Northland toss it all away

Northland blew a handy half-time lead to go down 29-34 to Tasman but the home side's comeback was sparked by a controversal try that still had Northland's coach Bryce Woodward blood's boiling after the game.
Woodward said Blair Cook's try - five minutes into the second half - was clearly a knock-on and should never have been allowed and he was disappointed with the quality of work by the video referee.
"I've just read the riot act to the referee, although it's not [referee Vinny Munro] Vinny's fault - I've told him to have a good long look at it and I'll be interested to see what he thinks ... for now there's nothing we can do, but I'll be following it up," Woodward said.
Cook looked to have had the ball knocked from his hand by Taniwha halfback Rhyan Caine in the act of scoring and Jones referred the decision upstairs only for the fourth official to give the try the green light.
The try gave Tasman the momentum they needed after being outplayed and outscored in the first half. Northland had dominated the breakdown and got over the advantage line well in the first spell but Tasman picked up their own game in the second spell and along with Cook's try they put on 19 unanswered points in as many minutes after the break.
Just minutes later Tasman regained the lead 20-19 on the back of a fine individual try to wing Kade Poki, who sliced through a hole between two tight forwards before completing the try with a sidestep past a stranded Iwi Hauraki.
Having regained the advantage, they built on that when the forwards constructed a try to prop Fai Mika after a dominant scrum led to a concerted drive which Northland were powerless to stop.
Fullback Lachie Munro cut the deficit for Northland with a penalty in the 65th minute but Tasman again displayed their confidence when a break from fullback Tom Marshall was completed by No8 Poutasi Luafutu who was not to be denied from 20m out.
Although their defence had been exposed Northland refused to buckle, striking back seven minutes from fulltime when replacement forward Tim Dow was driven over the line for their bonus point try, with Munro's conversion dragging his side to 29-34.
Northland gave themselves a chance to snatch a late win when a penalty left them with a lineout inside the Tasman 22 in the final minute but the visitors lineout lost the throw - and with it the game.
In the first spell, Northland crossed for three tries. The first went to Munro, who caught Tasman napping when the hosts were penalised near their own 22. Instead of shooting for goal, Munro tapped the ball to himself and scampered to the tryline.
There was a touch of good fortune to their second, to lock Roy Griffin, after a Jared Payne chip over the top was charged down directly into Griffin's hands, but Northland needed no outside help for their third when prop Matt Wallis flopped over the line from close range after a ruck.
Tasman's sole reply during this period went to captain and lock Chris Jack, who ran 20m through wafer thin defence after a lineout take.
Result: Tasman 34 (Chris Jack, Blair Cook, Kade Poki, Fai Mika, Poutasi Luafutu tries; Tom Marshall pen, 3 con) Northland 29 (Lachie Munro, Roy Griffin, Matt Wallis, Tim Dow tries; Munro pen, 3 con). Halftime: 8-19.