Rugby: Taniwha out to do better

It wasn't the homecoming the Taniwha were hoping for.

After two games on the road, Northland were hoping to beat Manawatu and move towards the top of the championship table. Instead, they were outclassed by a desperate Turbos team, losing 33-20 at Toll Stadium on Wednesday.

Taniwha loosie Dan Pryor said they were disappointed they had let down the fans.

"It was pretty quiet in the sheds afterwards ... we knew we'd made silly errors and, to be honest, nothing went right and it's hard to get a win when you're playing like that," he says.

It was hard to put a finger on a single reason why they played so poorly but the openside flanker says it had a lot to do with the visitors' game.

"They came out firing and we were behind the eight ball pretty quickly and they were good enough to stop us coming back.

"Manawatu played really well, they were at the rucks that one second faster than we were and that made all the difference. To be brutally honest, they outpassioned us on our home ground."

Manawatu were desperate for a win after losing their opening two matches and Northland were a long way away from the side who beat Waikato with a clinically taken maul late in the match.

The Turbos were ready and waiting each time Northland worked their way into their 22. Their red zone defence nonplussed the Taniwha until late in the game when the home side gave their side something to cheer about with two consolation tries.

Pryor was once again one of the best Taniwha performers and hopes they'll do better in their match against North Harbour on Sunday.

"We know we're a good side and we've got to get back to the basics and we'll be sweet," he says.

The 24-year-old was sore after the physical encounter but, despite the short turnaround, says the team are ready to make amends against North Harbour by playing their own style of rugby.

Pryor has become an integral part of the team with his speed and coverage around the pitch and, if he continues to perform well, must be in line for a Super-15 contract at the end of the season.

"I'm really enjoying my rugby at the moment, I like coming up here and playing, Northland is a really good team but we just couldn't do it the other night, unfortunately."