Northland come home strongly to beat Nelson Bays

4.20pm

Northland lifted when it was needed to win the NPC first division promotion-relegation rugby match by a deceptively comfortable 32-13 margin over Nelson Bays in Nelson today.

Second division champions Nelson Bays were primed to cause a big upset when leading 13-0 after 27 minutes at Trafalgar Park and they were still in charge at 13-8 ahead midway through the second spell.

But Northland came home with a full sail to score four of their five tries in the closing quarter as their superior conditioning finally had an influence on the match.

It was the second successive year Northland were forced to contest the promotion-relegation match.

Twelve months ago they easily cast aside Hawke's Bay, but it was a different story today as Nelson Bays at one stage threatened to embarrass the visitors.

Nelson Bays were the only team in it for 30 minutes as a try to hooker Dillin Clark and accurate goalkicking from centre Aaron Kimura lifted them out to a 13-0 advantage as they played intelligently with a strongish wind behind them.

Northland's first foray into the opposition 22 did not occur until the 30th minute but at least it resulted in points when lock Tim Henwood timed his run off a ruck to barge his way over the tryline.

They trimmed the difference further three minutes into the second half when a penalty to Julian Huxley left Northland trailing 8-13 and the visitors began building some momentum at last.

Having benefited from the wind in the first half, Nelson Bays were coping all right playing into it after the break and were well positioned to score further points midway through the second half before a scrum infringement proved a turning point.

The home side were awarded the put-in to a scrum near the Northland goal line but their front row engaged too early, which saw referee Paul Honiss award Northland a free kick.

Northland relieved the pressure by kicking deep downfield and minutes later Northland drew level at 13-13 when captain and fullback Jared Going scored a try following some sustained pressure.

Northland took control of the match from that point on, with hooker Tim Dow finishing off a fine break by Hayden Taylor one minute later before Henwood crossed for his second and Hayden Taylor scored a try himself to underline the visitors' dominance of the latter stages.

Going said Nelson Bays made life difficult for his Northland team.

"They came out firing, especially in the first half. They had the wind behind them and had us camped inside our 22," Going said.

"They really got stuck into us and upset our ball.

"When we managed to hold on to the ball for a few phases we scored a couple of quick tries and that set us on our way."

Nelson Bays prop and captain Gavin Briggs said his players felt they were in the game until halfway through the second half.

"They lifted their intensity and really showed us what first division intensity is all about."

Northland 32 (Tim Henwood 2, Jared Going, Tim Dow, Hayden Taylor tries; Julian Huxley pen, 2 con)

Nelson Bays 13 (Dillin Clark try; Aaron Kimura 2 pen, con).

Halftime: 5-13.

- NZPA

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