Capital in Taniwha's sights

Northland turned up to their recovery session with a positive frame of mind following their 30-23 defeat of ITM Cup premiership leaders Bay of Plenty Steamers at Whangarei's Toll Stadium.
Their win in Thursday's crossover match proved the Taniwha is capable of winning against any side in the competition - with a little bit of hard yakka.
Obviously delighted with the win, coach Adriaan Ferris said the hard work and analysis the team had given this match had paid off.
"We knew what style of game they would come at us with, so we had a specific game plan in place, and for 60 minutes we stuck to it," Ferris said.
What frustrated Ferris was for the last 20 minutes, Northland were on defence due to moving away from the game plan.
"Instead of using the width of the field, we would kick off the set piece and give the ball back to the Steamers - meaning we had to defend for 20 minutes," he said. Work-ons for the team ahead of Wednesday's game against Wellington at Westpac Stadium included paying attention to detail for 80 minutes.
"Our tackle percentage dropped off for us, and it's important going forward there are no lapses in concentration."
However, for most of the clash, Northland played error-free. When they created breaches in the Steamers' defensive line, they did not rush, showing what they can achieve with patience.
Bryce Heem scored two tries for the Taniwha in the first half, while Mark Burman added another and all three were the fruit of sustained pressure as Northland stylishly unlocked Bay of Plenty's defence with superb ball control over numerous phases.
Reassuringly for Ferris and assistant coach Derren Witcombe was the Taniwha stepped up to snag the win without injured key players Rene Ranger (kidney) and skipper Jared Payne (hip).
Derek Carpenter, filling in at centre, was impressive, and he showed his versatility in the backline, Ferris said.
The truncated format of this year's ITM Cup had both positives and negatives affiliated with it.
"For the players, if they have a below par game, they only have to wait three or four days to redeem themselves, and if they are playing well, it's not long before they can get back out there. From a coaching perspective, it's concerning we don't have them on the paddock to train as much as we would like. Players need to focus on their personal performances and we need to communicate well with them to implement our game plan," Ferris said.
During the clash, Dan Pryor came off with an injured pectoral muscle and Heem took a knock to his knee in the first half, and played through the second half in pain. Both players will be assessed over the weekend. Thursday's game was also a chance for Bay of Plenty tighthead prop Bronson Murray to catch up with his old Northland teammates.
Murray, who transferred to the Steamers this season after clocking up 96 games for Northland, went head to head with best buddy and loosehead prop Justin Davies.
"They both knew they were there to do a job ... there were a few scrums there that Justin could be really proud of. It was good to catch up with Bronson. He's a good bugger ... We'd like to think he'll be back to play for Northland one day to get his centurion's blazer - the door's always open here for him," Ferris said.
Northland fly to Wellington on Tuesday for Wednesday's round eight match in the capital, before continuing on to Christchurch to face Canterbury next Sunday.