Rugby: Canterbury surge back after battling wind

Ash Parker of Canterbury runs with the ball. Photo / Getty Images

Canterbury 28
Northland 13

Canterbury flew home with the aid of a very strong southerly wind to win their ITM Cup match 28-13 over Northland at Christchurch today.

The final result was as good as apparent at halftime when the home side changed ends just three points behind after playing into the teeth of the elements for 40 minutes.

They turned around a 10-13 deficit to register their fourth win in seven outings after Northland looked to be posing a serious threat for the first 30 minutes.

Canterbury's dominance built as the game wore on after they hit the lead for the first time nine minutes into the second half when lock Luke Romano crashed over the line following a highly organised and clinically executed rolling maul from a lineout 10m.

Penalties then followed by young first five-eighth Tyler Bleyendaal and his replacement Tom Taylor as Canterbury eased out to 23-13 before they ended the game with an exclamation mark when fullback Johnny McNicholl crossed for his side's bonus point fourth try following a sharp break by Taylor.

Earlier, Northland made much the better start to be 13-0 up after 21 minutes thanks to the goalkicking of wing Lachie Munro and an opportunist try to No 8 Cameron Goodhue, who latched on to a loose pass deep in Canterbury territory to dot down.

Canterbury refused to kick the ball away into the wind, keeping it in hand for as long as possible but Northland's in-your-face defence ensured the hosts were always under pressure.

Handling errors followed, leaving Northland to apply the pressure but Canterbury stuck to their gameplan and were rewarded in the 29th minute when a quick turnover saw the ball quickly moved to the left where pacy wing Patrick Osborne stretched his powerful legs for the duration of a 60m run to the line.

It was at this point that Canterbury discovered their accuracy, building pressure near the line with a series of pick and goes among the forwards.

The turnaround in fortunes was almost complete when bruising No 8 Nasi Manu burrowed over from one such sequence immediately before halftime.

Canterbury 28 (Patrick Osborne, Nasi Manu, Luke Romano, Johnny McNicholl tries; Tyler Bleyendaal pen, con, Tom Taylor pen) Northland 13 (Cameron Goodhue try; Lachie Munro 2 pen, con). Halftime: 10-13.

- HERALD ONLINE