Rugby: Taniwha's tough win

Northland's Ben Seymour heads to the line for the game's first - and only - try. Photo / Ron Burgin

It wasn't pretty but the Northland Taniwha notched up their opening win of the ITM Cup competition by beating Southland 13-9.

The game at Toll Stadium never reached great heights as both teams turned in error-ridden performances and the television match official was overused to create long periods of inaction.

Rene Ranger's troops can thank their lucky stars - plus an off night with the boot for Stags goalkicker Scott Eade - for holding onto their slender lead with the Stags pounding away at the line for the final 10 minutes of the game.

"The boys showed good attitude and character and stayed in their systems and in the end we didn't let them come away with any points, even if it was a close thing," Ranger said.

While Southland had the majority of field position and possession during the match it was negated by good Northland defence. Great hustling by the entire team saw the visitors constantly under pressure and squandering good chances to crack open the Taniwha line.

Northland always looked as though they would be able to manufacture a try from nothing and Rupeni Caucaunibuca - playing his first game for the team in over 10 years - showed that he's lost none of his guile.

Although short of chances, twice in the first spell he galvanised the Toll Stadium faithful. The first time a chip kick bounced inches short of the despairing grasp of Ben Seymour, and secondly after a burst of speed and a great fend he handed the ball off to Whiria Meltzer to score. Unfortunately the TMO ruled that the ball had gone forward.

Sonetane Takalua was also denied a try just before the break and so - on the balance of scoring opportunities - the Taniwha probably deserved their 10-6 lead at the break.

Seymour scored all of the Taniwha's points including the match's only try - a 17th minute intercept from an ill-timed John Hardie pass that saw the new Taniwha first-five eighth canter 65m to score.

The second half was a dour affair with both sides coming to life in the final 10 minutes to make the low-scoring encounter interesting. Eade had narrowed the deficit to one point until quick thinking by Takalua saw him break into the Stags 22 to earn a penalty - and Seymour re-established the four-point buffer.

Northland held on and the relief on the players' faces was obvious at the final whistle.

The Taniwha will have to play a lot better all over the park if they are to make an impression on the competition this season. And the skipper says that they will have to go back and do the hard work at training.

"We made too many handling errors we've got to put those mistakes behind us and focus on playing our game," Ranger said.