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Northland held Southland at bay to overtake Hawke’s Bay and lead the Miter 10 Cup Championship before challenging the Magpies for the Ranfurly Shield next Friday.
But Northland will have to play a lot better if it wants to lift Log O’Wood for the first time in 42 years.
Sunday’s 18-14 victory over the tenacious Stags in the fifth round at Semenoff Stadium was not what Taniwha deserved as Southland controlled most of the match in Whangarei.
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Temo Mayanavanua scored Northland’s first try.
Northland was released time and time again due to Southland’s mishandling and a flagrant inability to convert try-scoring opportunities, including with the hosts losing forward Kara Pryor to a late yellow card, ensured the Stags were denied their first away win since 2015.
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Blues weak forward Tom Robinson was Northland’s best on defense and Taniwha held Southland out heroically in the final minutes to repel wave after wave of attacks, securing his fourth win with a penalty shot to great sighs of relief. .
Winger Amanaki Nicole looked dangerous for Southland, but the visitors inexplicably failed to use the open space on multiple occasions and will kick each other after falling in their third loss.
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Isaac Te Tamaki’s try gave Southland the lead in the second half.
Southland will surely make life difficult for the opposition and he was willing to risk his arm in the far north in good but cloudy conditions, a far cry from the torrential rain of his two home wins and narrow loss to Waikato in Invercargill on Sunday. past.
Northland led 11-0 after the first quarter, but the Stags turned the screw for the remainder of the first half with an overwhelming amount of possession that forced the hosts to defend and defend until halftime.
The Stags lost star Manaaki Selby-Rickit to a knee injury and had only one attempt to show their dominance.
Southland took the lead with their best attempt of the season after the break when a turnover from talisman captain Tony Lamborn led to a break and midfield Raniera Takarangi kicked for former New Zealand Sevens star Isaac Te Tamaki will score in the corner.
That prompted Taniwha to respond with such a good try and good hands led local running back Sam Nock to score in the 49th minute for the match-winning try.
No two provinces are farther apart geographically, but they are certainly familiar with each other after colliding many times in recent years, enduring their own losing streaks that have isolated them towards the bottom of the Championship.
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Northland Sam Caird chasing his own kick under pressure from Southland defenders.
Both are no longer easy to capsize, but Northland has quietly improved each season after their last losing streak ended in 2016 and has been appearing in the semi-finals ever since.
Southland will have to improve and eliminate mistakes if they want to return to the semi-finals for the first time since 2014.
The Stags remain fourth after Taranaki’s loss to Auckland and will host fifth-placed Taranaki in a crucial clash on Saturday.
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Southland captain Tony Lamborn got the Stags back in the game.
Southland suggested his game could be more expansive when Stags hooker Greg Pleasants-Tate smashed through Northland’s defense for a 60-meter dash in the first minute.
But a grounded ball from Southland led to Northland’s first attempt after blocking Sam Caird cleared it, then the cavalry arrived and loose forward Temo Mayanavanua lunged up.
Two Dan Hawkins penalties put Northland 11-0 ahead before relentless pressure from Southland finally led to his first attempt for Lamborn after deflecting Northland’s scrum.
The Stags had more than 70 percent of possession in the first half and the tired Taniwha trudged to the sheds at halftime, on his feet.
However, despite the phenomenal pressure from Southland in the final 10 minutes, Northland held on.
TAKE A LOOK
Northland 18 (I fear Mayanavanua, Sam Nock tries; Dan Hawkins scam, 2 pens) Southland 14 (Tony Lamborn, Isaac Te Tamaki tries; Scott Eade 2 with). HT: 11-7.
MVP: Tom Robinson 3, Tony Lamborn 2, Amanaki Nicole 1.
