Rugby: Dominant second half secures North Harbour victory

Malakai Ravulo of North Harbour dives in for a try. Photo / Getty Images

North Harbour 35
Otago 23

A dominant second half performance allowed North Harbour to turn around a 14-point deficit and defeat Otago in a national provincial championship (NPC) rugby match in Albany tonight.

Two tries in two minutes helped Otago to a 23-9 lead before halftime and they looked a good chance to lift themselves off the bottom of the NPC table.

Otago's Glenn Dickson and North Harbour's Ben Botica traded penalties in the first 20 minutes, Botica's penalties both coming from Otago chasers being caught ahead of the kicker.

The southerners had the best of the play however, and they were rewarded with two tries in two minutes shortly after the 20 minute mark. Replacement prop Halani Aulika was first to score, smuggling the ball from a ruck to charge 5m to score.

Shortly afterwards winger Joe Hill won the race to a Ben Smith kick to score near the corner. Dickson converted both to put Otago to a 20-6 lead.

Further penalties to Botica and Dickson before halftime saw the visitors take a 14 point lead at the break.

But a half-time rev-up from coach Craig Dowd awakened North Harbour and they quickly got back in the game.

Two more Botica penalties got Harbour moving, and then in the 55th minute a lineout steal gave the home team possession close to the Otago line, and a few phases later flanker Malakai Ravulo forced his way over the line. Botica's conversion brought North Harbour within one point.

North Harbour were by this time dominating, and a regular stream of breakdown penalties given away by Otago cost them the lead.

Luke McAlister, who took over the goalkicking after Botica was substituted, put the home team in front for the first time in the 61st minute, and he stretched the lead to four points three minutes later.

The home team secured the win when Ravulo latched onto a speculator pass from Otago winger Fetu'u Vainikolo with three minutes to play and he ran 10m to score.

North Harbour captain Michael Reid said the team was confident they could turn around the half-time deficit if they maintained possession, especially as Otago were playing after just a five-day break.

"We put some phases together and put them under pressure. We knew they had a short turnaround and they looked pretty buggered in the end," he said.

"We kept working them wide to wide and it came off in the end."

Otago captain Alando Soakai bemoaned his team's errors and penalty rate in the second half.

"We gave away silly penalties. It just mounts up," he said.

"It's a bit of a let down as soon as you give away six points and all of a sudden they score two easy tries and it's pretty hard to get back up."

The win lifts North Harbour to eight competition points, while Otago remain rooted to the foot of the table on one point.

- NZPA