Rugby: First five won't pass buck after errors

Dan Hawkins, Northland first five-eighth.

Dan Hawkins feels he needs to have a good, long, hard look at the man in the mirror in order to rediscover the form which saw him finish third overall on the 2014 ITM Cup point-scorers' ladder behind Tasman's Marty Banks and Auckland's Gareth Anscombe.

Succumbing to the pressure of a rushing Southland defensive line at the weekend, the first five-eighth, 24, said his first two outings for Northland this season had caused a few alarm bells to sound.

"There was just too many mistakes, I take responsibility - it wasn't good enough," a frustrated Hawkins said after Northland's 27-18 loss to Southland on Saturday.

Facing off against All Blacks first five-eighth Lima Sopoaga in that match didn't exactly boost Hawkins' chances of playing a blinder and with the Taniwha kicking game failing to avert the threat of Sopoaga's attacking nous, there was little opportunity for Hawkins to stamp his mark.

Needing to build on his tackle success rate of 68.8 per cent, a return to form for the recent Melbourne Rebels signee could transpire if he regains the competence displayed at club level and in previous ITM Cup campaigns.

"I wasn't good enough, I've got to have a good look at myself," Hawkins said.

"We defended all right, apart from that one time where they skinned us out wide. It was never lost, we were fighting back hard there, we just couldn't finish. There was too many mistakes, but I'll take it on the chin - it's disappointing and not good enough."

Relaying his reflections of the round-two loss to Southland, Hawkins said his side could lift their game in the coming weeks if they shifted the focus of their attacking shape toward more tried and true methods.

A win could be just around the corner by reverting to their winning, proven methods of attacking rugby seen in last year's competition.

"We sort of went back to what we knew from last year, [played] a bit more direct and it payed off for us at the start there. It just needs a bit more work, we've just got back into it and hopefully we can start putting some wins on the board."