Rugby: Northland flair trumps Southland muscle

Freewheeling rugby from Northland somehow trumped the forward grind of Southland 33-22 in a classic national provincial championship in Whangarei tonight.

Playing forms of rugby as polarising as their positions on the map, the hosts literally ran in four tries to three to end Southland's five-match unbeaten start to the season.

All of Northland's tries came from distance while Southland's were burrowing efforts, registered by props Jamie Mackintosh and Chris King, with Mackintosh bagging a double.
His Northland captain counterpart Jared Payne also crossed twice, with his second in the 51st minute proving to be the game's decisive moment.

Southland had fought back from 20-3 down to trail just 20-15 at halftime as their forward pack gained ascendancy and helped them take a massive lead in what are usually key statistical areas such as possession and territory.

It seemed a matter of time before they hit the front after Northland flanker Dan Pryor was sin-binned soon after the break due to his team's repeated infringing at the breakdown.

Despite their numerical inferiority, Northland's defence held firm before conjuring a daring 80m try to Payne, begun when winger Rene Ranger busted the line and found his skipper accelerating on a perfect angle.

Southland bounced straight back through Mackintosh's second try but the Northlanders found a second wind in the closing stages through two penalties from fullback Lachie Munro, who missed his first two shots before slotting his next five in a 13-point haul.

Southland came into the game with the competition's best defence but leaked three tries in the first 21 minutes, with the best to Payne courtesy of a half-break from flanker Dean Budd and some sharp work from Ranger. The first try went to the bustling Ranger, followed by an opportunist effort from the ever-present Pryor.

Southland's dominant scrum and effective pick-and-go began to dominate the match, forcing the hosts into conceding multiple penalties.

King and Mackintosh ploughed across in identical fashion before the break but it didn't prove enough for a side who defend the Ranfurly Shield against North Harbour in Invercargill next weekend.