Hawke's Bay triumphant in Napier
Hawke’s Bay produced a workmanlike performance to hold off Southland and record a solid 29-18 victory in their National Provincial Championship match in Napier on Tuesday.
Southland dominated the set phases and were able to win plenty of possession in good areas of the field but their finishing and execution in the strike zone let them down as Hawke’s Bay took their oppotunities better to record an impressive win.
Flyhalf Andrew Horrell was solid off the kicking tee as he regularly punished Southland’s indiscipline at the breakdown. A moment of magic from wing Tu Umaga-Marshall put Chris Eaton in for a try and gave Hawke’s Bay a lead that they never relinquished.
Tries to Robbie Robinson and John Hardie brought Southland close but a late long-range penalty from Horrell put the game beyond the visitors and Hawke’s Bay were able to hold on to their lead to record an encouraging win.
In the other match of the day North Harbour scored 33 unanswered points in a stunning second-half display, running in four tries in 14 minutes, to finish 39-15 victors over Tasman in their National Provincial Championship match on Tuesday.
The North Harbour team turned in an error-riddled performance in front of their home crowd in the opening forty minutes and Tasman took a deserved 15-6 lead into the break thanks to tries from fullback Robbie Malneek and No.8 Mark Bright with the steady boot of Andrew Goodman adding the extra points.
But North Harbour showed far greater purpose in the second half and scored five tries in a dominant display, Tasman did not seem to have the puff to stay with their hosts who ended up as comfortable victors thanks to their second-half blitz.
Scores and scorers for the Tuesday NPC games:
Hawke’s Bay 29-18 Southland
The scorers:
For Hawke’s Bay:
Tries: Eaton, Horrell
Cons: Horrell 2
Pens: Horrell 5
For Southland:
Tries: Robinson, Hardie
Con: Robinson
Pens: Robinson 2
Teams:
Hawke’s Bay: 15 Richard Buckman, 14 Sinoti Sinoti, 13 Star Timu, 12 Andrew Horrell, 11 Tu Umaga-Marshall, 10 Daniel Kirkpatrick, 9 Chris Eaton, 7 Karl Lowe, 8 Mike Coman (captain), 6 Trent Boswell-Wakefield, 5 Ashton Johnson, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Jody Allen, 2 Hikawera Elliot, 1 Sona Taumalolo.
Replacements: 16 Danny Logan, 17 Hikairo Forbes, 18 Maselino Paulino, 19 Adam Bradey, 20 Isaac Paewai, 21 Tua Saseve, 22 Gillies Kaka, 23 Ben Tameifuna.
Southland: 15 Robbie Robinson, 14 Tim Cornforth, 13 James Lew, 12 Matt Saunders (captain), 11 Glen Horton, 10 James Wilson, 9 Scott Cowan, 8 Elliot Dixon, 7 Tim Boys, 6 John Hardie, 5 Joe Tuineau, 4 Ben Nally, 3 Nick Barrett, 2 David Hall, 1 Michael Peterson.
Replacements: 16 Jason Rutledge, 17 Jamie Mackintosh, 18 Josh Bekhuis, 19 Kaleni Taituli, 20 Sonny Rangitohereri, 21 Kendrick Lynn, 22 Scott Eade, 23 Chris King.
Referee: Vinny Munro
North Harbour 39-15 Tasman
Scorers:
For North Harbour:
Tries: Luamanu 2, Raikuna, Pisi, Leiataua
Cons: Botica 4
Pens: Botica 2
For Tasman:
Tries: Malneek, Bright
Con: Goodman
Pen: Goodman
Teams:
North Harbour: 15 Willie Walker, 14 Ken Pisi, 13 Rudi Wulf, 12 Brendon Watt, 11 David Raikuna, 10 Ben Botica, 9 Chris Smylie (captain), 8 Matt Luamanu, 7 Brent Wilson, 6 Solomon King, 5 James King, 4 Chris Smith, 3 Ben Afeaki, 2 Mike Mayhew, 1 Mike Reid.
Replacements: 16 Manu Leiataua, 17 Taione Vea, 18 Irwin Finau, 19 Sam Hayes-Stevenson, 20 Luke Hamilton, 21 Nafi Tuitavake, 22 Codey Rei, 23 James Afoa.
Tasman: 15 Robbie Malneek, 14 Lucky Mulipola, 13 Kieron Fonotia, 12 Andrew Goodman (captain), 11 Mitchell Scott, 10 James Marshall, 9 Steve Alfeld, 8 Mark Bright, 7 Shane Christie, 6 Jonathon Poff, 5 Joe Wheeler, 4 Pablo Heuete, 3 Fai Mika, 2 Quentin MacDonald, 1 Sam Prattley.
Replacements: 16 Francis Smith, 17 Craig Moore, 18 Riki Hoeata, 19 Liam Squire, 20 Shawn Begg, 21 James Proctor, 22 Willie McGoon, 23 James Hadfield.
Referee: Ben Skeen
