Win is secured but room for improvement

Northland put in a solid if unspectacular effort to win their final warm-up match of the Air New Zealand NPC season at Growers Stadium in Pukekohe, beating Counties Manukau 10-3.
A Rene Ranger try under the posts in the second spell proved to be the difference between the two sides in an error-ridden match that promised plenty for the 1700 mainly Counties fans  - but in the end delivered little.
The home side had their chances last night, particularly in the first spell, but thanks to some poor handling and some good defence by Northland, they led by just 3-0 at the break, with a Josh Hall penalty after 37 minutes the only points of the spell.
It might have been a better lead for Counties if the ball that found its way to left winger Sherwin Stowers had instead gone to speedster Lelia Masanga, on the right wing.
Derek Carpenter saved a certain try by not committing to the tackle until he was sure to stop the break and then Lachie Munro chased down and tackled the Stowers a few minutes later, when he seemed to be clear through to the Northland tryline.
The Taniwha coaching staff will be pleased with Northland's improvement in the second half after a less than impressive first spell.
Northland had good possession with Tim Dow hitting the mark again and again, while Steve Baker and Dan Goodwin were winning good ball in the lineout.
The problem yet again for Northland was protecting the ball, particularly when they forged their way into the attacking zone - they turned the ball over too easily.
The backs were fairly ordinary and looked better once substitutions were made in the second half.
Munro was impressive at first five-eighth and made good metres with his kicking in the first spell. He did miss three penalty attempts in the first 40 minutes - one from a very handy position. He made up for it the second half by fooling the defence and breaking the line to set up Ranger's try with an inside pass that saw the winger beat a tackle and score under the posts in the 46th minute.
The try and some fresh legs gave Northland their best period of the game and Munro added another penalty in the 56th minute.
Counties tried to come back but Northland had their tails up and were rarely threatened. Bronson Murray almost crossed the line in the closing stages of the match but was pulled down inches short.