Northland have overcome a 16-point halftime deficit to beat the Bay of Plenty Steamers 28-23 in Whangarei.
It was a great start to the season for the Taniwha, who won their opening match of the season for the first time since 2011.
There were emotional scenes before kick-off at Toll Stadium as a minute's silence was observed in honour of late All Blacks great Sir Colin Meads.
The Steamers dominated in the first half, running in two tries through Tom Franklin and Monty Ioane.
Mike Delany also kicked three penalty goals for Bay of Plenty as they opened up a 23-7 halftime lead.
It was a different story in the second half as Northland made the most of their chances and picked up the tempo, running in three second-half tries through Jack Ram, Matt Wright, Jone Macilai to set up the win.
The Steamers had one late chance to try to win the match, but desperate defence by Kara Pryor prevented Bay of Plenty from scoring.
Bay of Plenty will face Hawke's Bay in their next match while Northland will face Auckland.
Newshub.
