Mental approach will decide semi, says Ward

Mental attitude, rather than recent form, will determine whether North Harbour make it past Auckland in their NPC first division rugby semifinal tomorrow night, according to hooker Joe Ward.

Auckland won the last "Battle of the Bridge" 27-10, but that was in the season's opening round in August.

Since then, North Harbour have built up a head of steam and go into the playoffs with four consecutive wins behind them.

Auckland, meanwhile, are backing up after their disappointing Ranfurly Shield loss to Canterbury last weekend.

But Ward -- a survivor of North Harbour's last foray into the playoffs in 2001, which ended in a semifinal loss to Otago -- believes there is little separating the two sides.

Since their earlier meeting, they had had plenty of time to study each other's game, so there were unlikely to any surprises in store.

"Both teams are pretty even, really," Ward said.

"It will come down to a bit of desire, commitment. It's a one-off and you have to go as hard as you can."

The Hurricanes rake is part of a front row that has helped to give the North Harbour pack, under forwards coach Mark Anscombe, some much needed grunt this season.

Ward, 25, said one reason for the improvement was that the North Harbour pack had lost just one player from last year -- flanker Craig Newby to Otago.

"The guys have stepped up and I think our set pieces have gone really well, which is a benchmark for everything else," the former New Zealand under-21 representative said.

"Basically, there's been more consistency shown by individuals, and Mark has pulled that all together."

Ward credited his props -- Tony Coughlan, returning All Black Tony Woodcock and Mike Noble -- for their part in providing the platform.

"We've got guys like Tony Coughlan, who's been really good, and Tony Woodcock, who's come back into the frame," he said.

"Mike Noble has taken a huge step this year and he's been a rock of our front row."

Ward was happy with his own form this year, saying he was probably more relaxed in his approach than in the past.

He put that down to experience, but it had not diluted his anticipation at having another chance to try to get North Harbour into an NPC final.

"We're all pretty excited to be here for the first time in four years," he said.

"I can't wait to get into it."

Meanwhile, Ward said he had not yet made a decision about his playing career next year.

He confirmed he had had offers from overseas, but nothing had been agreed on.

"It's still up in the air," he said.

"It's pretty hard to to say what will happen at the moment. With Harbour doing so well, it makes it even harder."

Ward expected to have a clearer idea of his future next week.

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Meanwhile, ticket sales for tonight's first NPC semi final at Jade Stadium have been pitifully slow.

Only 13,000 tickets have so far been sold for tonight's clash between southern rivals Otago and Canterbury.

- NZPA, NEWSTALK ZB