Fullback Matt Wright takes on Southland's Lima Sopoaga during Northland's 27-18 loss at Toll Stadium. Photo/ John Stone
Southland 27
Northland 18
The geographic opposites produced a compelling contest packed with brilliance, errors, attraction, repulsion, and even the ITM Cup's version of the NFL 'deflategate'.
Southland, directed by Lima Sopoaga in his first match since starring for the All Blacks on debut in Johannesburg, overcame Northland 27-18 in Whangarei.
A second half burst took them to an 11-point lead. Northland clawed back a late try to replacement halfback Kurt Davies after stoic Southland defence but the visitors had enough late territory to secure the win.
Sopoaga played a significant role on attack, including backhand passes and crisp timing running into the line or feeding robust runners like fullback Junior Ngaluafe and No 8 Bill Fukofuka. The first five-eighths kicked 12 points and provided a valuable safety net on cover defence.
The forward packs dinged into each other like 900kg bar magnets with scrums tic-tacking for dominance, players flying out of rucks as if run over by a mower without a catcher and enough handling errors to rule the culprits out of employment as antique dealers.
