Rugby: Northland remain strong contenders

Don't write us off was the message to the Northland faithful from inspirational co-captain Rene Ranger after their 12-16 loss to Southland.

Northland are still in third place on the ladder but arguably have the hardest run-in to the ITM Cup playoffs of any team.

Ranger said if they can improve their execution then their campaign is far from over.

"It wasn't the result we wanted but ... we were there right until the end. It was our mistakes that let us down and our ruck, you know, once we fix those up then we can play some good footy," he said.

"Every team in the competition can beat any team on their day and Bay of Plenty, Canterbury and Counties are all good sides but we can beat them - we've just got to get up and get excited about each game as it comes."

It was another Jekyll and Hyde performance from Northland on Wednesday night at Invercargill.

Southland were superior in almost every aspect of the first spell but after trailing 0-13 at the break the Taniwha surged back into contention with a vastly improved performance which included great tries to Ash Moeke and Tone Kopelani.

Ranger was in sensational form and led the second half fightback with trademark midfield surges. He couldn't put his finger on why Northland started so poorly but said whatever it was, it wasn't acceptable.

"It was a real game of two halves. I was really pleased with the way the boys came back in the second half and played some good rugby ... it was just a shame we couldn't finish it off in that last five minutes," he said.

The co-captain said he felt for Taniwha supporters after two nail-biting losses in a row.

"Yeah, it was hard on our supporters. I got a few texts from mates who were sitting on the edge of their couches at the end hoping that we'd pull through but, oh well, we'll just have to do it for them next time," he said.

Northland's next game is against Bay of Plenty at Mt Maunganui on Sunday and the short turnaround will challenge the side's depth after a bruising match that saw Bryce Williams leave the game with an Achilles tendon strain.

The co-captain's injury wasn't the only one with Kopelani, Derek Carpenter, Cam Goodhue and Tui Fa'asasila also in serious doubt for Sunday's match.