Pacy Hauraki makes early mark as Maori scuttle Harbour

Two tries by Northland's recent Air New Zealand Cup acquisition Iwi Hauraki helped Northland Maori reach the final of the Northern Regional competition  in Whangarei this weekend, but the 35-34 win over North Harbour at Kumeu was anything but plain sailing.
Harbour came storming back into Saturday's match after Northland halfback Logan Wendt scored out wide in the 64th minute to give Northland a 35-20 lead. North Harbour's Baden Woodman, playing at centre, proved to be their danger man, scoring tries in the 70th and 73rd minute, to narrow Northland's lead to one point with five minutes to play.
North Harbour had Northland pinned in their own 22m zone for the final stanza but huge defence, particularly from Kamo flanker Jack Tango and Wellsford prop Ross Wright, kept North Harbour from crossing the line. A large crowd of Northland supporters erupted in relief as the referee blew the final whistle.
The  result earned Northland the right to play Bay of Plenty in the senior men's final to be hosted by Northland at the Old Boys Rugby Club in Whangarei this Saturday.
It also gave them the prestigious Nau Cherrington Memorial Trophy, a trophy that is played between Northland, North Harbour and Auckland Maori at the senior level annually. The trophy has not been won by Northland for 10 years.
Hauraki set the tone for the win with a classy long range try along the left wing after three minutes. He scored another outstanding try down the right wing in the 23rd minute, beating four would-be tacklers on the way and earning some stern marking for the rest of the game after Harbour identified him as the biggest attacking threat.
Northland's  Cass Walding controlled the game from first five-eighth, adding another try after 36 minutes but Harbour countered  by playing closer to their big pack - scoring two converted tries and added a penalty to lock the score at 17-17 at the break.
Northland changed a number of players at half time and continued to play an expansive game with Cass Walding scoring again in the first five minutes followed by a Regan Haynes try in the 10th minute to give Northland a 27-17 lead. North Harbour replied with a penalty after 18 minutes and Maihi Brown added a penalty for Northland to make it 30-20, before Wendt scored and Harbour launched their comeback that came up just short.
Northland will have all three of their teams in their respective finals - with the Colts team and the Womens' senior team also winning their respective matches.
Northland Maori Colts were a class above their young North Harbour rivals and ran out comfortable winners 73-5.
The team were the clear favourites to win and kept a number of key players on the bench to blood new talent.  They controlled possession well  and were just too fit and too fast for North Harbour.
The dominant performance will cause coaches Brad TeHaara and Peter Nock some problems this week trying to select the team to play Waikato in Saturday's final.
The Northland women's team were also in a class above their rivals, beating North Harbour women 37-5.