North Harbour revelled in the abysmal conditions to haul themselves from the foot of the NPC first division rugby standings with a 15-3 upset of Wellington at Westpac Stadium tonight.
Winless after the first three rounds, North Harbour played smarter wet weather rugby in a match marredby persistent rain and a cold southerly wind.
Harbour scored a try in each half, put in a solid effort up front to earn 63 percent of possession, and were well directed by halfback Chad Alcock and first five-eighth Nick Evans.
Alcock, the South African former Sharks Super 12 player, capped a man of the match performance with the matchwinning try on the fulltime hooter.
He was unlucky not to score the opening try in the ninth minute after a chip and chase which was ruled out by the video referee.
Harbour's performance was all the more meritorious as they were without suspended captain and No 8 Ron Cribb.
The visitors led 8-3 at halftime after left wing Rudy Wulf's blindside try in the 14th minute, and Wellington struggled to string any phases together.
The closest they came to scoring a try was four minutes from fulltime when fullback Christian Cullen dived for a chargedown which just beat him over the dead ball line.
The loss was Wellington's second from four games and will likely see them drop out of the top-four.
Scores:-
North Harbour 15 (Rudy Wulf, Chad Alcock tries; Nick Evans pen, con)
