A large crowd is expected at Okara Park in Whangarei on Friday night, to show support for Northland's demoted rugby team.
Outrage has been mounting since the New Zealand Rugby Union announced last week that Northland and Tasman would be dropped from the first division of the provincial rugby championship.
The Northland Rugby Union expects the crowd will be the biggest in years at Okara Park.
It has hired more than 50 security guards and asked for police to be present at the match against Bay of Plenty.
Northland fans are furious at what they see as an undeserved kick in the teeth and plan to show their displeasure at the game.
Veteran radio host and rugby fan John Markby of More FM and Whangarei's daily newspaper The Northern Advocate have been whipping up support for the beleaguered Blues.
Their campaigns, "Stop the Drop" and "Save the Taniwha" seem to have struck a chord with the public. The Advocate has declared today is "Blue Friday".
What has become clear is that the relegation decision has more to do with those running the Northland union, than the players.
Union deficit
The NZRU says every province was scored on the same six criteria, and the commitment of the team itself is not in doubt.
But Northland - with a $600,000 deficit - came pretty near bottom of the heap for governance, management and player development.
But radio host John Markby says most rugby supporters don't care about that. All they know is their team's been dumped - and they'll be out in force to show the New Zealand Rugby Union just what they think about that.
The union expects the crowd to be big and rowdy, but is confident it will be peaceful.
Other matches
Wellington play Southland at Invercargill on Friday night.
Otago beat Counties Manukau 22-8 at Mt Smart stadium on Thursday night.
