North Harbour may be rank underdogs for this weekend's national provincial sevens tournament in Rotorua, but they carry a proud history into the event.
Their eight titles, the first won back in 1986, are second only to Auckland, and they were Cup finalists as recently as 2013. No less than four North Harbour players have won the Joe Tauiwi Memorial Trophy for the tournament's best: Rua Tipoki (2001), Rudi Wulf (2004), Luke Hamilton (2009, during the last victory) and David Raikuna (2013).
"The players know all about the history and the guys who have worn the jersey. I'll be emphasising that over the next couple of days," said long-time coach Geoff Alley, a former New Zealand sevens rep who has won the title once as a player (1992) and three times in a coaching capacity.
North Harbour's preparation has been far from smooth sailing, placing just eighth at last weekend's Bay of Plenty provincial sevens and sixth at last month's northern region qualifiers. However, they did hint at their latent potential with a 14-all draw with eventual winners Auckland last weekend.
"It's been tough, to be honest. It's the worst preparation (results-wise) and I've been coaching this team since 2001. We've had injuries and players unavailable for various reasons. Monday was the first training session we've had where everyone has been available," said Alley.
