QBE Harbour end season on winning note

A dominant set piece and some moments of brilliance out wide has seen Harbour overcome Northland 36-12 at QBE Stadium in Albany to finish the season fifth in the ITM Cup Championship.

The platform was laid by a superb effort up front, with Nic Mayhew and Alex Woonton standouts at scrum time. Woonton went close to scoring the first try of the match but was held up over the line.

Pita Ahki had no problem crossing the chalk not long after however. The Hurricanes-bound midfielder splitting Northland’s defence to run 35 metres and score. A seven point buffer soon became 14 when James Parsons snatched an intercept inside Northland’s 22 to run under the posts for a try.

After a Dan Halangahu penalty Harbour looked to be heading into half-time up 17-0 but Northland’s Matt Wright had other ideas. The diminutive fullback hit a short ball at pace to score to leave the game hanging in the balance at 17-7 after forty minutes.

QBE Harbour started the second half well but couldn’t convert their opportunities into points. Nafi Tuitavake made a lovely break but passed too early to captain Bryn Hall who was tackled before the line. In the next possession Nic Mayhew was denied a deserved try after a James Parsons forward pass. But Parsons made up for his mistake shortly after, scoring his second off the back of another rumbling lineout maul. To Northland’s credit they hung tough and crossed for their second try of the day to keep the game close heading into the final quarter but that’s where Harbour found another wind.

The bench made a noticeable impact, with the likes of David Bason and Ray Niuia getting more minutes than usual. Boyd Wiggins and Jethro Felemi also came on for their debut games. Niuia prospered from another superb lineout drive from in close, crossing for his first try of the season. Nafi Tuitavake then put the exclamation point on the game, breaking Northland’s defence in the 80^th minute for a sixty metre solo effort. Final score 36-12, a great way to end what has been an up and down campaign.

QBE Harbour 36 (Pita Ahki, James Parsons 2, Ray Niuia, Nafi Tuitavake tries; Daniel Halangahu 3 con, pen, Matt McGahan con), Northland 12 (Matt Wright, Isimeli Taqea tries; Dan Hawkins con).