Rugby: Northland Taniwha tame the Lions in their Wellington den

Semco Northland players jubilant after a Herculean defensive effort secured them a win over Wellington Lions. Photo / Gettys

Northland ran into the Lions' den on a dank and relentlessly rainy day and blew their hosts off the park.

The men in Cambridge blue manned an almost impregnable defensive line at Jerry Collins Park on Saturday and put on a performance that demanded they be taken seriously as a genuine force; an effort that showed they were not the masters at cracking under pressure.

The 15-6 win in the Bunnings Warehouse NPC was Northland's second in three games so far and, while it was a Herculean effort to beat the Wellington Lions — a side laden with experienced Super Rugby players as well as former All Blacks — the key is to consistently replicate Saturday's form.

It was double celebration for Northland rugby as a 10-hour bus trip to New Plymouth due to flight cancellations fired up Semco Northland Kauri against Taranaki in the latest round of the Farah Palmer Cup.

The Charmaine Smith-captained Kauri won 29-15 and host Taranaki in a quarter-final in Whangārei this weekend.

Tries to Hinewai Pomare, Tui McGeorge, Harmony Covacich-Baanders and Tiaho Mahanga sealed the win for a third place finish.

"Pretty proud of the girls. In the last 10 minutes, we figured out we needed to keep the ball closer and, with the wind behind us, we managed to score some good tries," coach Bodean Rogers said.

In the NPC game at Porirua, Northland pulled out their winter game plan. Like in Māori mythology, Taniwha players were akin to large supernatural beings the Lions crashed into but could not break.

Ordinarily, keeping Wellington tryless throughout a match is no easy feat for the best of sides. It's a fair bet they have a blueprint for winter rugby embedded in their DNA, given the climate, but the Taniwha made sure they return from the capital with four competition points rather than just frequent flyer rewards.

It wasn't that Northland had players with an X-factor who could turn the game on its head that the Lions didn't.

As hard as the Lions threw themselves into the battle in their home patch, they hardly secured precious real estate from which to launch their attacks.

Whatever chances they created, it wasn't long before their hands went on hips and there were sighs to the heavens from unforced errors.

With the last quarter to spare, the Lions made a staggering 16 handling errors to Northland's seven and conceded 22 turnovers to the visitors' 14. Those stats should feature atop the drawing board this week.

Lions centre Billy Proctor is well covered by tireless Northland No 8 Sam McNamara during the NPC match in Porirua. Photo / Gettys

Wellington's players rightfully looked stunned at the final whistle — not just because of the result, but because of the nature of it.

"It's pretty disappointing, to be honest. We worked pretty hard during the week but to come out here and play like that, we're disappointed with ourselves, really," Lions skipper Du'Plessis Kirifi lamented post-match.

His side was relentlessly awful with a wet ball and on a heavy field.

Former All Black Julian Savea would rather forget his 50th game and would be gutted at the way his team was constantly forced into mistakes right across the park.

For Northland, their resolute defence worked a treat.

"Conditions played a big part. It was very wet and windy so it was difficult to attack with ball and, without a strong defence, it would have been hard to shut them down," Taniwha head coach George Konia said.

He said the side had a good mix of youth and experienced players who all stood out in the win.

An experienced front row of All Black prop Ofa Tu'ungafasi, centurion Ross Wright and Matt Moulds kept the scrum steady while the lineout wobbled at the start but held up well as the game wore on.

Veteran halfback Sam Nock played a brilliant hand with his tactical control and percentage plays that put his team in the right places.

Towering Sam McNamara, as usual, had another outstanding game and was instrumental in Northland's second try to fullback Josh Moorby.

Northland struck twice just before halftime and both were well-worked tries.

The first came off a lineout on the Wellington 22m line. Lock Liam Hallam-Eames secured the lineout ball and a rolling maul was set up that slowly but surely laboured towards the tryline.

Loose forward Rob Rush, initially in front of ball carrier Moulds, disengaged, re-joined the maul and got up from the tryline with ball in hand.

The second try shortly after came from a brilliant change of hands involving McNamara, Jack Goodhue and Rivez Reihana down the blindside before an inside ball to Moorby.

Northland were too tough, too organised and too careful. They gave the Lions almost nothing to feast on. No dumb passes, no spilled balls and no wild ideas about playing in their own territory.

Although they conceded two penalties in the second half, Ruben Love missed both kicks for the hosts and then Nehe Milner-Skudder was stopped short of the tryline by Nock.

Northland could have got their third try in the dying stages had centre Tamati Tua intercepted a pass thrown to Billy Proctor close to the Lions' tryline.

Northland host Southland at 4.35pm this Sunday while the date and time for the Northland Kauri and Taranaki match at the same venue will be announced later.