Northland halfback Sam Nock was a standout player but couldn't help the hosts beat Waikato in Whangārei.
Photo / Tania Whyte
Northland halfback Sam Nock was a standout player but couldn't help the hosts beat Waikato in Whangārei.
Photo / Tania Whyte
Tom Robinson didn't mince his words while summing up Northland's loss to Waikato in front of a partisan crowd.
"It felt like until the last seven minutes, we never really fired a shot," the Northland skipper offered post-match as the scoreboard read 16-10 in favour of the Mooloos in the NPC match at Semenoff Stadium on Saturday evening.
Buoyed by a vocal crowd on a drizzly evening, the hosts put the hammer down in the dying stages and laid an ideal platform to score through a lineout inside Waikato's 22 - but when Jack Goodhue dropped the pill in a tackle, any chance Northland had of landing the fatal blow was scuppered.
There was no such disappointment for the Northland Kauri as the women's side edged North Harbour 27-23 - their second win in Whangārei, after beating Tasman in the opening round.
The women's game preceded the Taniwha vs Mooloos clash.
Anna Allen on her way to the try line during the Farah Palmer Cup clash between the Northland Kauri and North Harbour. Photo / Tania Whyte
The NPC match was a bit loose at times but always compelling and had Waikato got the rub of the green in the first half when two tries were disallowed and the visitors also had a knock-on on the try line, the thousands of Taniwha faithful who braved the wet and cold conditions may have looked for the exit gate earlier.
Both teams scored a try apiece and Northland would have been hugely frustrated at having been starved of possession for most of the second half, after conceding a try not long after the break.
Losing their own throw in key attacking areas despite having reliable jumpers riding the pine was another area of concern for the hosts.
Their opposite numbers Laghlan McWhannell, Samipeni Finau and Jack Lam gave the Northland loosies and locks pause to prod their beards at lineout time.
The Mooloos' backline, marshalled by the immensely talented Damian McKenzie and strong centre D'Angelo Leuila, was prepared to play with greater depth and vary their alignment, forcing Northland to defend for long periods.
Action from the Northland-Waikato match at Semenoff Stadium. Photo / Tania Whyte
It was a tactically astute decision by Waikato to alternate between kickers McKenzie and Leuila, a left-footer, hoofing the ball into opposition territory and pinning the Taniwha in their half.
"We've just got to learn from the mistakes and build the momentum that we got. I thought our breakdown in the second half wasn't great, they were slowing down our ball, we were slow to react [with] our cleanouts and they turned over [the ball] a lot," Robinson said.
"We never really got quick, consecutive phases together. At halftime, we hadn't really fired a shot, we were passive in that first half, we were losing the physical battle - can't afford to do that, especially on our home ground.
"It hurts but we'll bounce back. We've got a couple of massive games ahead."
Harmony Couaach-Banders of the Northland Kauri dives over for a try in her side's win over North Harbour. Photo / Tania Whyte
Waikato skipper Ayden Johnstone said it was good to get the monkey off the back, referring to his side's consecutive losses to Northland in 2020 and 2021.
"It was one of those ugly ones, could have gone either way. We probably left a few opportunities out there on the field but [we're] happy with the determination," Johnstone said.
"We thought probably our skills weren't quite there, we thought we could probably speed the game up a bit and go through the middle of it in the second half.
"I thought we regrouped well and managed to get enough points to win. At halftime, we just talked about our one percenters and just our little skills with the ball in hand, just really being patient, earning the right to go forward," Johnstone said.
Northland prop Coree Te Whata-Colley tries to secure possession off a ruck in his team's loss to Waikato.
Photo / Tania Whyte
Injured All Black Jack Goodhue is slowly getting back into the groove following a knee injury, and was happy to get about 30 minutes of game time on Saturday.
He said parts of their game were really good, the team could take a lot of confidence out of it and they would bounce back better.
On the dropped ball towards the end, Goodhue said: "It happens eh, it's just rugby, whether you make a mistake in the end or right at the start, you've got to treat [that] the same and learn from it."
Northland's other home games are against Southland (August 28), Auckland (September 3), North Harbour (September 18) and Manawatu (October 2).
The Northland Kauri's last match before the playoffs is against Taranaki in New Plymouth on Saturday.
