RUGBY - Despite pressure, Northland should back themselves out wide

A real sign of the maturity of a team is their ability to win close matches. Especially those against teams with similar levels of talent and resources.
When a team consistently win games of this nature, it shows they have matured to the point where they know how to execute tactics and game plans specifically prepared for the opposition.
While we have seen a lot of progress from the Northland team over the last couple of years under the coaching of Mark Anscombe and Bruce Robertson, clearly the team have yet to fully mature.
They let themselves down in the weekend.
It appeared Northland took in the tactics of trying to gain a physical advantage around the fringes which would then open up holes in the midfield. For most of the first half this tactic did not work and, as a consequence, Taranaki took a handy lead into the halftime break.
There were signs in the first half that, when Northland took the ball wide, they were able to dominate the opposition and get real advantage.
It was therefore no surprise that, after halftime, Northland came out and appeared to have a different game plan from the first half. Every time they took the ball wide, advantages were gained and, in particular, Fetu Vainikolo was quite outstanding.
Northland therefore made steady progress and closed the game up to within two points by halfway through the second half. This was a clear signal to continue that tactic.
What we saw instead was the team reverting back to the tactic of trying to smash through the fringes. To Taranaki's credit, they were able to defend these areas and not give away penalties which may have secured a win for Northland.
My immediate thoughts after the final whistle were that, tactically, the coaches had made mistakes in the game plan. But I did have the fortune to discuss the tactics of the match with a senior player, and he confirmed that the coaches had been preaching a wide game plan all week.
You therefore must look at other reasons why Northland did not prosper and take out the victory. You could look at the on-field leadership of Justin Collins and David Holwell, but history tells us that those two individuals have provided outstanding leadership in the past.
We therefore must look at the issue from a team as a whole. I would suggest that the team do not have the full confidence that a string of victories does provide and that at times of stress and pressure, they revert back to what they consider to be their best tactic.
Unfortunately, in this case, it proved their undoing - combined with a very poor performance at the lineout where we lost virtually all of our second-half throws.