Dogged Taniwha pressure too much for Taranaki

A hungry and relentless Northland side hit North Harbour Stadium in a physical clash with Taranaki, unwilling to repeat last week's provincial championship loss to Bay of Plenty.
Northland were resigned to playing their first scheduled home game of their 2009 Air New Zealand Cup campaign at North Harbour Stadium after bad weather plagued Okara Park earlier this year, and the surface there was deemed unsuitable.
It started off a pretty even affair, but come the second stanza, the Taniwha piled on the pressure leaving Taranaki struggling to catch their breath - and the ball, with Northland coming up trumps 29-16.
While plenty of penalties were forced by both sides in the dewy conditions, there was no sign of the dysfunctional line-outs  that cost Northland the game in last week's opening round of the Air New Zealand Cup.
Taniwha skipper Jared Payne said the hard work his side had invested at training during the week, particularly into lineouts, had paid off.
"The forwards put in huge hours this week into getting the lineouts right," he said.
"Our backs played really aggressively and our forwards worked really hard. I'm stoked with the win."
First five-eighth Lachie Munro not only put  most of the points on the board but also controlled the game with good tactical kicking and insightful play.
From the outset, Northland tested Taranaki's defence, spending much of the first 10 minutes inside the visitors' 22m.
Northland were unlucky not to score as a result of the desperate defence from the opposition.
The first half became a penalty trade-off,  both sides forcing multiple infringements at the breakdown - Taranaki's first five-eighth Jack Cameron tapped two over, followed by Munro's first successful attempt of the evening.
After 28 minutes the score was level, 6-6 thanks to another penalty taken 40m out from Taranaki's line by Munro.
It was Taranaki  that scored the first try of the match, however - from good, quick ruck ball.
Willie Rickards was able to step cleanly through Northland's defensive line, linking with Jayden Hayward, who scored under the crossbar.
Cameron's conversion extended Taranaki's lead to 13-6 - but Munro quickly narrowed the gap with a penalty after play restarted and yet another just before halftime when Taranaki's Shayne Austin was penalised for a dangerous tackle on Dan Goodwin.
Down 12-13 at half-time, the Taniwha came out fighting with Munro kicking Northland into good field position, forcing Taranaki to lose  their structure.
Fifty-five minutes into the match, Munro produced a moment of individual brilliance with a clever chip kick to regather and outsprint the cover defence, scoring under the posts.
Munro converted his own try sending Northland to a 19-13 lead, followed by another penalty after a dangerous tackle by All Black Scott Waldrom on winger Rene Ranger.
With 10 minutes to go, Cameron brought Taranaki back into striking distance with a penalty, before second-five Derek Carpenter sealed the match for Northland with the winning try under the posts.
Payne said the win was a step in the right direction for Northland.
"It's a long season though and we will just take it week by week," he said.
Next Saturday Northland meet Auckland at Kerikeri Domain, which the captain said would be a great outing for Northland, and a boost for rugby in the region.