Backline blitz keeps Harbour buoyant

By CHRIS RATTUE

North Harbour's brilliant backs stole the show again as they put winless Northland to the sword in Whangarei.

And they were paid the ultimate compliment by Northland captain Jared Going, who rated them the best back division in the NPC.

It was a familiar tale of woe for Northland, who competed valiantly in the first half but faded as North Harbour prevailed in overcast conditions to win 40-16 and hold their position in the top four.

Speed was the most noticeable difference between the sides. North Harbour looked capable of scoring virtually every time they broke the line, whereas Northland were sluggish in open spaces.

Going, who knows a thing or two about flair from his career in the national sevens side, rated Harbour's backs as the best.

When asked who could touch them, Going said Auckland's backs had been very impressive against Taranaki on Saturday night.

But he said: "Harbour are the sharpest backline in the whole competition. They're a pretty talented bunch.

"They all step off both feet, they've got loads of speed, they're a real handful I can tell you.

"They all offload and run off each other. They're very hard to stop."

Luke McAlister was again to the forefront, but his centre partner Anthony Tuitavake was also in on the act and scored two tries.

And the difference between the sides was summed up when Nick Evans turned a tricky defensive situation behind his own goal-line into a 40m run which had Northland stretched again.

Harbour were also eventually dominant in the forwards, with powerhouse No 8 Nick Williams increasingly prominent.

But the Harbour pack will have a tough time grabbing much limelight while their backs are in such sparkling form.

Going was one of the Northland victims, as he was left grasping by wing Hosea Gear, who beat him with an in-and-out move on the way to the line.

Rico Gear set up his side's first try with a long angled run.

And Tuitavake scored his second with a long run after breaking a tackle from a planned move.

The forwards got their glory in the final stages, with a snappy lineout move, involving Williams, which sent captain Joe Ward over for the bonus-point try.

Replacement Francis Stowers was driven over the line for Harbour's fifth and final try.

Ward rated the performance as "pretty messy" in the early stages.

"In the last 15 minutes we improved and we are getting better with each game," he said. "We are trying to get away from totally relying on our backs scoring from anywhere.

"I felt we eventually did that and we got our set phases right. I was disappointed with our discipline at times but apart from that we are definitely improving all the time. Our confidence is up and we are working the game plan."

While Harbour often sets the NPC alight, Northland are going through another fruitless season. That was reflected at ITM Stadium yesterday, where the crowd number was optimistically put at 2000.

Going said team spirit was good, but admitted it was tough going.

"I'm sick of being competitive and coming away with no points all the time."

NPC fixtures, results and standings
Division One | Division Two |