KEY POINTS:
Southland came out firing in their Air NZ Cup rugby match against a battered and bewildered North Harbour, a concerted first-half onslaught setting the stage for a 43-7 win in Invercargill today.
Ahead 36-0 at the break, Southland never let up in the second spell and although Harbour tightened their defence, a lack of structure with the ball in hand meant they rarely threatened on attack.
North Harbour did show glimpses of potential on the counterattack, but poor ball retention and half-hearted tackling meant Southland were never short of possession.
They made the most of their chances to record the province's first win over North Harbour in five years, and only their second win in the 15 times the two sides have met since 1987.
Coming off a 36-9 pasting by Canterbury last week, Harbour looked out of sorts right from the first whistle, as Southland flanker Tim Boys crossed with barely 10 minutes on the clock.
Southland first five-eighth Blair Stewart was in sublime form, his positional kicking keeping North Harbour under pressure and his place kicking keeping the score ticking over.
His 13-point haul moved him up into second place in the top points scorers stakes, one point ahead of Tasman's Miah Nikora.
Midway through the first half, Southland captain Jamie Mackintosh bulldozed over for the first of two tries in quick succession, the second coming off a Stewart kick through which eluded the Harbour defence but fell sweetly for the loosehead prop.
Southland ran riot in the closing stages of the first spell, New Zealand Maori rep Jason Kawau crossing from a turnover and straight-running centre Matt Saunders dotting down under the crossbar soon after.
Harbour came out with more intent in the second spell, and the two teams wrestled for domination in a half that remained scoreless until 10 minutes to go.
Replacement North Harbour halfback Matt France was then rewarded for some strong running and well-timed fending with a try under the posts, converted by Jimmy Gopperth to bring a small degree of respectability to the scoreline.
But with North Harbour hot on attack as 80 minutes ticked over, lock Daniel Ramsay picked up an unlikely intercept try to give Southland the last say.
Southland 43 (Jamie Mackintosh 2, Tim Boys, Jason Kawau, Matt Saunders, Daniel Ramsay tries; Blair Stewart 5 con, pen) North Harbour 7 (Matt France try; Jimmy Gopperth con). Halftime: 36-0.
- NZPA
