BOP see off Northland

By CHRIS RATTUE

BAY OF PLENTY 42 NORTHLAND 17

Bizarre. That's about the best description of Bay of Plenty's win over Northland at Rotorua tonight.

The result means Northland are shots-on to go into this year's promotion-relegation game, and the second division contender may never get a better chance to succeed.

Northland give everyone but themselves a chance, with a leaky defence and an erratic approach.

The maddest aspect of tonight's match is that Bay of Plenty failed to score in the second half, after ripping the visitors to pieces in the first.

They scored at will in the first period, with first five-eighths Glen Jackson pulling the strings, and second five-eighths Grant McQuoid among his chief lieutenants.

McQuoid departed early in the second spell with a rib injury, which may have taken the edge from the hosts' game.

It is more likely that Bay of Plenty's 42-10 lead at the break lulled them into a justified sense of security.

There was no way back for Northland at that point, after a series of lineout disasters, and their disorganised and cumbersome defence allowed the home side to take charge.

It highlighted the significant gap between last and second-last in the first division.

Northland coach Donny Stevenson had already conceded that a loss against the Steamers would consign his side to the promotion-relegation game, and he will now analyse match tapes from the second division to prepare for one of the most significant matches in his union's history.

The second division challenger will be particularly interested in the tape of tonight's match, and will gain plenty of hope from the first half, which was a catastrophe for Northland. Their clumsy defence was ripped apart by Bay of Plenty, with Jackson often the ring master.

Four minutes before the break, he treated what there was of the Northland defensive line with disdain, feinting, bursting through a gap, then reverse flipping a pass to Wayne Ormond, who scored.

By then the damage had been done, after captain Clayton McMillan had started the rampage with a storming run from a lineout to set up a try to flanker Nili Latu.

Then Jackson delayed a superb short pass to McQuoid, who burst through a midfield gap and the rest of the backline completed the move.

It was McQuoid who exposed the real problem in Northland's defence when he charged between Josh Levi and Norm Berryman for a final first-half try, the large Northland centres left exposed in their lack of agility and pace.

Northland's only first-half reply was an early Berryman try, but even the smiling showman was restrained in his response. This is not a time for Northland celebrations.

It was Bay of Plenty's third victory of the season. Northland have only bonus points.

Bay of Plenty 42 (A. Stewart 2, N. Latu, A. Bunting, W. Ormond, G. McQuoid tries; G. Jackson 6 con)

Northland 27 (N. Berryman, G. Taylor, T. Carew tries; J. Arlidge 2 pen, 3 con).

HT: 42-10.