Rivez Reihana with the match-winning penalty on the stroke of fulltime during an NPC thriller against Auckland.
Photo / Michael Cunningham
Rivez Reihana with the match-winning penalty on the stroke of fulltime during an NPC thriller against Auckland.
Photo / Michael Cunningham
There is something frighteningly good about this Northland Taniwha side, given the way they have been putting quality sides to sleep.
The nuts and bolts of their upward trajectory in the Bunnings Warehouse NPC this year could be summed up by saying they are capable of attacking and scoring from anywhere, as they are defending every blade of grass.
Beating Auckland 23-22 at Semenoff Stadium over the weekend - their first-ever win against the big brothers at home - was built on a massive defensive effort that drained the confidence out of the visitors, and an attacking game that got the big boys in blue-and-white hoops on the ropes for extended periods of play.
Gone were the Auckland of old, and in came the Taniwha of new.
The wild celebration that followed when Roger Tuivasa-Sheck was penalised for holding onto the ball inside the Northland half in the last act of play was a sight to behold.
Home fans erupted in joy, and the thousands that came through the turnstiles couldn't wait to get on to the pitch to sing and dance.
It would be remiss to only pinpoint defence as the sole contributor to Northland's success thus far in a season which has netted them four wins and a loss. A coaching masterclass from George Konia and his able lieutenants Graham Dewes (forwards) and Marty Veale (defence) is reflected in the way the Taniwha are going about their business.
Bruce Kauika-Petersen finishes off an almost length-of-the-field move with a try in Northland's win over Auckland.
Photo / Michael Cunningham
When their scrum disintegrated to the point where Northland conceded a penalty try in the third quarter, in came substitutes Tom Robinson, Matt Matich and Conan O'Donnell, and they shook things up in the physical stakes.
Having a bird's-eye view from up in the stands, the coaching triumvirate sensed the trio could be the panacea to a wobbly scrum, and they were. In the end, big names for Auckland failed to step up, as the likes of Tuivasa-Sheck, skipper Harry Plummer, Angus Ta'avao, Alex Hodgman, AJ Lam and Salesi Rayasi couldn't land the killer blow.
Just when they needed to be bang-on with skill execution, they became the Italian chefs of world rugby, seemingly started throwing various ploys at the wall in the hope that something would stick.
But Northland was determined to create history - their third win over Auckland since the NPC began in 1976.
"Ever since we changed our name from North Auckland to Northland, we've always been the little brother, and we wanted to level that playing field and become a brother of our own. Awesome day and awesome result for us," captain Matt Moulds said.
He said Auckland managed to score a couple of tries after ill-discipline crept in for Northland, coupled with a scrum that failed to keep parity with the opposition.
"The depth of our squad is huge, and a couple of guys who came in shored up our scrum, and that gave us a better platform to launch and defend from. We'll celebrate the win, but this competition doesn't stop. We've got Canterbury next, and we've got to really prepare well for that."
Northland head coach George Konia was "absolutely ecstatic", and gave credit to everyone involved in the history-making win.
"What a fantastic result against a top quality team. We defended our hearts out on our try line and we kept them out for long periods, which showed the character and composure of this team," Konia said.
"That really helped in our belief, and we got a sniff and scored a couple of good tries ourselves. This is a huge moment and we're gonna enjoy this win, because throughout history, we haven't had many wins against Auckland. It's a very special day."
Jubilant Northland players celebrate their historic win over Auckland.
Photo / Michael Cunningham
Canterbury in Christchurch would be another big game, he said, and the eight-day turnaround gave Northland a bit of time to recover.
Auckland captain Harry Plummer was initially lost for words.
"We were our own worst enemy. We had a lot of momentum but didn't get the rewards we felt we should have got, and then we switched off, and you can't do that against a team like the Taniwha. This one hurt us and ended up costing the game," Plummer said.
"Northland has a lot of passionate fans and we knew it was going to be hard; we prepped really well this week. All credit to them, they played the Northland game, they hung in there, and got the job done in the end.
"Just little mistakes, and we had a dominant set piece and we backed ourselves, but just couldn't capitalise. It's good learnings going forward. It's quite a stiff wind here - kicking wasn't going to be easy, but we adapted really well and soaked up the pressure only to be up at halftime. But, back end of the second half... we went to sleep."
Northland drew first blood when Moulds crashed over off a rolling maul in the 15th minute. It took Auckland 30 minutes to get into Northland's 22, and by that time, the visitors enjoyed just 42 per cent of possession.
Auckland replied with wing Tomas Aoake three minutes before halftime, and again shortly after when Coree Te Whata-Colley was sinbinned for a dangerous tackle.
Rob Rush had a hand in two tries after the breather that came from brilliant counter-attacking moves. From an Auckland goal drop-in, the ball changed hands between Rush, Tamati Tua, and the final pass to Heremaia Murray, who scored on the fly in the corner.
Northland wing Heremaia Murray makes a break down the midfield channel, which resulted in a try down the other end.
Photo / Michael Cunningham
The next try was a delight to watch. Rush pinched an Auckland lineout through in the Northland half, before Murray made a scything run down the midfield channel after fending off Plummer.
Jone Macilai was the next receiver, and he drew in the Auckland defence on the inside. A quick recycle ball to replacement Bruce Kauika-Petersen, and he dived over.
Rivez Reihana hooked a penalty to the left, but had another crack minutes later just inside Auckland territory when Ta'avao was penalised for a high tackle on Robinson.
That kick went between the sticks, with seconds left after kick-off. Auckland dug in their heels, looking for either a score or for Northland to concede the penalty, but the home side wasn't prepared to let their loyal fans down.
Robinson got one up over his Blues' teammate Tuivasa-Sheck when the latter was penalised for holding on to the ball. A standing ovation from the stands, befitting history in the making, was on offer for the Cambridge blue.
Meanwhile, there was no such delight for the Northland Kauri, as they lost 28-19 to Hawkes Bay in the Farah Palmer Cup semifinal in Napier on Saturday.
