Canterbury bounce back
NPC WRAP, PART TWO: Canterbury is back on track after defeating Wellington 27-20 in round two Premiership action at a sun-drenched Christchurch Stadium.
Eight days after coming a clear second to Tasman in the opener of its Premiership defence, Canterbury brought more urgency, if not always accuracy, to its work, and was able to grind out a bonus point victory against a team that had put 60 on them in 2017.
While, North Harbour has again done it by registering its second straight one-point victory, this time 29-28 over crossover opponents Waikato in Hamilton.
It did not look possible at the 52-minute mark, when the Mooloos led 21-8, but the visitors kept the pressure on, and eventually Waikato cracked. The latter has now lost five on the bounce at home since its last win exactly 12 months ago.
Canterbury 27-20 Wellington
Led by sterling outings by fullback George Bridge, lock Luke Romano, halfback Mitch Drummond and the under-rated blindside flanker Reed Prinsep, Canterbury was able to keep its nose in front after an early setback and will bank five valuable points, as well as reclaiming the Harry Saundercock Memorial Trophy.
An early Brett Cameron penalty goal was countered via a try to Wellington No 12 Thomas Umaga-Jensen, who scored between the uprights after lock Isaia Walker-Leawere burst through the ruck and slipped the offload.
Canterbury centre Braydon Ennor opened the home team’s tryscoring account after a one-two move done the left flank with his wing Caleb Makene.
Prinsep crossed between the posts almost untouched after some yeoman work by his openside Tom Christie.
The Lions were their own worst enemy, some injudicious offloads costing them dearly. Canterbury bombed two other scoring opportunities, one through an obstruction call.
When Drummond scored after the halftime whistle, off a slick lineout move including hooker Nathan Vella and No 8 Whetu Douglas, Canterbury was 22-7 to the good and apparently in control.
But the second stanza did not pan out as the Red and Blacks would have desired. Wellington hooker James O’Reilly showed good fight in the tackle to score off a lineout drive, while Wes Goosen set up dynamic flanker Du Plessis Kirifi to pull the visitors back to 27-20.
Canterbury’s second half highlight was a sweet Bridge break and pass on the counter to put Makene over.
While there was some heavy defence from both sides, there was also a plethora of turnovers and handling errors, despite the optimal conditions.
Bridge, Romano and industrious Wellington lock James Blackwell took the 3-2-1 Duane Monkley Medal points.
Lions No 6 Vaea Fifita got through plenty of work both with and without the ball, though his influence waned as the game wore on.
Canterbury skipper Douglas pinpointed a better attitude as the key factor in the comparison from the round one reverse.
Canterbury travels to Tauranga next Saturday to face Bay of Plenty in a crossover encounter, while Wellington will host Southland in another crossover clash on Friday night.
The Scorers
Canterbury:
Tries: Braydon Ennor, Reed Prinsep, Mitch Drummond, Caleb Makene
Cons: Brett Cameron 2
Pen: Brett Cameron
For Wellington:
Tries: Thomas Umaga-Jensen, James O’Reilly, Du Plessis Kirifi
Con: Jackson Garden-Bachop
Pen: Jackson Garden-Bachop
Waikato 28-29 North Harbour
Waikato would have been content enough with the 7-8 halftime deficit, having played the first stanza into a stiff wind.
North Harbour monopolised the ball and worked the fringes, but it was not until the 20th minute that the deadlock was broken when wing Tevita Li crossed out wide after the Harbour pack marched a lineout drive close to the line, Bryn Hall’s pass was long and on the chest of Li, who finished in typical style.
Waikato was not passive, however, making several breaks through men like wing Sevu Reece and centre Quinn Tupaea, fresh out of Hamilton BHS but already looking at home at this level.
The home side received a real fillip just before the break when loose forward Jordan Manihera, who has previously played for Harbour, crashed over following a Tupaea thrust and the resultant lineout.
Wing Declan O’Donnell finished a fine counter-attacking try, while Tupaea, with pace to match his skill, outstripped the cover after a Matty Lansdown break.
North Harbour may not have been fluent, but was boosted when referee Cam Stone awarded a penalty try due to a collapsing scrum. It seemed a fair call. When Li crossed to his second try after several pairs of hands had combined, North Harbour had taken an unlikely lead. Murphy Taramai speared through just minutes later to give the Premiership team an eight-point buffer.
A late try to Waikato replacement Tyler Campbell at least enabled the Mooloos to secure two bonus points, which could yet prove valuable in the Championship race.
Standouts for Harbour included captain and hooker James Parsons, lock Ben Nee-Nee, who showed a wide array of skills, and muscular No 8 Hapakuki Moala-Liava’a.
Tupaea was the best on show for Waikato.
Waikato next travels to Auckland on Thursday night for a crossover clash, while North Harbour hosts Tasman next Saturday evening.
The Scorers:
For North Harbour:
Tries: Tevita Li 2, Murphy Taramai, penalty try.
Cons: Bryn Gatland 2
Pen: Bryn Gatland
For Waikato
Tries: Jordan Manihera, Declan O’Donnell, Quinn Tupaea, Tyler Campbell
Cons: Fletcher Smith
Source: @Mitre10Cup
