Northland have breathed some life into their Mitre 10 Cup campaign after a convincing 49-19 win over Manawatū in Whangārei this afternoon.
The two Championship sides came into today's contest both sitting on one win from four matches played and despite the final scoreline, it was the visitors who got off to a strong start when James Tofa scored in the third minute.
But it went downhill for the Turbos from there, with Northland piling on five tries in the next 37 minutes to hold a a 34-12 lead at halftime.
Manawatū's comeback efforts weren't helped in the second half either when Sione Asi was sent to the bin as a punishment for the Turbos' constant ill-discipline on their own try line.
However they did give themselves something to feed off for next week with Adrian Wyrill crossing over in the final minute of play.
With the bonus point win, Northland move to third in the Championship standings while Manawatū sit second-to-last - only ahead of winless Southland.
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