Well, that was a lot closer than it had any right to be. The Wellington Lions lived up to the reputation of their namesakes in the first half — they spent most of the time laying around yawning. As a result, Northland had a healthy 15 point lead at the half. Thankfully the home side decided to pay attention towards the end of the game and, one has to say, came roaring back.

After a spectacular try for which the Lions ran almost the length of the field, we got back to a one-point ball game. Northland then got a penalty to stretch their lead back to 4. There followed a long period where the Lions were camped on the Northland try line, and eventually they got over for a score, giving them a 3 point lead with just under 3 minutes to play. Northland attacked, and won a penalty well inside the Wellington half, but their kicker missed and Wellington managed to close out the game winners, despite having been ahead for only a few minutes.

I guess I did say I thought it would be a close game.

In other news, my two panels today went well, and the con appears to be buzzing. There are over 200 people here, which for a New Zealand Natcon is enormous.