Southland Stags’ victory over Northland Taniwha a display of scintillating rugby

Pictured here in the game against the Magpies earlier this season Tevita Latu’s touchdown off a lineout on the stroke of halftime during Friday's game against Southland was a corker of a try. Photo / Photosport

Whichever way one dissects the Southland Stags’ rampant charge to turn a 19-point deficit at halftime into a five-point victory, this was arguably the mother of all comebacks at Northland‘s premier sporting venue.

Except that it wasn’t the hosts who took the honours in the Bunnings Warehouse NPC match in Whangārei on Friday.

The Stags flew out of the sheds and ran amok, determined not to get bullied territorially and physically in the second half, and hapless Northland couldn’t lasso them.

Southland not only wrestled the game from Northland but the Peter Te Tai Trophy as well after their 31-26 win.

Northland imploded in the most spectacular fashion and in the second half they failed to score a single point.

They kicked into touch after the breather an almost faultless first-half performance which suggested the Stags, as has been the story every season, will get butchered and the only question will be the size of the cut.

There was every sense at that stage that the Stags were in disarray and were heading nowhere in particular.

But the men from the deep south turned defence into attack and replicated Northland’s first-half blueprint to power their way to victory.

They were, in the second spell, everything they weren’t in the opening stanza and it all made for a painful evening for Taniwha fans, players and the coaching group.

What makes this victory special for Southland is that it was their first win over Northland in Whangārei since 2015 and came off the back of a scintillating display of rugby that may not be repeated in a long time.

The Stags’ direct, aggressive ball-carrying, spearheaded by the irrepressible No 8 Semisi Ta’eiloa and skipper Sean Withy, combined with a smart, short-kicking repertoire, had Northland on the ropes.

They put double shoulders in, played a much better territorial game, there was purpose to their kicking game and awareness of space behind the Northland defence that yielded the visitors two tries.

Northland’s inability to cope with the Southland comeback crushed them both physically and mentally, and they were left to rue how they let a 26-7 lead at halftime slip away in the end.

At halftime, the home side enjoyed a staggering 72% territory, 65% possession and had spent four minutes in the opposition 22 compared with Southland’s just one.

Northland were frighteningly good and at full throttle from kickoff. They were direct, brutal, clinical and innovative with the amount of territory and possession they enjoyed.

There was good variation in attack - evident in a nicely-weighted grubber kick by Corey Evans that was scooped up by Jordan Trainor for his first try. Tevita Latu’s touchdown off a lineout on the stroke of halftime was a corker of a try. They were classic training pitch stuff executed to perfection. Sadly, they failed to keep the hammer down and nail the door shut.

Had the Taniwha fired just a smidgen better in that second half, they would have got the job done. Another sobering news is that Northland has a storm week beginning Monday, with a short turnaround before playing Waikato on Wednesday and Counties Manukau on Sunday.