Northland centre Blake Hohaia is tackled by two Hawke's Bay players during their Mitre 10 Cup clash in Napier.
Photo/Hawke's Bay Today
Northland centre Blake Hohaia is tackled by two Hawke's Bay players during their Mitre 10 Cup clash in Napier.
Photo/Hawke's Bay Today
There wasn't any outrageous misfortune or injustice behind this defeat.
All the opposition have to do these days to tame the Taniwha is to feed off their ill discipline and sloppy defence - the twin deficiencies that are just as easy to predict as their line-up.
What is becoming unpredictable, though, is to know which Taniwha side will turn up each week.
Northland's Mitre 10 Cup season is on tenterhooks after losing 55-41 to Hawke's Bay in Napier on Wednesday.
It was a classic game of two halves and while the Taniwha were firing on all cylinders in the first half, serious questions need to be asked of senior players like Rene Ranger and Kara Pryor, whose defensive game under enormous pressure went totally up the spout.
So much that referee Nick Hogan lost patience after repeated indiscretions and sent Pryor to the bin in the last quarter.
Up numerically, the Magpies scored a brace off rolling mauls straight after Pryor was sent to the naughty chair and exactly what purpose Northland were there to serve from that point on wasn't easy to tell.
The last vestige of hope was gone, the game irrecoverable, not when Northland had so little idea what to do with the ball.
That sort of cluelessness doesn't fix itself easily as it has featured at some point in almost every game this campaign.
Rene Ranger gleefully runs to the tryline but he couldn't help Northland secure a win against Hawke's Bay.
Photo/Hawke's Bay Today
The Taniwha are a paradox and a pity.
Paradox because when they are on song, they can suffocate the best of defences with deft touches and sleight of hand.
From Scott Gregory and Murray Douglas in the forwards to powerboot Jack Debreczeni and the dreaded Rene Ranger, the firepower is never in short supply.
And a pity that they can be heroes one minute and villains the next.
Leaking 31 points in the second half after leading at the breather is a travesty.
Ranger conceding two penalties allowed the hosts to score twice off lineout ball before Jaycob Matiu pulled one back with low body position, dragging the ball to the chalk.
Fullback Matty Wright hit the line with speed, received a wide pass from Debreczeni and decided to take Magpies' centre Stacy Ili head-on to score.
Debreczeni's goalkicking, field kicking and passing were exceptional and helped the backs apply the appropriate flourish and plant the ball over the line.
Northland forwards did the bread-and-butter job of winning the ball, helped in large part to the host's falling off far too many one-on-one tackles.
With ball in hand, Ili escaped the clutches of Northland prop Ropate Rinakama and ran 20m to the tryline but the visitors replied almost instantly.
Ranger darted half the length of the pitch from his 10m line, drew two defenders before flinging a pass to wing Jordan Hyland to score.
A brilliant cross kick on the right flank by Debreczeni found an unmarked Matty Wright and all he had to do was catch and thud the ball on the tryline.
Hawke's Bay enjoyed 73 per cent of possession in the third quarter and scored almost all their tries off set piece dominance, particularly lineout and rolling mauls.
Player of the match and Magpies No 8 Marino Mikaele-Tu'u played with a massive heart and soul and with such speed to burn that Ranger and replacement halfback Jono Kitto couldn't keep pace.
The win draws Hawke's Bay level with Waikato on 23 points in the Championship while Northland pick up a four-try bonus point and remain in third place.
Hawke's Bay Magpies 55 (Stacey Ili 2, Gareth Evans, Marino Mikaele-Tu'u, Pasqualle Dunn 2, Ben Power 2, JJ Taulagi tries; Taulagi 3, Brad Weber 2 cons) Northland 41 (Matty Wright 2, Jordan Hyland, Rene Ranger, Jaycob Matiu tries; Jack Debreczeni 5 cons, 2 pens). HT: Northland 38-24.
