Harbour strikes a semifinal dilemma

By WYNNE GRAY

North Harbour may have to concede home ground advantage if they qualify second for the NPC semifinals.

If they maintain their second position, Harbour will play on Saturday, October 16 - the date the Kiwi league test against the Kangaroos is scheduled for North Harbour Stadium.

Harbour officials have been mulling over the playoff scenarios, pondering the relative benefits of conceding home advantage or playing five days after their last pool match.

As a precaution, Harbour chief executive Noel Coom has asked the Rugby Union for some guidance.

He has also booked Eden Park as an alternative semifinal venue.

The first semifinal is on Friday, October 15.

On the first semifinal night, the top qualifier usually plays the fourth.

The following night the second and third sides meet.

If Harbour earns a home semifinal by qualifying second, they could shift the game to the Friday - that is no problem for stadium staff - but that would be only five days after their last pool game.

The rugby league test was set in stone for Saturday night at North Harbour Stadium, and the NZRFU could not shift a semifinal to Sunday because of its television commitments.

"We are talking with the rugby union," said Coom yesterday.

"I have asked for some clarification, because the convention has been that teams get more than a five-day turnaround between the last round-robin game and the semifinals.

"The problem we have is the possibility of us playing inside that timeframe."

It was possible that Harbour could play Bay of Plenty again in the playoffs, and they may also want more than five days' recovery.

"We will look a bit harder at this on Monday but it is potentially a real issue for us," Coom said.

"We should know a bit more by then after the latest round of results."

Coom said he had been assured by the Harbour Stadium staff that they could stage an NPC semifinal on the Friday night and then reconfigure the ground in time for the Kiwis the following evening.

"The ground is in reasonably good nick at the moment too. It is holding up well so that won't be an issue."

Until the NPC finishing order was clarified, Coom could only plan, but he also needed to meet the NZRFU staff and discuss the options with his provincial coaches.

As a precaution, he has booked Eden Park for Saturday, October 16.

"If we were hosting that game we would have a six-day rest and could allocate tickets to our stakeholders and sponsors," he said.

"Eden Park is a rugby ground, and it looked the best contingency plan at this stage.

"I would be loath to give up home advantage, but there is player welfare and the conventions set up by the NZRFU have to be respected and coaches would be looking at repairing players who had been banged up.

"We also need to talk it through as a board, but all I am doing is making some prudent contingencies. Who knows, next Monday I might be in even more of a hot spot."

NPC semis

First semifinal Friday, October 15

Second semifinal Saturday, October 16

NPC fixtures, results and standings
Division One | Division Two |