Tough task for bruised Taniwha

NORTHLAND'S 43-19 loss away to Wellington on Wednesday night was a blow to the Taniwha, who will need to dig deep to pick themselves up again to play Canterbury, in Christchurch on Sunday.
Taniwha coach Adriaan Ferris said his side were hurting after Wednesday night's game, where things went from bad to worse. "We're hurting at the moment - and rightly so. Wellington showed up to play and deserved to win," Ferris said.
Marred by injury, a below-strength Northland side fronted against a Wellington side boosted by the return of All Blacks Cory Jane and Hosea Gear who lit up the Wellington backline, leading the Lions to a six-try romp over the Taniwha in the round eight ITM Cup crossover match.
"We felt we had prepared well and done our analysis for this game. But it was one of those games where the things we tried just didn't go our way. Wellington are a good side and they showed that. They applied pressure in specific areas where they thought we were vulnerable and we didn't compete."
Northland's scrum - which has fared well all year - was essentially taken away from Northland and used as a strike weapon, while their line out - also effective all season - folded. Unforced errors cost Northland in the first 20 minutes and turnovers and handling errors continued to plague the visitors to Westpac Stadium for the rest of the game. Perhaps most frustrating for the coaches and players alike, was Northland had proved a week earlier they were capable of beating any side in the competition when they defeated premiership leaders Bay of Plenty, but playing the way they did on Wednesday, made the team look ordinary, Ferris said.
So it was back to a somewhat subdued drawing board yesterday when the players turned up for their recovery session. "The guys were very, very downcast when they turned up today and I had to explain that sometimes that's rugby and we have to move on."
The coach said the side were well aware they faced another huge challenge playing Canterbury on Sunday, with injuries bothering the side but those injured players were yet to be assessed, before the team is named.
"Northland are a team who play with a lot of heart which they were missing against Wellington. The biggest thing is that the team play every game with a lot of ticker and leave the field knowing they have given it their best," he said.