RUGBY - Notable showing from Northland despite loss

In terms of rugby heritage Tasman can't hold a candle to Northland, but when it comes to bragging rights they now have a distinct advantage.
Tasman have now won three games against Northland from three attempts, their latest a 25-22 victory played in awful conditions at Okara Park on Saturday night.
But just because Tasman seem to have the wood on Northland right now, don't expect Northland coach Mark Anscombe to push the panic button.
Saturday night's game might just be the genesis the team needs to launch into the Air NZ Cup campaign this season.
Anchored by a rock-solid scrum and served a platter of possession by a functional lineout, Northland delivered one of their best pre-season efforts in several seasons.
At the very least it was an effort worth noting for the fact that at least four front line players were out injured, another four were left on the reserves bench until haftime and one more forced to withdraw for personal reasons.
Which is why Anscombe was still upbeat despite not having the pleasure of tasting a winning post-match beer after tackling a team from Tasman.
"It was a start, and from our point of view a start that gave us something to work on and somewhere to go from here," Anscombe said.
"The scrum was solid, which was a bonus for us to see, the lineout went well in the first half and there were times when the backline attack looked quite sharp in quite difficult conditions," he said.
The project now is to try to mould the team into a tighter unit as the countdown to the Air NZ Cup gets serious.
Primary among his concerns will be the defence, which was left floundering when hit by repeat attacks by a well-drilled Tasman side and often caught without enough tacklers out wide.
Had it not been for some hesitant Tasman backline play Northland would have conceded at least three tries in the first 30 minutes.
Instead Tasman were only able to take a 15-8 halftime lead into the halftime break despite playing with a considerable wind at their backs and were lucky to be awarded a try late in the game to clinch the win.
In the meantime Northland, with eyecatching games from props Bronson Murray and Justin Davies and some impressive counterattacking efforts from Leo Taliu at second five eighths and stand-in fullback Rene Ranger, managed to come back from 22-8 down to draw level 22-all in the last moments of the game.
Two try-scoring bursts from Fetu Vainikolo on the wing set up the comeback which was only thwarted when Tasman pilfered possession, surged down the pitch, won a penalty and kicked the winner seconds from fulltime.
Northland's next game is against Manawatu in Palmerston North, another pre-season wrestle but this time set to feature a starting team that includes fullback Hayden Taylor, lock Brad Taylor, returning midfield back Josh Levi and veteran prop Tony Coughlan.