Rugby: Dream of home semi alive and well in North

Wellsford's Matt Wright was the star of the night for Northland, scoring his first hat-trick at ITM Cup level - and scoring just the second hat-trick of the competition this season. PHOTO/JASON MILICH

Northland continued to press their case for promotion with a 58-27 victory at Toll Stadium over North Harbour that emphasised the strength of the Taniwha.

In an entertaining affair that featured two teams with much to gain but equal to lose, Northland saw off a spirited Harbour to keep the dream of an ITM Cup Championship home semifinal alive.

The visitors travelled north to Whangarei buoyed by back-to-back victories over Canterbury and Hawke's Bay, playing with freedom and confidence in an opening half they probably shaded.

But Northland showed mental and physical strength to keep their opposition at arm's length up front and eventually kill them off out wide on Friday night. Northland left it late to secure the bonus point that enhanced their chances of a home semifinal at Toll Stadium, but their fourth try was followed by a somewhat inevitable onslaught.

The tone was set in the opening quarter, when both captains declined shots at goal to find tries from Greg Pleasants-Tate and Ross Wright.

While those moves were a product of the forwards, the backs came to the fore later.

But balance was eventually broken in the second spell when, after Matt Wright and Robbie Robinson swapped tries, Northland finally broke free.

Wright grabbed his third while Jone Macilai and Kara Pryor scored a try each.

Northland 58 (Ross Wright, Matt Wright 3, Jone Macilai, Kara Pryor tries; Dan Hawkins 5 cons, 6 pens); North Harbour 27. HT: 20-15APNZ