errors, adding that if that happened there was no reason why the result would not go the Taniwha's way.

"As everybody knows, I've played a lot of rugby in Hawke's Bay," Konia said. "But now my home is Northland.

"It'll be great to win this game, not only from a team perspective but it would be nice to win against Hawke's Bay. We're totally focused on the game at hand."

He said while last Sunday's result was not what they were aiming for, Wellington were always going to be a tough ask.

"Obviously disappointing with the last game we had, but we know we are capable of playing better rugby. And, the good thing is the players are up still and motivated for this game [against Hawke's Bay]."

As a result of the loss, Konia said they picked up a few niggling injuries. Jack Ram tweaked his knee when he left the field early in the second half and is still a bit tender, while Jone Macalai's elbow injury against North Harbour was likely a season-ending one. Rupeni Caucaunibuca (niggle), Justin Davies (knee) and Whiria Meltzer (ankle) were all likely to be ready in time.

Tomorrow's match will be Hawke's Bay's third in eight days.

Northland
Bronson Murray, Matt Moulds, Will-Griff John, Tom Murday, Bryce Williams, Roy Griffin, Dan Pryor, Jake Paringatai, Sonatane Takulua, Daniel Hawkins, Rupeni Caucaunibuca, Viliami Tahitu'a, Derek Carpenter, Rene Ranger (c), Mathew Wright. Reserves: Robbie Abel, Ross Wright, William Whetton, Ben Berridge, Mac Sykes, Ben Seymour, Warren Dunn.