Win gives Boric perfect record

Nick Williams of North Harbour tries to slow Taranaki's Brendon Watt during their clash on Saturday. Sandra Mu / Getty Images

North Harbour 23 Taranaki 19

Anthony Boric has enjoyed his time as North Harbour captain.

He'll hand over the armband to Rua Tipoki, who is back from his 16-week suspension this week. But Boric is stepping aside while he's ahead, boasting a perfect two-from-two Air New Zealand Cup record as skipper.

The rangy flanker was a key part of Harbour's gritty win over Taranaki at North Harbour Stadium, providing, with Greg Rawlinson, a steady supply of possession which Luke McAlister and Tusi Pisi made good use of to keep Taranaki on the back foot.

The result? A win in a rugged battle which might yet have an important influence in who make the top six playoffs out of pool A.

It wasn't a flash performance but Harbour should have given themselves a decent pat on the back.

"We held on to the ball a lot better than last week and we were able to get a few phases going, apply a bit of pressure and keep them in their half. That was the key thing," Boric said.

The match took a tough toll on Taranaki: midfield back Lifeimi Mafi had a suspected fractured eye socket, flanker John Willis a fractured cheekbone and wing Michael Tagicakibau an ankle injury.

They also had a beef with the decisive moment of the match. Prop Adrian Donald burrowed across in the left corner six minutes from the end. That took Harbour from a tight 14-13 to a 19-13 advantage.

Donald was desperately close to the flag, but referee Gary Wise, after a word with touch judge Steve Walsh, raised his arm.

Taranaki coach Kieran Crowley was surprised the moment wasn't referred to the TV official. "It was a pretty critical moment."

Harbour coach Allan Pollock reckoned Wise's actions indicated they were happy it was legitimate.

"If they thought it was doubtful I'm sure they would have [referred it]."

This was the sort of win you grind out, relish the points and move on. Pollock knows there is better to come from his team.

"It's better to play at your optimum at the end of the season. There's no way this team, on limited preparation, could tick all the boxes. We're looking for continued improvement and we'll be better next week."

Taranaki captain Paul Tito cut a glum figure after the match.

"Five times I've been up here and never beaten these blokes," he said.

His other lament was that Taranaki failed to nab a bonus point in either of their two games so far, when they could easily have done so both times. "That could come back to haunt us," he added, looking as if already knew the answer to that one.

* Waikato's campaign is up and running after their 23-14 win over Southland in Invercargill.

With Jono Gibbes and Liam Messam ensuring a strong lineout, there were tries to Sitiveni Sivivatu shortly before halftime and the clincher came from Stephen Donald.

A Southland backline blunder allowed halfback Brendon Leonard to toe ahead and Donald was on hand to complete the breakaway. He finished with 18 points and Waikato now prepare for a big Friday night, hosting Canterbury in Hamilton.

Southland lost All Black halfback Jimmy Cowan with an ankle injury but he is expected to join the All Black camp today.

* Northland are making progress this season. They had their moments against Southland in round one and battled resolutely against Canterbury in Whangarei before going down 25-11.

The team with the sharper finishing edge inevitably prevailed - and Canterbury did well to snare a bonus point too on a grubby day - but there was an enjoyable sting in the tail for the home side.

A slickly worked move got fullback Marshall Millroy through a gap and over for a fine try in the left corner. First five-eighth Daniel Bowden, wing Rene Ranger and No 8 Jake Paringatai all had moments of high quality.

* Otago lost the possession count by a mile, made more than twice the tackles of their opponents and finished 0-9 in the 5+ phase tally. So work this out: Otago 37, Hawkes Bay 0.

The Bay are yet to get a point in the cup and Otago merely grabbed their chances, running in five tries to get a bonus point too. "We had some opportunities. We just couldn't capitalise on them," said veteran Bay skipper Mutu Ngarimu.

* Wellington will be without Tana Umaga for six weeks after he picked up a nasty cut to a finger in a grim 11-6 win over Bay of Plenty. His midfield partner Tamati Ellison was also replaced with a rib injury and may be absent when Wellington return to action after a bye this week.