Given Alistair's frequent correspondence to the site in 2009 we decided to provide him with his very own page, and he's back for more this season. ... so here again is "Sensible Alistair"

From: Alistair@<withheld>.com
To: info@harbourrugby.com
Subject: Where can one start following a performance like that?
Date: Mon, October 11, 2010 3:58 pm

I left my response for a day so I could cool down. Hasn't worked, but as the internet police at work wont allow emails to go out with swear words in them, I will have to be more controlled.

While the score wasn't a fair reflection of the overall game, the second half score did show the lack of experience, knowledge of the game, poor quality of the basic skills of run, pass, kick, tackle. Wellington weren't that great, solid, but not outstanding. We just gifted them the game with maybe 3 of the softest tries you will see in the ITM cup. The biggest slap in the face to the team is that with about 12 minutes to the crowd halved in size. I guess the only ones feeling pleased with themselves were the injured Jack McPhee & Luke McAllister.

I thought the re-jigged back line had promise, but again was a step to short & with out due consideration. Botica should have started at fullback, leaving a very successful wing combo where they were. Harris could have controlled the game better (although he was disappointing - how often do you want your grubber to be blocked before you stop doing it). Forwards stepped up pretty well in the 1st half. But once the replacements started to come on they seemed to fall to bits. Matt Luamanu does well for 50-60mins, but is next to worthless after that, only running when the team is going forward. I know a great number of Harbour supporters dislike the Mayhew family, but surely they must admit following brilliant performances for the Development side, Michael must be due a run - because Manu Leiataua continues to be unimpressive with one of the worst throw in displays in Harbour Stadium. Even the opposition were happy when we chose to go for a lineout rather than take the 3 points. It looks like the rewarding of Alipate Fatafehi for his good displays in the development team was a mistake, as he looked sadly out of depth. 3 stupid errors (Harris kick, Pisi kick & Smiley line out) left me crying into my full fat coca-cola (no girly diet coke for me - lol) & a lot of disgruntled season ticket holders around me.

BASICS - ARGH. Draw & pass. Keep the ball in hand and set it up. Tackle around the legs (ball in all tackles are great, but we cant do it, so back to basics).

Now for the pats on the backs - Tight five were good for 40-50 mins I thought. More of a unit during this time, but outside this became far to loose and allowed the Lions to gain control. Loosies did well and for the same amount of time were better. Luamanu shows how powerful he is going forward & I thought Richard Mayhew was damn unlucky not to win a few more penalties as Glenn Jackson was a little inconsistent in the tackle ball ruling. Harris's goal kicking was again of the highest order. Nafi again looked good. Another from the Development team, Grayson Hart is playing well when he gets his 10-15 mins and you can add Scott Uren to this as well. Speaking of the "D-Team" they play the Semi against Northland on Saturday @ Silverdale. If I wasn't in Aussie I would be there. So get in behind these buggers.

Finally.... We did do something right on the weekend.

I am proud of the way the team interacted with the fans after the game & especially as my friend had her son & his mates there for her son's birthday treat. Particularly Richard Mayhew, AB, Luke McAllister and special mention for James Afoa who trotted all the way back down the tunnel to sign autographs, chat and have photos with these boys. It was, and I quote "the best day ever." Good work lads.

Al

From: Alistair@<withheld>.com
To: info@harbourrugby.com
Subject: Still not getting carried away, but quietly jubilant
Date: Tue, September 28, 2010 11:57 am

What the.....

2 wins on the trot. Not getting carried away, because of the opposition, but you still need to celebrate every win. All of a sudden we are a team playing passion. A few of the players slammed by various contributors (including me - see humble pie below) played well and made us eat our words. A number of the issues raised by this website have been addressed, and combinations are gelling. The game was one of two evenly matched teams - both defences were pretty poor, some exciting back play and plenty of points.

Still a number of basic errors. Several missed tackles at key times - hell we let in 30 points. An example of missing basics is when Matt Luamanu passed the ball for an intercept try when he should either, have moved it earlier, drawn the opposition player & passed, or held onto the ball. The pass was so well timed I think we should have checked his jersey to see what colour it was. Another area was trying to throw miracle passes in the tackle rather than set it up. And James King - still seems to be holding back following his shoulder injury. On the coaching front - I think when Bots came on he should have gone to 2nd and left Harris at 1st. The change was very noticeable and coincided with a period of play where we seemed to "switch off". I have a change that might be of benefit to the team to combat the 2nd half slump. Start with 6, 7 & 8 as Ravulo, R Mayhew, Luamanu, then 10 minutes into the 2nd half when Matt tires, bring on Chamberlin to the side of the scrum and Mayhew to 8.

On the plus side:

• The two call-ups from the development team played well when they came on. Young Nick Mayhew (yes another one) played awesomely - his first action a smashing tackle that drove the attacker back.
• And we recovered kick offs - amazing. Although Michael Harris need to make his kicks land just short of the 22, so if the opposition decide to kick they have to keep it in field.
• Humble pie time. Luamanu and JP played well and improved again from last weeks effort. Matt, helped by a solid scrum, has looked more secure at 8 and who can argue with 3 tries. JP seems to have resolved his lineout issues, is getting stuck into the tight a bit more and is playing well. Scrum caps off to you two gents.
• The presence of AB at lock seems to have lifted the rest of the forwards. His ability in the lineout & around the field have been a boon to harbour.
• James Afoa - you colossus. 2 weeks in a row our scrum has looked somewhat solid, which has enabled our back line to flourish. You da man.
• And the wings - outstanding effort. Thank you Titch for not taking Nafi to the games. Although a shame for him.

Just a note. Upon reading feedback from Mr T Venables about the B team result. I had noted his dislike of all things Mayhew, but Mr V couldn't bring himself to mention Michael who didn't miss a lineout, and made 20 tackles and had a great game. You've gotta be fair. I have had to eat my share of humble However the brand of rugby they are playing should be "lesson" for the A team. Interestingly if you look at all the money that has been ploughed into Auckland rugby and that their development & b teams were smoked by Harbour. Says a lot for the depth of Auckland rugby. Sorry couldn't resist the chip.

Alistair

From: Alistair@<withheld>.com
To: info@harbourrugby.com
Subject: Harbour v Tasman
Date: Fri, September 24, 2010 10:31 am

WOW, where did that come from? The players are starting to get it. So are the coaches. I guess that sometimes the fans do know best. With some of the changes, we called for made a huge difference. If last weeks game was, a D to D- this weeks game was a definite C+.

As I watched the ebb & flow of the game I thought for some time that the only highlight was going to be AB picking the Tasman half back up and carrying him over the touch line like a bag of shopping. I was annoyed at the quality of the play from both teams, in the first half, but was especially annoyed with the commentators who kept getting Tuitavake & Tuigamala mixed up.

I do feel sorry for Mike "Scapegoat" Reid. He progressed so well last year, but hasn't shown the same form this year. And to make matters worse, the front row looked the best it had all year. The tight five toiled away and allowed the loosies to get in a do their jobs. Although this did fall away in patches, which allowed Tasman into the game. Although the score could have been much more in our favour with Harris having one of his worse nights with the boot leaving 9pts on the pitch, but his general kicking was better.

According to Smylie at the after game interview, the players had a couple of closed meetings and gave each other the hard word. It did seem to have a positive effect. Harris played well again, we won kick offs, the homeless person at the back of the field was solid & unfortunately has staved off his axing from the team for another couple of weeks. I did think the McAlister was good. Attacking great, fell of a couple of tackles, one leading to a Tasman try, but it was his work on the ball that lead to Tarrant's try. But these two combined allowed Poki to many breaks, and is a worry. I would be thinking of bringing Grayson Hart & J El into the squad from the B's and dropping Tuigamala & Jack McPhee.

Oh and special mention for the B's (development squad). Awesome win over Dorkland. All played well & as a team. The Auks had some "players" in the side who have been in the Auckland & Blues set up for sometime. So well done to the players and the coaching staff.

Overall pleased with the win against Tasman, especially as they are in the same part of the table as us. Another must win this weekend, no team announced yet, but that will be every interesting, possibly more so than the game itself.

Alistair

From: Alistair@<withheld>.com
To: info@harbourrugby.com
Subject: Harbour v Southland
Date: Tue, September 14, 2010 9:16 am

I think the Shield challenge showed the difference between a union that does the basics well, nurtures talent and plays as a team & Harbour. I hate to say it but I picked Southland 13+ on the virtual rugby, felt bad about doing it, but in a competition hard choices need to be made (note to Dowd & Wilson). As MM said I don't think with all the best intentions the players do not go out to lose, or play poorly, but they just do. The quote by Luke McAlister sums it up very well: "We play well in patches, turn the ball over and the opposition scores points. It's hard to play catch-up when you turn the ball over so often." If the players can see it, why don't they do something about it?

To follow on from the Herald article comparing the two unions/teams:

• Southland - Young(ish) front row, who set up an awesome platform and do the tight work
• Harbour - Young(ish) front row, who are so keen on playing in the loose they go MIA for their key role.

• Southland - Cowan (the lesser) at halfback directs the play well
• Harbour - at the halfback position are rudderless & listless.

• Southland - a young fullback that made good decisions, ran well, kick well, scored a try
• Harbour - a young fullback......

• Southland - loose forward trio - Boys, Hardie, & Thompson are all on song at the moment
• Harbour - Rauvulo aside, the loosies are out of position and out of depth.

• Southland - a captain who leads by example, gees his team up & is worthy of being on the pitch
• Harbour - a captain whose form, since being given the honour, has plummeted faster than a NZ cricket captain.

• Southland - An ex-all black as a coach, whose team knows that defence wins games & has a good team spirit
• Harbour - 2 ex-all blacks as coaches, whose team doesn't know how to defend, or the basics & possibly has some disquiet in the team due to random team selections.

• Southland - not a team of superstars, but a team that play like superstars
• Harbour - bunch of prima donnas that, moan about getting a bum deal from the blues, rather than playing together as a unit. TEAM - together everybody achieves more!!!

Just another couple of points:

And isn't it amazing how good our players become when they leave the union - George Pisi seems to be going on great guns playing at 13 for Taranaki this season.

Agree with the sentiments from the fans - the board made a winning coach reapply for his job, and then appointed 2 lots of coaches since, who have been only half as successful (see feedback from Struggling Harbour fan). Maybe it is time for a new direction in the mould of Southland. This may happen if we have to play in the Heartland Championship next year.

MM - when I said Richard Mayhew doing the business I meant it from three aspects - firstly he does far more than Chris Smith did. Secondly, because the tight five aren't doing their core roles, he is getting involved in the tight stuff, and that is why he goes missing in the loose where he should be. Thirdly, he is getting the coaches out of a hole by playing at 8, as their great hope Matt Luamanu certainly is very un-Buck-like. While I was possibly going a little overboard by saying he was "doing the business," at least the young man is playing with heart and passion, attributes that seem to be sadly lacking in other members of the team.

Umm maybe someone should tell Jack McPhee that having a beard does not make you cool, or look (play) like Carl Hayman.

Finally, how often can we, the fans, say "BASICS" before the team get down and do it. maybe the tackling tips on this site will help.

Al

From: Alistair@<withheld>.com
To: info@harbourrugby.com
Subject: Harbour v Waikato
Date: Wed, September 8, 2010 12:01 pm

Did I hear someone mention groundhog day? Cause watching Harbour every week is just like that. Yes the coaching team from Waikato were full of accolades for our team, saying we were a hard team to beat, blah, blah, blah. We are not in the competition as an opposed training session for better sides. I just thank my lucky stars I was in Oz and could fast forward through much of the pain on my sky. At the beginning of the season I was looking forward to a shield challenge, but now I just hope we don't get decimated.

At what point in this game did the legs fall off the great elephant that is Harbour rugby? If I had to pinpoint the crucial moment I would have to say - preseason. For about the 3rd or 4th game (or is it more??) in a row we find ourselves unable to make first time tackles, or any tackles for that matter. Catching the ball either at lineout's or trying to retain kick offs (see Isaac Ross a few weeks ago). This coupled with the poor handling and gifting of the ball to the opposition which has plagued the team in the Dowd/Wilson era.

• Team selection & subs continue to confuse the hell out of me. Mike Harris played well, I can't understand why he was subbed (or dropped previously for that matter). If you're the coach and feel the need to bring Botica into the game, and remove McPhee. Interesting to note that Michael Mayhew, who I thought had played well all club season, (outplayed JP in the one match I saw) and has impressed coming off the bench (last week made more tackles and more meters in the 20 mins when he came on in the loose, than Parsons did the whole game) was dropped all together for this match. Plus the lock debarkle on week one. Are they using a magic 8 ball for team selection.
• Have to agree with Mairangi Murray about Fatafihi. Has made one or 2 big breaks in each game, but his continual poor handling, poor defence, and general poor reading of the game mean he is more of a liability than a asset.
• I do also agree with the back slapping, hand clapping comment from MM, but to be fair to Richard Mayhew, he is always doing the business unlike Mr Smith. And someone needs to try and show a bit of leadership & gee the players up. And Mike Reid, despite the amazing write up in the paper on Friday (how much did that cost $$), shows with each week he is not a captain at this level.
• Again - basics. They are professional players, they should act like it and be able to do the basics. Catching, draw & pass, tackling, winning our own throw - the high school rugby on Sky has been of better quality in that respect. The reason why the top teams are so successful - Defence. Trying to outscore an opposition might work in the odd game, but not over the length of a season.

The general consensus is that we need 4 from 7. To do this we need to go back to basics - tackle, run, pass. The teams in the Heartland comp seem to be able to. I just hope they can win the required games to avoid having to find out.

Al

From: Alistair@<withheld>.com
To: info@harbourrugby.com
Subject: Harbour v Otago
Date: Mon, August 23, 2010 9:49 am

At the end of the first half, having seen what has become a traditional way of playing. Harbour work the ball down the pitch with some solid play, only to cough it up. The lady that sits next to me, right near the coaches box, for the first time in 5 years shouted at Dowd and Wilson as then walked down to the ground, something like "Craig tell the forwards to play like forwards!!" A lack of passion seemed to be in vogue again. In fact there was probably more action on the concourse behind me, between the supporters of Westlake & Rosmini after Lake's win in the Secondary Schools final.

With the score at 23-9 to Otago, at the half I began to wonder how to begin my report & the only thing that I could come up with was from Richard III - "Now is the winter of our discontent." Well low & behold if there wasn't a change at half time. The tight five played as a unit, and started to tire the Otago pack. Tom Chamberlain joined after sitting out the first 40 and along with Richard Mayhew and the stand out player, Malakai Ravulo, started to get a huge ascendency in the loose. Getting vital turn over's or winning penalties, which paved the way to a momentous win.

Obviously there are loads to work on, and unfortunately they are all fundamentals - turn over's (Someone put some glue on James King's fingers - dude I have been talking you up so catch the ball), first up tackles, oh & second up tackles, and finally leadership. Having watched all the games this year I don't see the captain, or other senior players (particularly Luke McAlister) stepping up and talking to the team during the game. The only one's are Richard Mayhew, who spent practically the entire 2009 season warming up, and the halfbacks, and lets face it, anyone who has played rugby ignores their mouthy halfbacks.

We stood and clapped loudly at our battling heroes, my neighbour claiming her part in the victory. I saw a friend, an Otago supporter, and commiserated with him, because as a Harbour supporter I am well versed in the playing well for a half and then being slammed (check the Auckland game this year and most of 2009). But we all left the ground with a warm feeling in our souls, having picked up 2 of our must win games, and muttering about the prospect that "this might be the year." Again.

Alistair

From: Alistair@<withheld>.com
To: info@harbourrugby.com
Subject: Harbour v Canterbury
Date: Mon, August 23, 2010 9:16 am

Well the first comment was bounced because of the amount of expletives. Well just one. My original was a 4 letter word that is another word for excrement. And that was that.

Then I thought a little more & added some more to it and it bounced back due to the subject matter.

So here's a cleaned up version.

Watching the game last night is what kills us Harbour supporters.

• Isaac Ross - I know wrong team, but had to mention him. WOW. 2 All Black locks on display and he outshines them all. In the "what the hell do I have to do to get into the AB's" camp along with Hosea Gear. He was awesome.
• Richard Mayhew - give credit where it's due he gets stuck in and leaves nothing in the changing room. If the rest of the team had his passion we would do a whole lot better.
• Jack McPhee - WHY? Same mistakes - we make the same errors week in week out, 2008, 2009 & now 2010. McPhee runs when he has no support, and kicks when he could run with the ball. Forcing the passes, trying to score without setting a platform.
• Tries - were taken well and looked worthy of the ITM cup, but then so did their 7 tries.
• Hooker - Hmmm, I am still a bit concerned about hooker. JP starts and Michael Mayhew comes on. The beast was a stand out last year, had another good club season, yet is riding the pine behind JP who is playing averagely. Not sure what is happening here.
• AB's - glad we played them before they came back. Holy hell.
• Tackles - going to high against a man mountain like Fruean doesn't work. You gotta take the big guys at the ankles. Mind you we couldn't tackle the little guys either.

Alistair

From: Alistair@<withheld>.com
To: info@harbourrugby.com
Subject: 1st of August
Date: Mon, August 2, 2010 3:09 pm

Harbour vs Dorkland.

I was quite worried when I saw the team sheet for Sunday's game. The best hooker in the province (one of the best in 2009 Air NZ Cup) on the bench and a continually injured hooker who has played only a few games this year is starting. Our 2 first choice locks are injured, but instead of promoting the 2 reserves we pull in a guy from out of the squad and move our number 8 to the other lock position. What message does that send to the rest of the squad members & us the fans? Are Dowd & Wilson already questioning their selections before we'd kicked a ball.

So after the magnificent penalty from McAllister, & Tom Chamberlain's try I could feel the ghosts of 2009 exiting the through gate A. But I was mistaken as they rushed back through gate B and ran head on into the Harbour team. Auckland didn't look special, but they had the help of a couple of missed forward passes, continual turn-over's gifted to them, and they used the wind more effectively than us (only occasion we did was McAllister's kick).

In such a mediocre display it is hard to pick some highlights - but Chamberlain played well I though out, Grayson Hart & Nalu Tuigamala played well in the halfback spot, and a few of the runs in the attacking 22 by Alipate Fatafehi, which had he had close support, might have resulted in tries. By the same token the lowlights are equally hard to pick, although the two kick off's directly after half time, which led to Auckland points, ruined Michael Harris's game. The inability for people to make first up tackles, & our line outs started well but quickly fell apart (not as bad as Aucks) but came right with the William Whetton/Michael Mayhew combo. And finally Jack McPhee's decision making seems as random as ever - "Kick or run it? I have no support, so I guess I should run it." Where was the team that played against the Japan team? Well at least we didn't play any worse than last year....

I guess another year of heartache has begun. As the match report said, "Without wanting to sound like a John Kirwan ad, I'm feeling a little down about myself and my obsession with all things North Harbour."

Alistair

From: Alistair@<withheld>.com
To: info@harbourrugby.com
Subject: You beauty! Harbour 23, Japan 19
Date: Tue, June 8, 2010 1:58 pm

North Harbour claimed a famous victory in their first international outing [Editor: what are you talking about, "their first international outing"?] by beating Asian Five Nations rugby champions Japan 23-19. Harbour were outscored three tries to two, but without the mass changes in personnel at half time it could have been better for Harbour. Mind you with better handling, from both sides, the score could have been much greater and a different outcome completely.

I guess JK got what he wanted and his team, particularly up front, were severely tested, and at times in the first half it appeared like trench warfare. Although Kirwan will be concerned at the handling & poor kicking (both field position and up & under's) in the first half, which in part helped Harbour dominate. Alisi Tupauailei was a handful all game, but started to really bust us up big time after Brendan Watt left the field. I was also impressed with the diminutive, but tough halfback Fumiaki Tanaka.

High Points for Harbour:

• The outstanding play of several individuals - Matt Luamanu, Michael Mayhew, Shane Neville, Scott Uren, Brendon Watt and Jack Tarrant. Not saying the other players played badly, because they didn't, these guys just appeared to me to be exceptional on the day.
• Support play within the team, after only 6 full practice sessions (according to the TV commentators), was outstanding.
• Not only did the three Mayhew brothers (Richard, Michael & Nick) play in the same match, a first for Harbour, but they played the last 4-5 minutes together as Michael came back on for the injured Filo Paulo.
• The try line defence in the last 5-10 minutes. Awesome effort.
• Post match interview technique - Michael Reid & Richard Mayhew gave better that the usual "game of 2 halves" interviews, although both were close to being plonked in the work on's section. NB: Probably not the first, or last, time the Mayhew's will be referred to as disasters.

Work Ons:

• Kicking from the base of the scrum/ruck - 2 charge downs and several poor kicks.
• Decision making when the back 3 received the ball from kicks - choosing whether to kick or run the ball was often poor, this either the kick being poor, or running with little/no support.
• Kick off receptions. Missed the first 3, but luckily the Japan team.
• Finishing off teams. Yes this was an international side, and we made wholesale changes at halftime, but still we need to kill teams off. How you practice is how you perform.
• The throwing into the lineout in the second half was a little inaccurate.

Most of the above are accuracy things, and these should come right with more training & time as a team. I mean you can't go 9 months of the year hating the other clubs and then instantly gel as a cohesive unit. The players in the squad for this game appear to have taken a step up from last year, and if they continue to build accordingly, and we stay relatively injury free, some of those close losses from last year should end up being wins. Add in the experience of 2 recent All Blacks (Luke McAlister and Rudi Wulf) + SBW (yeah right!) and there is lads to be excited about. Roll on the ITM Cup.

Thanks
Alistair

From: Alistair@<withheld>.com
To: info@harbourrugby.com
Subject: 2010 Harbour campaign underway
Date: Wed, May 26, 2010 1:40 pm

I have been champing at the bit to talk about the up coming season and the announcement of the Harbour vs Japan game on June 4 is like wetting the appetite for what should be a good season for the White Elephant.

Although the Japan game is a warm up for Japan for the Pacific Nations cup, it is an excellent opportunity to see how individuals from the Harbour team have improved since 2009 ANC. After a very comprehensive display by a Harbour Development team against Japanese regional side, Kanto Rugby, a few of the fringe players may have put forward a cases for spots in the Japan game, and ITM Cup.

With the end of a dismal, and often boring Super 14 I can start to enjoy some good club rugby and look forward to the ITM Cup. I am assuming we will be missing our All Blacks, the departing and injured players for the provincial championship, but there is still much to look forward to this season:

• Assuming the starting 10 spot is given to Michael Harris - the battle for his deputy between John Elrick & Ben Botica is one to relish (especially with all 11 tires in the Kanto game being converted - J El 6, BB 5)
• Michael Mayhew - unlucky not to get a super 14 contract with any franchise? You may have your opinion, but I think so, certainly better than Tom McCartney both in stats & in the battle of the bridge.
• Viliami Ma'afu - 2nd equal for player of the year, played well for us & the Blues, will whoever is picked in his spot be as solid, dependable or have as much controlled aggression?
• Speaking of player of the year - will we see James King? If so will he build upon his fine displays of 2009 to become a bolter for the end of year AB tour. We need ball winners in the line out, especially on the opposition throw - like the rest of the top 10 nations do.
• No more happy clappy Chris Smith. Damn, I'll have to find someone else to pick on.
• Will Filo "Pastry" Paulo actually remove someone's head with one of his patented high tackles?
• Will having MM doing the weekly team updates on the official (wash my mouth out) give us, the fans, a better insight into the thinking of the team & in particular the coaching staff.
• Sonny Bill - will he? won't he? Will he forgo the big dollars, come to New Zealand and try for a world cup spot? Will he come to Harbour? Judging by the Herald & numerous online articles, Counties-Manukau have the inside track in securing him, as his current Toulon coach Tana Umaga takes up the coaching post for this ITM Cup. What ever happens, I hope he does come, love to see him in black.
• First game of the season, 25th celebrations & battle of the bridge all wrapped up into one - can't wait.
• And who knows we may actually get some proper supporters gear, other than the massively overpriced replica jersey's.

Cheers
Alistair