Northland Under 19 (24) Auckland Under 19 Development (20)

Match report by Steven Harris

It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog.  This could easily have been one of the catch cries that was written on the changing sheds at the Northland Events Centre when Northland under 19s created their own piece of history by beating an Auckland Under 19 Development team for the very first time in a seeding round prior to the National Under 19 tournament.

When playing Auckland age group teams staying in the fight is always a key point no matter the pedigree or the size of the opposition, and on that level Northland took the fight to their more illustrious and sizeable opponents who were expected to be too strong after going down to the top Auckland Under 19 side by one point the previous week.

Auckland started the game strong scoring three unconverted tries in the opening 20 minutes. They looked like they were capable of scoring more tries whenever they had ball.

However, Northland worked out if they held onto possession for long periods they would create some scoring opportunities. The indiscipline of the Auckland team who kept giving away penalties within kicking distance to which promising player and goal kicker Nikau Graham from Kerikeri gladly accepted stepping up and nailing five penalties to keep Northland in the hunt at halftime going in at 15 all.

Auckland once again started the second half strongly scoring their 4th try, but once again the try was unconverted.

Northland who was led by skipper Sadius Cook Savage at no 8 and with halfback Wil Grant and first five Royce Sanderson playing to a solid game plan into wind they eventually got themselves into field position  forcing Auckland to infringe within kicking range. Graham stepped up again nailing another 3 penalties in the second half to set up a frantic and pulsating last five minutes

Northland held on to take the victory over Auckland 24-20 and the joy at the end when the referee blew the final whistle from players and coaching staff was palpable.

The Northland forward pack deserved a ton of credit for standing up to a very big Auckland pack at breakdown and scrumtime where they held their own.  This was something that head coach Mark Kapa and his assistants Tui Raeli and former Northland prop Bronson Murray will be extremely proud of.

It’s always hard to single out one particular player, but Nikau Graham returning from injury in his first start in a seeding game for 2018 landing eight penalties out of nine attempts in breezy conditions would be a real contender for player of the day.

A very good win for the Northland Under 19s which will give them plenty of confidence going into the Jock Hobbs Memorial National Under 19 Tournament in Taupo next Sunday 9th September 2018.

Article added: Tuesday 04 September 2018