Northland has made two changes to its team to take on Otago on Friday night, but the match may be played on a wet Okara Park.
Coach Bryce Woodward has brought halfback Rhyan Caine into the side with former North Harbour player Luke Hamilton moved to the bench.
Loose forward Joel McKenty comes back into the team to replace Eroni Gadolo, who also moves to the bench.
Woodward said there was little in the change at halfback, with both players having good seasons. Hamilton got the call at the start of the season and it was now time for Caine to have a run.
McKenty had broken team protocol last week, and was dropped to the reserves for the match against North Harbour.
But Woodward said McKenty had accepted the demotion and deserved his spot back in the side. He declined to say what caused McKenty's demotion.
Northland has a 50% win record, and had a close 26-23 win over North Harbour last week, coming back from a 16-10 half-time deficit.
Woodward said the side had played well in patches, and had not been helped by having not yet played at Whangarei.
Okara Park had been cleared for play after worries over the state of the pitch, but Woodward admitted it was still not 100%. Rain had fallen in the city this week.
The park was undergoing extensive renovations for the Rugby World Cup and had no covered seating so the Northland union is hoping for fine weather on Friday night.
Woodward said the competition was very tight, and if competition leader Bay of Plenty was taken out of the equation, then Northland was only five points off the top but also four points off the bottom.
The Northland side had 12 new caps in its first game of the competition when it lost narrowly to Bay of Plenty, so did not have a lot of experience in the team, Woodward said.
Captain Justin Collins was still suffering the effects of a head knock in the later stages of the Super 14, and Woodward said he would be surprised to see Collins this season. Collins was still feeling dizzy when he did a weights session.
Otago was due to name its side today.
• Northland team to play Otago, Okara Park, Friday
Jared Payne (captain), Brook Gilmore, Damien Fakafanua, Derek Carpenter, Rene Ranger, Lachie Munro, Rhyan Caine, Cameron Eyre, Matt Clutterbuck, Joel McKenty, Cameron Jowitt, Daniel Goodwin, Karl Haitana, Mikaele Tuu'u, Bronson Murray.
- Reserves: Tim Dow, Matt Wallis, Michael Farmer, Eroni Gadolo, Luke Hamilton, Jon Elrick, Sione Fonua
