“Just soaking it all in. It’s been a hell of a week, being able to feel it, and just taking up the Ranfurly up north, man, it was bloody special. So, happy to get the win tonight.”
For Tasman, there will be plenty of disappointment after they fell short in their bid to win the Shield for just the second time in their history. They last held the Log O’Wood for 29 days in 2024.
Northland opened the scoring with a penalty through Reihana, but it was Tasman which claimed the opening try when Eli Oudenryn crashed over from a maul in the left corner.
However, it didn’t take long for the hosts to respond when fullback Jordan Trainor was put in space and he dived over in the corner.
A penalty to William Havili levelled the scores again, which saw the match locked at 10-10 at halftime. Both teams were guilty of mistakes in the second half as tensions increased with every passing moment.
Northland dominated possession and territory in the second half, however they couldn’t land the killer blow.
Northland had a chance to seal the game with a try but mangled the finish. Tasman prop Ryan Coxon was yellow-carded soon afterwards for being offside.
The hosts kept patient and were eventually rewarded as they attacked the line before firing the ball out to Reihana, who dived over near the posts to seal the game.
With the Shield locked away for a little longer, Reihana promised the team would take it to the other areas of the region that didn’t get to see it.
“It’s a special taonga, and it’s been a long time that it’s been up north, so just glad we got it for another week,” Reihana said.
“We’re going to take it up, try and get to every corner of Northland. I know there are a few places that missed out, so we’re going to do our best to take it up next week.”
Northland now sit second with four wins and a loss at the midway point of the campaign. They travel down State Highway 1 to Albany next Sunday to face North Harbour, while the Ranfurly Shield goes on the line on September 12 against Waikato.
Tasman sit seventh and will host the winless Wellington next weekend.
Ben Francis is an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers breaking sports news.
