Northland plucky in defeat

Northland 11 Canterbury 25

It looked as if things started to go wrong for Northland after the five-second mark - the time it took for the kick-off to go dead.

Canterbury then began camping in the rain in the Northland 22, like holidaymakers in the Bay of Islands determined to go to the beach even in the miserable conditions.

They made light of the dampness to begin with and pretty much the only time Northland saw the ball was when Canterbury made a mistake - and then they generally kicked it straight back to them anyway.

That they held out for 20 minutes before halfback Kevin Senio wriggled over for the opening score is testimony to the pluck of the Northland side this year.

Pluck was also to the fore when Northland made their first attack - a burst out of defence, pass after pass going to man from the tackle as they belted 60m upfield, only for a smart covering tackle from first-five Cameron McIntyre to snuff out the danger.

But it led to a penalty from Daniel Bowden for Northland to trail only 5-3 after half an hour and then lead 6-5 after another penalty before McIntyre took back the initiative with a kick right on halftime.

And so it went on, Canterbury dominating territory, running well in patches in spite of the weather. The conditions and stoic Northland defence robbed them of their legs a little - and Northland tried to profit from their errors.

But, just before the 50-minute mark, Canterbury managed some uninterrupted possession and spun the ball left and right. Big lock Isaac Ross, a national under-21 representative last year and interesting newcomer, went over in the corner.

From a tap penalty, they hurt Northland a few minutes later, with the other lock - Kevin O'Neill - going in at the same corner.

Northland will take some comfort from not being spanked by the world's best provincial team, albeit rain-aided.

The Air NZ Cup also started with a lot of talk about new blood. Northland winger Rene Ranger, fullback Marshall Milroy and flanker Joel McKenty seem that. So do Canterbury's Ross, new centre Tim Bateman, who scored the bonus point try after a Northland breakdown, and others including halfback Andrew Ellis and the increasingly mature and busy O'Neill.

Northland 11 (M. Milroy try; D. Bowden 2 pens).
Canterbury 25 (K. Senio, I. Ross, K. O'Neill, T. Bateman tries; C. McIntyre pen, S. Brett con).
HT: 8-6