Northland's effort was obvious to see against Wellington Scott Gregory (left) seen here trying to evade a tackle from Lions player Teariki Ben-Nicholas. Photo / Photosport
Northland's effort was obvious to see against Wellington Scott Gregory (left) seen here trying to evade a tackle from Lions player Teariki Ben-Nicholas. Photo / Photosport
It's not often a team concedes 57 points and can still be proud of their performance, but the Taniwha can hold their heads high after their 57-36 loss to Wellington this evening.
In what could be considered one of their best performances in the competition this year, Northland were wellin the fight against an in-form Wellington outfit at home.
While handling errors and shoddy defence marred their play, Northland were much more consistent and threatening against the Lions. The Wellington side looked off the boil for most of the game but still posed a great threat through a number of talented ball runners.
Replacement number 8 Aorangi Stokes was a force to be reckoned with in the capital, seen here scoring his second try of the night. Photo / Photosport
Northland played what could have been their best first half of the competition in the capital, withstanding a period of early pressure from the home side to score first.
After Northland successfully took down a lineout five metres from the Wellington line, the Taniwha forward pack went to work, patiently driving towards the line before hooker Paddy-Joe Atkins dived over to score the first try of the game after 12 minutes.
An unsuccessful conversion from first five Jack Debreczeni saw the visitors lead by five but only for a few minutes as Wellington nailed a penalty through flyhalf Jackson Garden-Bachop.
Wellington had already turned down an easy penalty shot in favour of a scrum so to see the home side opt for the tee was a good result for the visitors. However, it wasn't long before the home side took the lead through a great finish down the left-hand touchline from centre Vince Aso to make the score 8-5 with 20 minutes gone.
Wellington's Vince Aso (right) scored a tremendous try in the corner despite the best efforts of fullback Scott Gregory trying to force him into touch. Photo / Photosport
Northland's good start seemed to slip away as Wellington's strong ball runners tested the Taniwha's defence. Eventually, the home side found a gap as flanker Du'Plessis Kirifi showed some great footwork to break the line and score.
Leading 15-5, Wellington were odds on to steam roll a Northland team with a record of capitulating in the back end of the first half. However, the Taniwha refused to sit down as their backline looked its most dynamic this season.
A period of possession for the visitors paid dividends as replacement number eight Aorangi Stokes burst through the Wellington backline and skinned four Lions defenders to dive over behind the posts and cut Wellington's lead to three (15-12).
Lions captain Du'Plessis Kirifi (with ball) was a standout figure, scoring two tries. Photo / Photosport
A Northland penalty converted by Debreczeni levelled the score and with seconds to go in the first half, Northland would have been happy to go into the sheds even on the scoreboard.
However, a great piece of individual brilliance from Wellington right wing Wes Goosen gave the home side the lead after he caught a spiralling kick just inside halfway from Debreczeni.
Goosen ran it back strongly, blitzing Northland's scattered defensive line and made a simple pass inside to Kirifi who scored his second try on the stroke of halftime.
Northland assistant coach Brad Te Haara had reason to be positive in his halftime interview and the statistics backed it up with most of the numbers favouring the visitors at the break.
Northland did well to keep Wellington at bay in the first 10 minutes of the second half but it didn't last any longer as Taniwha centre Matt Johnson slipped off Wellington second five Peter Umaga-Jensen, who went through to score.
Six minutes later, Goosen picked up a try of his own as he took advantage of spilled ball from a poor Northland backline move and ran 50 metres to score. Trailing by 36-15, Northland flooded on five substitutes including outside back James Cherrington who made his debut for the Taniwha.
Northland winger Jonty Rae (with ball) could be considered fortunate when he scored his try late in the second half. Photo / Photosport
After a good period of Northland possession, Stokes added to his to good day of work with another try after a solid scrum with 20 minutes to go in the game. A Debreczeni conversion saw the visitors only losing by 14 but it was then the floodgates opened.
Poor exit play from Northland saw Wellington replacement forward Josh Furno cross the chalk in the 64th minute, before Northland winger Jonty Rae was awarded a questionable try three minutes later to see Wellington lead, 43-29.
Wellington's reserve outside back Pepesana Patafilo then scored two tries in the space of four minutes, taking advantage of a scattered Northland defensive line and leaving the visitors 28 points adrift with only seven minutes to go.
Fortunately, Northland finished the game off well with a great set-piece move from Debreczeni who received a good ball off the scrum, stepped inside the Wellington defence and cruised over to score with just seconds on the clock.
Northland flyhalf Jack Debreczeni's hard work was paid off when he scored in the 79th minute of the game. Photo / Photosport
The scoreline of 57-36 didn't tell the improvement shown by the Taniwha after a horror 2019 campaign. While it was still their seventh straight loss after eight games, today's game would have been their best performance with still a number of work-ons to address.
Northland next play Tasman at Trafalgar Park in Nelson on October 6, kickoff at 2:05pm.
