Rugby: Defence key to Under-19s' breakthrough

Louis Ward is stopped in his tracks during Northland's win over Auckland B on Saturday. Photo / Tania Whyte

The taste of a win was finally found by Northland's Under-19s side as they rose to a 21-8 victory over Auckland B, just one week out from the Jock Hobbs Memorial National Under 19 Tournament.

Looking to maintain their rampant form, patience and structure displayed against the physical Auckland B side on Saturday, Northland coach Mark Wells is hoping his side can fare well at the tournament, which starts in Taupo this Sunday.

"They should definitely believe they can beat anybody now," Wells said.

"It's nice to get a good win in the seeding matches and go down there and hopefully get a couple more. They're really hungry and want to step it up from last year and do the union proud."

Taking to the Old Boys Marist pitch in Whangarei, both sides fronted up early on, but small mistakes with the slippery pill prevented both from building a lead.

Heading into the halftime break with an 8-7 lead, Auckland B's burly forward pack proved their worth around the rucks and mauls in the first stanza.

The second half was anyone's for the taking as the heavens opened up on the already soggy pitch. Limiting the opportunities to play an expansive game, the wet conditions kept the forwards busy.

Tiring out the large Auckland pack, Northland began to find their chances toward the end of the match as the visitors slowed.

"The boys really went up a gear in the second half and the big difference was in the first half their No7 beat us to every ruck and in the second half we just took him out of the game and owned the breakdown," Wells said.

"With our fitness we sort of got on top of them and ran them all over the park, made them chase us from side to side and they just ran out of gas, so the game plan worked well and the boys executed it.

"One of the keys to it was our defence; we're pretty hard to score against. The boys really worked hard on their defence and had some good plans in place. Auckland B had some good players there, so we were pleased to hold them at eight points."

Wells said his side had just a few more trainings left to iron out any creases in their game plan for the Under-19s tournament. "We'll be in the bottom eight but our aim is to win the bottom eight. It's not undoable. If everything goes our way and the boys play to the best of their ability then we're in with a real chance."