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The Battle of the Bridge is a provincial rugby rivalry worth reviving

North Harbour vs Auckland, 1994

It should be New Zealand provincial rugby’s greatest rivalry, but the Battle of the Bridge barely rates a mention on the list of great contests. Is 2017 the year to change all that? Scotty Stevenson certainly hopes so.

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I have a soft spot for North Harbour. I really do. I once captained an under-19 grade Harbour side to three consecutive losses so I know all about defeat in the white, black and maroon. It was a hell of a team, too, back in 1996. It was built around three clubs – Takapuna, East Coast Bays, and Silverdale, and when we played each other in club footy it is fair to say there was not a lot of love lost. I still remember the club final against Silverdale. We lost 9-6 thanks to a late dropped goal. It was 21 years ago and I still hate thinking about it.

I played for Takapuna, and our home ground was Onewa Domain, the scene of the last great violent final in New Zealand provincial history. That Eric Rush and Robin Brooke were both sent from the field back in that 1994 season climax is evidence enough that the bad blood between Harbour and Auckland had boiled over that day. That Eric managed to knock out Zinzan Brooke probably deserved more that a card. It is one of the singular achievements of his, or anyone else’s rugby career. It deserved a medal.

There was more to that game than Eric Rush’s act of divine thuggery, of course. It was a ripper of a contest, really, with Colin Hawke doing his best to control a level of aggression more often seen in a shearers’ brawl at the Golden Fleece Hotel than on the playing field of a televised rugby final. That it remains the most famous game between these two provinces is both historically wonderful, and rather disconcerting.

Truth is, there have been some great games between Auckland and its upstart breakaway neighbour but rarely (if ever) have they reached the unadulterated levels of hatred that made that 1994 game famous. I’m not one to espouse violence as a virtue but by God that game had some feeling. The packed embankment, the windy afternoon, the week-long wind-up marketing campaign, the fact Auckland thought they should host the game – it all coalesced around eighty minutes of unbelievable entertainment.

Ian Jones was putting in grubber kicks down the sideline, Robin Brooke was kicking anything that was living until he was sent off, Blair Larson was swinging arms at heads and somehow wasn’t sent off, Waisake Sotutu was just looking like a boss with his legendary moustache. So good! Where are we now?

The sad truth is North Harbour have only won once against Auckland since 2006, and long before that, their fan-base had deserted them. A once packed Onewa Domain turned into a pitifully patronised Albany Stadium, and it has largely remained that way. I have never figured out why that is the case. Albany is easy to get to for those who dwell on the shore, it’s a perfectly good stadium with a good view of the ground, and the team is not exactly complete cake, as a title last year would tell you.

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Anyway, stadiums, crowds, night games, SKY television, blah, blah, blah… the real question is how a rivalry between two provinces separated by the Diet Sydney Harbour Bridge, boasting a combined population somewhere around the one million mark is not the biggest thing in the game. It’s a mystery. No, it’s more than that. It’s a total debacle.

I say it is time to get back on the horse here. The Battle of the Bridge should not be some low-key mid-season showdown. It should be Auckland’s Old Firm, our most anticipated and talked about game all year. It should split families, strain friendships, earn and cost lunch bets, destroy marriages, make you choose between your children. It should be the biggest thing in town, not something that is happening next door while you hang out in a mega mall.

I say for Father’s Day you head along to Albany in the late afternoon and watch the battle reborn. Or at least let your dad go. He’ll remember Ofisa Tonu’u on fire in that 1994 final, and the Bunce-Little combination in full swing. He’ll remember the punches and the blood and Sean Fitzpatrick’s head-gear. He’ll even remember Warren Burton.

It’s a shame we don’t remember more.

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Oh no, not him again? 2 hours ago
England internationals disagree on final play execution vs All Blacks

Okay, so we blew it big time on Saturday. So rather than repeating what most people have all ready said, what do I want to see from Borthwick going forward?


Let's keep Marcus Smith on the pitch if he's fit and playing well. I was really pleased with his goal kicking. It used to be his weakness. I feel sympathy for George Ford who hadn't kicked all match and then had a kick to win the game. You hear pundits and commentators commend kickers who have come off the bench and pulled that off. Its not easy. If Steve B continues to substitute players with no clear reason then he is going to get criticised.


On paper I thought England would beat NZ if they played to their potential and didn't show NZ too much respect. Okay, the off the ball tackles certainly stopped England scoring tries, but I would have liked to see more smashing over gainlines and less kicking for position. Yes, I also know it's the Springbok endorsed world cup double winning formula but the Kiwi defence isn't the Bok defence, is it. If you have the power to put Smith on the front foot then why muzzle him? I guess what I'm saying is back, yourself. Why give the momentum to a team like NZ? Why feed the beast? Don't give the ball to NZ. Well d'uh.


Our scrum is a long term weakness. If you are going to play Itoje then he needs an ogre next door and a decent front row. Where is our third world class lock? Where are are realible front row bench replacements? The England scrum has been flakey for a while now. It blows hot and cold. Our front five bench is not world class.


On the positive side I love our starting backrow right now. I'd like to see them stick together through to the next world cup.


Anyway, there is always another Saturday.

7 Go to comments
C
CO 2 hours ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

Robertson is more a manager of coaches than a coach so it comes down to intent of outcomes at a high level. I like his intent, I like the fact his Allblacks are really driving the outcomes however as he's pointed out the high error rates are not test level and their control of the game is driving both wins and losses. England didn't have to play a lot of rugby, they made far fewer mistakes and were extremely unlucky not to win.


In fact the English team were very early in their season and should've been comfortably beaten by an Allblacks team that had played multiple tests together.


Razor has himself recognised that to be the best they'll have to sort out the crisis levels of mistakes that have really increased since the first two tests against England.


Early tackles were a classic example of hyper enthusiasm to not give an inch, that passion that Razor has achieved is going to be formidable once the unforced errors are eliminated.


That's his secret, he's already rebuilt the passion and that's the most important aspect, its inevitable that he'll now eradicate the unforced errors. When that happens a fellow tier one nation is going to get thrashed. I don't think it will be until 2025 though.


The Allblacks will lose both tests against Ireland and France if they play high error rates rugby like they did against England.


To get the unforced errors under control he's going to be needing to handover the number eight role to Sititi and reset expectations of what loose forwards do. Establish a clear distinction with a large, swarthy lineout jumper at six that is a feared runner and dominant tackler and a turnover specialist at seven that is abrasive in contact. He'll then need to build depth behind the three starters and ruthlessly select for that group to be peaking in 2027 in hit Australian conditions on firm, dry grounds.


It's going to help him that Savea is shifting to the worst super rugby franchise where he's going to struggle behind a beaten pack every week.


The under performing loose forward trio is the key driver of the high error rates and unacceptable turn overs due to awol link work. Sititi is looking like he's superman compared to his openside and eight.


At this late stage in the season they shouldn't be operating with just the one outstanding loose forward out of four selected for the English test. That's an abject failure but I think Robertson's sacrificing link quality on purpose to build passion amongst the junior Allblacks as they see the reverential treatment the old warhorses are receiving for their long term hard graft.


It's unfortunately losing test matches and making what should be comfortable wins into nail biters but it's early in the world cup cycle so perhaps it's a sacrifice worth making.


However if this was F1 then Sam Cane would be Riccardo and Ardie would be heading into Perez territory so the loose forwards desperately need revitalisation through a rebuild over the next season to complement the formidable tight five.

28 Go to comments
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