NPC rugby: Northland suffer second heavy defeat with loss to North Harbour

Rob Rush finds the going tough in Northland's heavy loss to North Harbour at Semenoff Stadium. Photo / Michael Cunningham

North Harbour's lethal back three feasted on turnover ball as the visitors piled on nearly half a century of points against Northland Taniwha in Whangārei.

It was a classic game of two halves and, for all the grit and determination Northland showed at Semenoff Stadium on Sunday evening, Harbour proved too strong in the end, winning 48-21 in the Bunnings Warehouse NPC match.

Northland drifted out of the game a wee bit and if Harbour didn't quite manage to crack them in the first half, they certainly broke them with the constant grind up front and sweeping plays out back.

Harbour's dangerous back three; Tevita Li, Mark Telea and Shaun Stevenson, needed no second invitation and are masters of wanting to play off mistakes, forcing turnovers and counter-attacking against broken defences.

Once the trio got going, Northland's going got tough.

It wasn't as if Northland were meek and insipid. They had their moments but just couldn't in the second half nail the opportunities the way they did in the first two quarters. They battered away at the rucks but couldn't win the moments they needed to.

Harbour's transition from defence to attack was lightning quick and they had a number of players capable of making that switch.

Blake Hohaia in action against North Harbour at Semenoff Stadium. Photo / Michael Cunningham

The quality of their bench was apparent when the likes of Jamie Booth, Alex Fidow and Kalolo Tuiloma came on and lifted the urgency and tempo of the game.

The visitors sensed that if they are able to wear down the Taniwha and keep chipping away, there was a good chance they would come on top against a quality if slightly erratic opponent.

One could argue Harbour got the rub of the green with two contentious decisions — a suspected forward pass and what appeared to be a slight knock-on by captain Bryn Gatland — but there should also be a general feeling that if you're good enough to win, you'll get there in the end.

Twice Northland halfback Sam Nock's kick off a ruck was charged down in the first half and resulted in tries to Harbour on both occasions.

Jed Melvin blocked the first clearance kick and under-pressure Northland first five Rivez Reihana, forced to mop up at the back, threw a forward pass to Harbour loose forward Tamarau McGahan to gift an opportunist try.

Harbour opted to play at width and stretched the Northland defence. Nock made up for the blunder minutes later when he saw a yawning gap in the Harbour defence and ran at an angle to touch down.

Not long after, lanky Isoa Nasilasila reached out to score but Northland began a foray in the opposition territory and were rewarded when skipper Josh Goodhue levelled the scores.

By the 26th minute, Northland had conceded seven turnovers to Harbour's four and the handling errors were two apiece.

Northland centre Tamati Tua attempts a clearance from deep in the match against North Harbour. Photo / Michael Cunningham

There was a moment's silence before the game for Tappy Perkinson who passed away after a long battle with cancer.

"We just didn't win the moments we needed to and they took their moments really well. You've got to make it count when it matters and we just failed to execute," Goodhue lamented.

Northland's general skillset wasn't good enough, he said, and while his team has dealt with line speed before and executed well, it just wasn't there on Sunday.

"We're a team that loves to attack, love to have a crack but we didn't and I think it was a mental thing tonight. They were punishing us on turnover ball, they've got a very dangerous back three."

Despite the huge loss, Goodhue was optimistic about the team making the finals but aware they needed to bag a couple of wins.

Gatland's radar was on target with a personal points haul of 18 from conversions and penalties to seal Northland's fate.

"We knew Northland are a quality side and they're not going to go away. In the second half we had to come out, just be a little bit clinical and finish off opportunities so we knew if you can wear teams down and chip away at them, we can score points."

"Discipline was massive for us. In the past, we've been a bit poor on that, giving away penalties."

Northland's next match is against Tasman Mako in Nelson on Saturday and Bay of Plenty in Tauranga four days later. Their last game is against Manawatu in Kaikohe on October 2.