North Harbour have won the opening game of the new Mitre 10 Cup season, defeating Northland 21-20 at QBE Stadium on Thursday night.
Both sides scored two tries, but the outcome came down to a 46-metre Bryn Gatland penalty, six minutes from time.
Harbour dominated the stats and should have won the match more convincingly, but Northland refused to budge in front of a small crowd.
Northland scored the game's opening try, when Rene Ranger split the Harbour defence and lock Tom Robertson crashed over after eight minutes.
All of Harbour's territory and possession paid off, with Gatland kick two penalties and Dillion Hunt scoring a try that gave the hosts an 11-7 halftime lead.
Wing Tevita Li scored Harbour's second in the 49th minute and their 18-10 buffer looked reasonably secure heading into the final quarter.
The Taniwha got back in the game, when halfback Jono Kitto scored his team's second try, then a Peter Debreczeni penalty gave Northland a stunning 20-18 lead with 10 minutes remaining.
Gatland stepped up to slot the winning penalty goal to give his side the win.
North Harbour will travel to Hamilton to face Waikato next Saturday, while Northland will meet Auckland in Whangarei the next day.
Newshub.
