Northland fullback Josh Moorby looks to breach the Taranaki defence in this epic match, won by the visitors.
Photo / Gettys
Northland fullback Josh Moorby looks to breach the Taranaki defence in this epic match, won by the visitors.
Photo / Gettys
What a finale. When Northland came right, they nailed the door shut on Taranaki in their home patch but it was the way this Bunnings Warehouse NPC match ended that was worth watching for all money.
Northland's 13-11 win at Pukekura Park in New Plymouth on Sunday came ugly and Northland fans got the feeling for a good chunk of the game that their team could not survive the grind of top-class rugby by spending most of the game chasing the scoreboard.
There wasn't much difference between both sides in the core facets of winning the ball and collisions and, for all the pressure the Naki exerted, especially in the first half, they failed to build a commanding lead at the breather.
Northland showed heart, resilience and, at times, a touch of enterprise and class but wasted ample try-scoring opportunities and were too predictable on attack.
There was a minute silence pre-match for Northland and Maori rugby stalwart Moses Cherrington who died last week.
A brain fade by new signing Josh Moorby in the 18th minute when he opted to field a kick on his 22m line that was going into touch gifted the Naki a lineout.
Northland halfback Lisati Milo-Harris sets up play against Taranaki in his team's win in the opening round.
Photo / Gettys
Shortly after, centre Daniel Waite scored for the hosts after selling a dummy on the blindside. Both teams traded penalties before the game opened up for the visitors deep into the match.
A ticket to watch just the last quarter of an enthralling match would have been well worth it. What a topsy-turvy finish. Up 13-11 and just when the clock ticked 81 minutes, Northland only had to kick the ball out off a ruck. Instead, the visitors decided to run and conceded a penalty in a handy position, halfway inside their half.
Taranaki No 10 Jayson Potroz — a standout who worked well in tandem with skipper Mitch Brown and Daniel Waite — missed the penalty from about 28m out and Northland survived by the skin of their teeth.
"We did some really good stuff in that second half and I thought we did enough to get there so, happy with the result. There's plenty to work on but it was really good to get the first-up win," Taniwha skipper Matt Moulds said post-match.
For Taranaki, the heart and commitment they showed to maintain their lead were admirable, but depth and character weren't enough to win tight games.
Having monsters like All Black Pita Gus Sowakula and Ricky Riccitelli off the bench, the hosts expected more bite to their attack.
Another standout for the home side was hooker Bradley Slater looked every inch the modern hooker, carrying, bustling and was arguably the first in that position to kick a 50/22.
Rivez Reihana gets to the ball faster than Naki players during an enthralling match at New Plymouth.
Photo / Gettys
But the Naki know they can't be a patchy team in this competition and implode just when they need better composure to close out games.
Nor can they miss relatively easy kicks as Potroz did at the death, because those sorts of errors don't offset the dominant hits they produced in abundance.
In the end, the difference between the two teams came down to their ability to convert pressure into points. It was here that Northland prevailed.
They spent seven minutes in the opposition 22 to Naki's two minutes and, when the hosts' Hemopo Cunningham got his marching orders in the last quarter, Northland struck through Jone Macilai-Tori in the corner.
Dan Hawkins' kick sailed straight between the sticks and all Northland had to do was hang on to the ball and wind down the clock.
