It’s been a tumultuous month for Northland of their 36-12 crush of Canterbury in Christchurch on August 19 to win the Ranfurly Shield for the first time since 1979.
Log o’ Wood was everywhere from Whangarei to Cape Reing. It was successfully defended on August 30 Tasman 20-10 at a sold-out Semenoff Stadium and again on Sept. 12 vs Waikato 34-17.
Josh Goodhue, 31, played 71 matches for Taniwha. The tough lock from Kawakawa in the Bay of Islands is one of three brothers, with Jack (All Black) and Cameron the others, who played for Northland. Dad Bernard is a life member of Northland Rugby and, with another brother Axel, they stopped at Kawakawa Rugby Club.
Goodhue played 47 games for Blues in Super Rugby Pacific between 2017 and 2022 and made 39 appearances for Black Rams Tokyo. He described Northland’s first defense of the Ranfurly Shield in 17,520 days as the highlight of his career.
“The Tasman game was massive. I’ve never played for Northland at a sold-out Semenoff. That was the biggest crowd I’ve ever seen,” Goodhue said. RugbyPass.
“We did the haka beforehand. My heart was pounding. Emotions were through the roof. It took us the whole first half to calm down.
“We expected Tasman to take us out wide. Instead, they took a more direct approach, and it turned into an arm wrestle. I’m proud of the way the guys came together and got the job done.”
Northland? Taniwha was composed by Whiria Meltzer, who played 11 games for Taniwha between 2013 and 2014. Meltzer, who went to Maori College
Te Rangi Aniwaniwa in Kaitaia and is a kapa haka practitioner, composes haka for schools and in 2017 wrote He Toa Takitini
(The Strength of Many), which the Blues performed before their 22-16 victory against the British and Irish Lions in Eden Park.
The Haka of Northland features familiar themes of strength, resilience and tribal bonds throughout the region of Northland, a region that has enjoyed Ranfurly Shield glory.
“There were so many highlights in sharing the Shield with the community. It was a huge boost for respect and local business,” Goodhue said.
“There was one day the whole team went on a road trip from 7 to 7. We visited Kerikeri High School where Sam Nock and the Rush brothers studied. We took her to Kaitaia and Kaikohe.
“Smaller groups have been visiting different areas such as Hokianga, Dargaville, hospitals and pubs. It’s amazing to see how much it means and how inspiring it is.”
Northland were inspired by their demolition of Canterbury, their first win against the NPC champions since 1999 and their first in Christchurch since 1987.
“It was one of those nights where all the stars aligned. In an intense game they came out with a short turnaround. Rob Rush celebrated his 50th game for us. If you know anything about him, he means a lot to this team. It was a priority to do well for him and on the night he was a beast,” Goodhue said.
“The game plan worked perfectly. Our past mindset was to get the basics, play the percentages. This time we wanted to surprise them and really change the momentum with things they didn’t expect. Sam Nock and Rivez Reihana made some real class shots and trick plays. Our coach Ryan Martin is a bit of a wizard when it comes to setting pieces.”
Northland, with key starters Heremaia Murray, Allan Craig, Lachlan Hooper, Marcel Renata, Nock, and Reihan on the bench, conceded their biggest ever score against North Harbour, 57-42. Was there any danger of Northland disappearing?
“It’s been a pretty emotional couple of weeks. We lacked intensity and lost some tackles badly in that game,” Goodhue admitted.
“We were ready for Waikato. We won the collisions and were accurate with our set-ups. It was special to mark Sam Nock’s 100th game with a win. He is an absolute legend in this province and a major leader in our team.”
Goodhue came off the bench for the Waikato match in which Nock scored and star Australian Lachlan Hooper scored twice.
Northland’s win was their first against Waikato since a 38-28 victory in 2021 to mark Rene Ranger’s 100th match. Winger Liam Coombes-Fabling scored three tries for Waikato.
Northland had not beaten Waikato in four previous Ranfurly Shield challenges in 1951, 1998, 2000 and 2013.
Last Saturday, Goodhue was rested for Northland’s 52-28 drubbing of poor Wellington. Northland demoted six frontliners to the bench and handed the Lions a record tenth straight loss. Northland hooker James Mullan was rough in the second half with two tries. Fullback James Ramm, who scored against Waikato, scored two tries, made four line breaks and tackled 175 metres.
If table-toppers Northland (6-2, 32 points) beat 13th Counties (2-6, 12 points) on Saturday, they will retain the Ranfurly Shield in the summer.
Since 1976, the districts lead the Northland 24-20 in NPC games.
