Canterbury defend NPC title, ending Northland's dream run

Canterbury have stormed back in the second half to claim the NPC rugby title, defeating the Northland Taniwha 43-24.Trailing 21-10 at halftime, the defending champions turned the match around with five second-half tries to secure a convincing victory.The win marks Canterbury's 16th NPC crown, with the red and blacks going back-to-back as champions."Yeah we had to dig deep there and I thought our bench was exceptional today to close out that game," Canterbury captain Brodie McAlister said after the match."The boys love coming back to play for their region, it's a proud region Canterbury."It's a good group and we're going to enjoy this one."The Taniwha started strong, but were unable to maintain their momentum in the second spell. Despite their first-ever final ending in disappointment, their historic run will still be remembered as the province's finest season.Taniwha captain Rivez Reihana remarked that Canterbury's marked increase in intensity after the break came as little surprise."We wanted to win the second half, especially the first five minutes," Reihana told SkySport."I think there was stuff we could fix all across the board, I'm not going to put it down to one thing."Canterbury just showed why they're the top team and have been for so long."Far from defeated, Reihana said his players had gained confidence and plenty of belief after a breakout season that saw Northland hold the Ranfurly Shield for five weeks."It's just the beginning for this group, and we'll be back, trust me."The game was played in front of a sold-out crowd at Te Kaha Stadium in Christchurch.See how the action unfolded in the blog below:Embedded content removed for printing