Northland 24 Bay of Plenty 17
KEY POINTS:
Northland were rewarded for their perseverance with a 24-17 Air NZ Cup rugby win over Bay of Plenty in Rotorua on Thursday night.
They secured their first win of the competition courtesy of a last-minute try from winger Rene Ranger after a lacklustre match seemed destined to finish in a 17-17 draw.
Northland wanted the game more, a trait apparent from the early stages as Bay of Plenty could not rouse themselves despite the urgings of a home crowd.
As the final seconds ticked down, flanker Joel McKenty emerged from a midfield maul to make valuable ground before the ball was shifted to the left, with second five-eighth Daniel Bowden producing a fine pass to give Ranger the space he needed near the touchline.
Bowden added the extras, to go with his four penalties and Bay of Plenty were left to cling to a bonus point from losing by seven or less.
For large chunks of a largely forgettable contest Bay of Plenty did not appear remotely interested in the outcome.
A barely functional lineout and struggling set piece denied Bay of Plenty a solid platform but there was a startline lack of urgency elsewhere as Northland showed much more structure and commitment.
Bay of Plenty were the inferior team in the first half but still went to the break 14-9 ahead thanks largely to the deft touches of first five-eighth Murray Williams.
Firstly, he scored their first try of the competition by darting 40m on the angle, first around a lumbering prop and then around fullback Hayden Taylor.
Then, on the stroke of halftime, Williams produced a clever stab kick into space which was latched on to by second five-eighth Rena Schuster to give the home side the lead.
Those two pieces of action cancelled out Bowden's three first-half penalties, two of them from 45m plus distance.
Williams was not so dominant in the second spell as he bombed two easy penalty kicks as the teams wrestled for ascendancy before Bay of Plenty squandered yet another chance when winger Anthony Tahana could not hold on to the final pass with no one between him and the goalposts 35m away.
Their grip on the game, already tenuous, loosened further when Bowden landed an easy penalty in the 62nd minute to trim the difference to two points.
The game, which was going nowhere fast, was crying out for someone to claim it and, finally, someone did put their hand up in the form of Northland No 8 Jake Paringatai.
Northland attacked immediately after stealing a Bay of Plenty lineout feed for the sixth time in the 68th minute before Paringatai thrust himself forward to provide a crucial half break and clever offload for substitute prop Justin Davis to score a try.
Williams then missed his fourth penalty shot in the 74th minute before converting his next opportunity just two minutes later before Ranger had the last word.
Northland 24 (Justin Davies, Rene Ranger tries; Daniel Bowden 4 pen, con) Bay of Plenty 17 (Murray Williams, Rena Schuster tries; Williams pen, 2 con). Halftime: 9-14.
- NZPA
