Taniwha on high alert as Harbour on rebound

North Harbour can be expected to launch an all-out assault on Northland on Sunday when the two teams meet in Whangarei, Taniwha forwards coach Blair Larsen says.
Larsen, who played more than 80 games for North Harbour Union, said their opening round 36-14 loss to Auckland meant Harbour had plenty to gain at Toll Stadium.
"I think we're going to see a level of intensity and physicality on Sunday that we've yet to encounter this season and we've got to be ready for them to come at us full noise," he said.
The former All Black said  the local derby would draw the presence of the Blues selectors, adding further importance to the  fixture.
"This is a pretty key game really for a lot of reasons, clearly it's huge for us - we're bringing in the new stadium - so it'll be a special moment for the boys to run out for the match, and secondly we need this game to continue our momentum this season," he said.
Larsen and coach Bryce Woodward have spent the week trying to put last week's 26-19 win over Taranaki behind them and programme the players for the challenge ahead.
"We need to get consistency in our play and to front up every week, we can't afford to follow up a good result with an indifferent one and that's something we've struggled with in the past," Larsen said.
With so many new players in the squad last season, Larsen is hoping a new maturity that he has recognised in the squad will show through in what he is expecting to be their toughest physical test of the season to date.
The two teams met in a pre-season match in Kaitaia - won by Northland - but the team have already been warned to discount that game as "irrelevant" and to be ready for one "hell of a fight" on Sunday.
The team had a day off training yesterday allowing Larsen to attend his eldest son Bronson's speech to his school - incidentally about how the All Blacks were poisoned ahead of the 1995 World Cup final in South Africa.
"I had absolutely nothing to do with the topic," Larsen, who played four games in the 95 South African campaign, is quick to point out.
"He picked the subject all by himself ... and both Duke (7) and Bronson (9) will  be at the game on Sunday wearing their new Taniwha shirts - they're converted Northland boys now," he laughs.
Larsen knows a lot of the players and people associated with North Harbour and he still lives on the North Shore, commuting to Whangarei during the ITM Cup campaign or staying at Bryce Woodward's Oakura batch.
"I hear the odd word about what they're thinking but I don't take it too seriously - it's better to focus on what we're trying to do with our own game," he said.
North Harbour are struggling with several injury concerns from the match against Auckland and won't name their team until this afternoon - but there is some hope that All Black lock Antony Boric and lock James King may be back in time for the game.
The only player under an injury cloud for Northland after the Taranaki game is Simon Munro who is bracketed in the starting lineup with Bryce Heem. Rene Ranger's presence in the side has been confirmed, adding to the Taniwha's strike power but Larsen said as far as the forwards were concerned, Bronson Murray's proficiency could be a vital factor in the game.
Murray played tighthead prop against Taranaki - changing sides from his normal loosehead role - and Larsen hopes he can turn in a similar performance against Harbour.
"Bronson's game last week was one of the best he's played for us for a long time, he showed great leadership and I've been very impressed with him at training as well. It's a vital year for him because he's just come off his Super-14 contract," Larsen said.
The match will have extra significance for four Northland players: Luke Hamilton, Mikaele Tuu'u, Lachie Munro and Cameron Eyre, who will play their 15th blazer game for the province.