Tasman walk all over Northland

Battle of the doomed: Tasman came out on top

Tasman took Northland apart in Whangarei on Saturday, winning 31-10 in a dominant display in the Air New Zealand Cup and securing a vital bonus point in the process.

This match was the battle between the two sides that will be chopped from next year's competition, unless objections from both provinces to be heard by the New Zealand Rugby Union this month are successful.

But it seemed there was a little more than just Air New Zealand Cup points on the line in this one-sided clash, with the Makos scoring 17 unanswered points after the break.

Although Northland was looking the better side in the first half, it was Tasman that ran in two tries and took control of the match. Leading 14-10 at half-time, the Makos steadily increased their lead throughout the second half.

The normally reliable Northland pivot David Holwell allowed the visitors to sneak clear, missing an early penalty attempt before throwing a wayward pass which was intercepted by Blair Cook.

The Tasman winger raced 75 metres for the opening score with barely eight minutes up on the clock.

The first sign that Northland were in for a hard night came when they couldn't take advantage of a Tasman side reduced to 14 men when scrum-half Kahn Fotuali'i was sin-binned for a high tackle on Rene Ranger midway through the first spell.

In fact, Tasman managed to cross the Northland whitewash through prop Ben May while the visiting side were still a man down.

Northland were back in the contest a few minutes from half-time when full-back Jared Payne burrowed between two forwards for a try after a patient build-up.

The Holwell conversion, added to a successful penalty kick earlier on, took the score to 14-10 leading into the half-time break.

It would be the last time Northland would pose any serious threat and straight forward tries to Cook and Fotuali'i took the match out of reach for the Taniwah in front of their home crowd.

Tasman fly-half Miah Nikora had a flawless night with the boot kicking five successful goal-kicks.

Tasman now find themselves in the top six of the competition after securing the five points required. They are still strong play-offs prospects but Northland appear destined for a finish near the bottom.

The scorers:

For Northland:

Try: Payne

Con: Holwell

Pen: Holwell

For Tasman:

Tries: Cook 2, May, Fotuali'i

Con: Nikora 3

Yellow card: Fotuali'i (Tasman, dangerous tackle)

Northland: 15 Jared Payne, 14 Damian Fakafanua, 13 Rene Ranger, 12 Derek Carpenter, 11 Fetu Vainikolo, 10 David Holwell, 9 James Rodley, 8 Justin Collins (c), 7 Hamish Patterson, 6 Joel McKenty, 5 Marty Veale, 4 Roy Griffin, 3 Tevita Mailau, 2 Francis Smith, 1 Tony Coughlan.

Replacements: 16 Tyler Ashworth, 17 Ross Wright/Jason Hammond, 18 Daniel Goodwin, 19 John Cocker, 20 Brenton Helleur, 21 Ash Moeke, 22 Aden Dewes.

Tasman: 15 Robbie Malneek, 14 Mike Pehi, 13 Kade Poki, 12 Andrew Goodman (c), 11 Blair Cook, 10 Miah Nikora, 9 Kahn Fotuali'i, 8 Mark Bright, 7 Jonathan Poff, 6 Joe Wheeler, 5 Will Crutchley, 4 Alex Ainley, 3 Ben Franks, 2 Dan Perrin, 1 Ben May.

Replacements: 16 Quentin MacDonald, 17 Tristan Moran, 18 Jack Lam, 19 Karl Leary, 20 Lua Vailoaloa, 21 James Marshall, 22 Joel Iggo.

Referee: Matt Stanish

TMO: Ben Skeen