Northland eased off the bottom of the ITM Cup championship ladder with a 20-19 win over premiership tailenders Bay of Plenty in Whangarei on Saturday.Northland captain Rene Ranger, off to play French Top 14 rugby with Montpellier, went out on a high note after opening the scoring in the ninth minute.

Bay of Plenty equalised eight minutes later, through No.8 Carl Axtens who was rewarded for controlling the ball well off the back of an impressive scrum. A Hawkins penalty and winger Mateo Malupo's try three minutes from halftime gave Northland a 15-7 lead at the break.

The home team controlled most of the second half, although they were punished for an early mistake when Steamers second five-eighth Nick Evemy touched down barely a minute after the restart. Malupo all but wrapped up the game with his second try after 52 minutes, although Te Aihe Toma's 80th minute try regained some pride and a bonus point for Bay of Plenty.