Tenacious Tasman tough out Taniwha

Tasman starved Northland of the ball in the second spell to edge them 21-16 in a tight, weather affected contest at Okara Park yesterday.
The Taniwha had good reason for confidence at halftime after defending well under pressure in the first spell - playing into a strong wind and driving rain - to end the half level  at 13-13.
But when it came to take the game back to the visitors in the second spell, they were outplayed at their own game, said Northland captain Jared Payne.
"I felt we did a good job in the first half but Tasman did even better in the second half to starve us of the ball and without ball we couldn't get field position and without field position we couldn't put any pressure on them, so well done to them," he said.
With the early part of the match dominated by errors, stoppages and penalties, Northland's Lachie Munro and Tasman's Andrew Goodman swapped penalties to be tied up at 6-all.
With 12 minutes to play in the spell, Northland showed great patience and even greater skill to string together eight or so phases in the Tasman 22m zone.  Blindside flanker Roy Griffin then scored he first try of the match after he drove for the line  with Bronson Murray on his shoulder. Munro added the conversion and Northland led 13-6.
As the rain intensified, Tasman searched for a reply and again after 10 or so phases, Kahn Fotuali'i spotted some space on Northland's left flank and swung the ball wide to Afeleki Pelenise, who had plenty to do, to dot down in the corner in the tackle of Munro. Goodman added two points from the sideline to level the scores with less than a minute  to  the break.
After a bright start to the second spell it was Tasman who broke the deadlock with what proved to be the decisive try of the game in the fifth minute. Hooker Quentin McDonald, capped off a fine game by directing a rolling maul over the line to give his side a seven-point lead after the conversion.
From then on the game plan was simple for Tasman and they stuck to it - keep the ball and run down the clock.
Northland lost Joel McKenty to a foot injury, and with him their best turnover exponent. The little ball they did win, was too often lost as they sought to find gaps in the midfield, that quickly closed.
Conversely, the Taniwha were a split second too slow in moving their defensive line up to Tasman's backs, with the visitors often allowed to juggle then regain the greasy ball. Tasman's set-piece was marginally better than the locals, with loosehead prop Sakaria Taulafo causing Northland some problems in the scrum.
Munro kicked another penalty to narrow the deficit to just two points and missed another couple of chances, before Goodman dropped a goal with 15 to go to complete the scoring. A frantic final five minutes saw Tasman's defence hold and Northland were left to rue another one that got away from them.
Result: Tasman 21 (Afeleki Pelenise, Quentin MacDonald tries; Andrew Goodman 2 pen, dropped goal, con) Northland 16 (Roy Griffin try; Lachie Munro 3 pen, con). Halftime: 13-13.