Northland have beaten Canterbury to end their 48-year wait for the Ranfurly Shield.

The Taniwha overcame a slow start to lead 21-12 at halftime, pulling away to a 36-12 victory at Te Kaha Stadium in Christchurch tonight.

It was their first win over Canterbury in 27 years, and first win in Christchurch in 39 years.

The visitors were first on the board, with James Mullan defying early pressure from the home team to break past two defenders and score the opening try.

The Taniwha's joy was short-lived, though, with Canterbury's fast hands quickly setting up a try in the left corner for lock Tahlor Cahill.

Moments later Canterbury pulled ahead, with Jone Rova capitalising on a bold behind-the-back pass to run it in.

Northland wasn't taking that sitting down though. Keeping the pressure up through messy scrums and tough defence, the Taniwha scored from close range and converted to take the lead.

Halfback Sam Nock quickly followed that up with his side's second try in four minutes, deflecting challenges and charging through Canterbury's line to put the visitors even further ahead.

As halftime approached the home side ramped up the pressure, attempting to close the gap off multiple penalties. Centre Hudson Creighton dashed those dreams though, with a monster tackle on Andrew Knewstubb knocking the ball free and sending the teams to the sheds with Canterbury trailing by double digits.

In the opening minutes of the second half Rob Rush extended the Taniwha's lead, powering through a strong Canterbury defence to pull even further ahead.

As the teams traded possession, the nerves set in for Canterbury, with some messy play and handling errors culminating in a penalty to Northland. Rivez Reihana slotted it in from 40m out and put the Taniwha even further ahead.

With the clock ticking, Canterbury attempted to mount a comeback off a penalty. Northland forced the maul, though, and took back possession.

Canterbury put their foots down in the final 10 minutes, attempting to cut through Northland's defence over and over again in a last-ditch effort to close the gap. They couldn't do it, though, with the visitors repeatedly kicking the ball clear as the clock counted down.

Northland finished with a flourish, with Rob Rush getting across the line in the 80th minute to cement his side's history-making win.