Tasman hold off tenacious Northland
Tasman fullback Mitchell Hunt clears for touch during their Mitre 10 Cup rugby clash with Northland in Nelson.
It was messy but more significantly it was four crucial premiership points in the bank.
The Tasman Makos have climbed back on the horse following a tight 33-23 national provincial championship rugby win over Northland in Nelson on Friday.
After the previous week's frustrating loss to championship team Otago in Dunedin, Tasman have kept their Mitre 10 Cup premiership playoff hopes alive after subjecting the Taniwha to their 17th straight defeat at Trafalgar Park.
Northland lost all 10 of their games last season, and haven't tasted victory since they hammered North Harbour 58-27 in Whangarei on October 3, 2014.
But it was tight all the way as Tasman struggled to shake off a tenacious Northland challenge.
It was a messy start by both teams, littered with handling errors as Tasman struggled to make use of a helpful breeze, despite dominating early territory and possession.
The wet and windy conditions didn't help either team's execution, despite both sides attempting to keep the ball alive. But Tasman still aren't quite nailing it - a point not lost on head coach Leon MacDonald.
"It was messy, but the conditions were crap and the wind was pretty strong," he said.
"Our start put us under pressure. That first 20 minutes we just made error after error and a lot of the week's been about starting really well and it didn't happen.
"At the 20 minute mark I was starting to get a little bit nervous, but we kicked into gear."
Flanker Tevita Koloamatangi eventually gave Tasman their first lead when he charged over from close range following an attacking scrum, Marty Banks' conversion followed by a penalty success just minutes later putting them ahead 10-0. A second spectacular 56m effort by Banks increased their lead to 13-0 after 28 minutes.
"The overthrow and the [Northland] try right before halftime really brought them back into the game and got their confidence back up again.
"That's been the thing for the season really, not being accurate. Like last week, I though we created plenty. We had tons of opportunities, our attack shape looked really good and for the most part, our defence was really good as well.
"Those things were pleasing, but we've still got to get a lot more accurate."
A well-controlled lineout drive gave Tasman's rookie lock Quinten Strange his maiden first class try and a handy 20-0 lead. But just as the home team appeared to be taking some semblance of control, an awful lineout throw near Tasman's own line eventually saw Northland No 8 Matt Matich crash over to cut the deficit to 20-7 at halftime.
Northland applied the pressure after the restart as No 10 Dan Hawkins successfully resorted to the bomb kick. Tasman's mounting error rate also enabled Hawkins to land three quick penalties as Tasman's lead was suddenly cut to just four points following 16 unanswered points.
A crucial converted try to Tasman lock Shannon Frizell eventually helped to stem Northland's flow as Tasman stretched their lead back out to 27-16. But it didn't take Northland long to strike back when irrepressible flanker Kara Pryor intercepted a Marty Banks pass to again cut the deficit to just four points.
A third Banks penalty with just seven minutes to go gave Tasman some breathing space. A final success virtually on time eventually made the game safe.
"We actually played really well for the last 10 to 12 minutes to close the game out, so that was really pleasing," MacDonald said.
"But we're still looking for that 80-minute performance."
Koloamatangi and flanker Shane Christie were conspicuous up front for Tasman, Koloamatangi seemingly working his way back into form after a lengthy injury. Winger Tima Faingaanuku also continues to impress with his strong, aggressive running, while Banks continues to keep Tasman in the hunt after another faultless 18-point haul.
At a glance
Tasman 33 (Tevita Koloamatangi, Quinten Strange, Shannon Frizell tries, Marty Banks 4 pen, 3 con) v Northland 23 (Matt Matich, Kara Pryor tries, Dan Hawkins 3 pen, 2 con) HT: 20-7.
