NPC Team of the Week: Round Five
OPINION: The halfway mark of the tournament sees Auckland leading Wellington, Canterbury and Tasman in the Premiership, with Taranaki sitting in the relegation zone.
In the Championship, Waikato surge into the lead, with Hawkes’ Bay and Otago close behind and Northland rounding out the potential semi-final spots.
The race for the Duane Monkley Medal has Sevu Reece of Waikato at top spot with Melani Nanai of Auckland and Luke Romano from Canterbury chasing.
The first match of the round swung between bursts of inspiration and foolish mistakes.
Two quick tries for Canterbury included a fantastic run by Whetu Douglas, finished by George Bridge.
North Harbour struck back with some fancy play of their own, with hooker James Parsons’ behind the back pass to Matt Duffie finished in style.
But some poor decision-making left a player from each side in the bin.
Canterbury were just too fit and too strong, taking the win 21-31.
The feature match of the week was the Ranfurly Shield challenge in Hamilton.
If Hawkes’ Bay were to win, they would break their own record of 6 days and Waikato’s reign would become the shortest in the history of the shield.
Waikato had just 4 days to prepare, meaning the record would probably last in the history books forever.
But Waikato put on their best performance of the season so far, with Sevu Reece, Dwayne Sweeney, Matthew Lansdown, Quinn Tupaea and Fletcher Smith all featuring heavily.
Their 42-22 victory doesn’t just lock up the Log O’ Wood but also means first place on the Championship ladder and a huge turnaround in fortunes.
Friday’s matches produced two massacres.
Northland thumped Manawatu and much of their dominance was at set piece and running through the midfield where Hohaia and Ranger made 6 clean breaks. The hosts’ starting backs made 21 clean breaks over all compared with Manawatu’s 5.
The Taniwha onslaught was simply too much for a Turbo side that has lost much of its early season sheen.
Tasman bounced back from the loss to Auckland with a comprehensive victory over ex-Shield holders Taranaki.
The first half was all Makos’ attack, racing out to a 23-point lead with hooker Andrew Makalio picking up a brace.
Taranaki tried to fight back, but an intercept and 90-metre run by David Havili took the wind from their sails and then the score blew out to 53-17.
Saturday saw the trend of heavy beatings continue when Wellington travelled up to Counties Manukau.
The Lions raced out to a 34-point lead before Counties joined the score sheet.
The fight back was brief and quickly quashed by a double from reserve hooker James O’Reilly. Wellington ended the match 12-53 victors.
Southland capitulated yet again, this time to Otago, 24-43.
Bay of Plenty fought hard, but with more possession and a dominant forward pack, North Harbour slowly broke them down and took the win, 32-30.
Auckland travelled down to Canterbury and proved they were the real deal this year. After years of very poor results in both the NPC and at Super Rugby level the supporters of Auckland can finally get excited about a rugby team.
For the rest of the country, it is hard to quantify a match like this. The enjoyment non-Canterbury followers get from seeing the current champions lose seems slightly less than the horror of a dominant Auckland.
Anyway, Auckland played fantastically with a barrage of offloads and exceptional defence (88% tackle success rate as opposed to Canterbury’s respectable 77%).
An early Tinoai Faiane brace became a hat-trick early in the second half.
Even though Canterbury hit back with two very late tries to secure two bonus points they couldn’t catch up and fell short, 29-34.
For those of you who read this far down (or scrolled this far down) here’s a special addition to celebrate the middle of the season.
Team of Mitch and Matt:
15 Matt Wright (Northland), 14 Mitchell Scott (Otago), 13 Matt Proctor (Wellington), 12 Matt Whaanga (Otago), 11 Matt Duffie (North Harbour), 10 Mitch Hunt (Tasman), 9 Mitchell Drummond (Canterbury), 8 Matt “The King of Matts” Matich (Northland), 7 Mitchell Jacobson (Waikato), 6 Liam Mitchell (Manawatu), 5 Mitchell Dunshea (Canterbury), 4 Mitchell Brown (Taranaki), 3 Morgan Mitchell (Southland), 2 Matt Moulds (Northland), 1 Mitchell Graham (Taranaki).
Replacements: Braydon Mitchell (Southland), Matt Va’ai (Counties Manukau), Mitchell Crosswell (Taranaki), Matty Markwick (Northland), Matthew Lansdown (Waikato), Matthew Johnson (Southland), Matt Faddes (Otago).
Next Week: Primetime Friday, Bay of Plenty welcomes Waikato in a match that isn’t a Ranfurly challenge but will mean a lot on the Championship table. The prime time Saturday, Auckland visit Taranaki in another very important match.
Team of the Week – Round Five:
15 – Wes Goosen (Wellington):
Another brilliant showing from the Hurricane’s utility. He tore Counties a second anus, worked well with his fellow backs and didn’t miss a trick on defence.
Special mention to Matthew Lansdown (Waikato) and George Bridge (Canterbury).
Bubbling Under: Shaun Stevenson (North Harbour)
14 – Mitchell Scott (Otago):
At only 1.75 metres and 80 kg, Scott is one of the smallest wingers in the competition, but that didn’t stop him from breaking 5 tackles for 4 clean breaks of which he finished 3 for a hat-trick.
Bubbling Under: Matt Duffie (North Harbour)
13 – Matt Faddes (Otago):
A fantastic performance that would have been difficult for any team to contain, let alone Southland.
Special mention to Rene Ranger (Northland).
Bubbling Under: Quinn Tupaea (Waikato)
12 – Tinoai Faiane (Auckland):
TJ is coming of age this season, with some powerful breaks, big defence, a cheeky breakdown steal and even a reliable boot.
Special mention to Dwayne Sweeney (Waikato), David Havili (Tasman), Sio Tomkinson (Otago) and Billy Proctor (Wellington).
Bubbling Under: Blake Hohaia (Northland)
11 – Sevu Reece (Waikato):
A big loss to New Zealand rugby, the Irish-bound Reece has been the stand-out wing in a tournament of outstanding wingers. Player of the Round.
Bubbling Under: Solomon Alaimalo (Tasman)
10 – Fletcher Smith (Waikato):
Smith can take a lot of credit for Waikato’s mid-season backline direction; his kicking from hand and off the tee was superb against Hawkes’ Bay, coupled with some well-timed forays and accurate distribution.
Bubbling Under: Bryn Gatland (North Harbour)
9 – Jono Kitto (Northland):
It is surprising how few people have heard of Kitto. He played for NZ U20s in 2012, stuck behind Bryn Hall, and for Bay of Plenty, Leicester, Worcester and Harlequins, but never for a Super Rugby franchise. Next year should see him make it.
Bubbling Under: Finlay Christie (Tasman)
8 – Dylan Nel (Otago):
Nel is building a reputation for a gigantic work-rate. 18 tackles, none missed, 17 carries for 49 metres and 2 defenders beaten. Add to that a successful linking game and a steal at ruck time and you have another very good outing.
Special mention to Matt Matich (Northland) and Gareth Evans (Hawkes’ Bay).
Bubbling Under: Whetu Douglas (Canterbury)
7 – Dalton Papali’i (Auckland)
Switched sides to openside this week and was incredible. The best forward this week making 16 tackles, missing none and pilfering ball at the breakdown. Papali’i also made a massive break early on to set up Auckland’s 1st try.
Bubbling Under: Mitchell Jacobson (Waikato)
6 – Vaea Fifita (Wellington):
Fifita has always been a tackle-breaker but this week he was also a line-out beast, stealing 2 from Counties and disrupting others. He still needs to improve his tackling and overall defensive work-rate.
Bubbling Under: Kara Pryor (Northland)
5 – Paripari Parkinson (Tasman):
A man of the match performance from this young giant. Parkinson was involved in the tight and loose, with 55 run metres, 7 tackles, none missed, 2 lineout steals and a breakdown turnover.
Bubbling Under: Mitchell Dunshea (Canterbury)
4 – Ben Fotheringham (Southland):
A surprise package at #4 this week. Southland had a very successful line-out and Fotheringham stole and disrupted well. He also put in mountains of work on defence.
Special mention to Sione Misiloi (Otago) and James Blackwell (Wellington).
Bubbling Under: Luke Romano (Canterbury)
3 – Josh Iosefa-Scott (Waikato):
Huge at scrum time and a giant on defence.
Bubbling Under: Tyrel Lomax (Tasman)
2 – James Parsons (North Harbour):
The veteran put in two impressive performances this round. He didn’t miss a single tackle from the two matches, eked out many tight metres with ball in hand and picked up a try for his efforts.
Bubbling Under: Andrew Makalio (Tasman)
1 – Wyatt Crockett (Tasman):
At this level of rugby there is not a better scrummager.
Bubbling Under: Alex Hodgman (Canterbury)
Team of the Week – Round Four: 15 Wes Goosen (Wellington), 14 Nigel Ah Wong (Counties Manukau), 13 Rob Thompson (Manawatu), 12 Dwayne Sweeney (Waikato), 11 Sevu Reece (Waikato), 10 Fletcher Smith (Waikato), 9 Brad Weber (Hawkes’ Bay), 8 Dylan Nel (Otago), 7 Mitchell Jacobson (Waikato), 6 Mitchell Crosswell (Taranaki), 5 Mitchell Dunshea (Canterbury), 4 Patrick Tuipulotu (Auckland), 3 Kalolo Tuiloma (Counties Manukau), 2 Robbie Abel (Auckland), 1 Sam Prattley (Auckland).
Team of the Week – Round Three: 15 Wes Goosen (Wellington), 14 Ben Lam (Wellington), 13 Rob Thompson (Manawatu), 12 Teihorangi Walden (Taranaki), 11 Jona Nareki (Otago), 10 Mitch Hunt (Tasman), 9 Te Toirua Tahuriorangi (Taranaki), 8 Akira Ioane (Auckland), 7 Mitch Karpik (Bay of Plenty), 6 Dalton Papali’i (Auckland), 5 Jack Whetton (Auckland), 4 Luke Romano (Canterbury), 3 Angus Ta’avao (Taranaki), 2 Asafo Aumua (Wellington), 1 Reuben O’Neill (Taranaki).
Team of the Week – Round Two: 15 Will Jordan (Tasman), 14 Melani Nanai (Auckland), 13 Rob Thompson (Manawatu), 12 Thomas Umaga-Jensen (Wellington), 11 Manasa Mataele (Taranaki), 10 Matthew Lansdown (Waikato), 9 Brad Weber (Hawkes’ Bay), 8 Sam Henwood (Counties Manukau), 7 Mitch Karpik (Bay of Plenty), 6 Liam Mitchell (Manawatu), 5 Ben Nee Nee (North Harbour), 4 Luke Romano (Canterbury), 3 Angus Ta’avao (Taranaki), 2 Ash Dixon (Hawkes’ Bay), 1 Ross Wright (Northland).
Team of the Week – Round One: 15 Shaun Stephenson (North Harbour), 14 Seta Tamanivalu (Taranaki), 13 Levi Aumua (Tasman), 12 Matthew Johnson (Southland), 11 Rene Ranger (Northland), 10 Jackson Garden-Bachop (Wellington), 9 Richard Judd (Bay of Plenty), 8 Akira Ioane (Auckland), 7 Lachlan Boshier (Taranaki), 6 Ethan Blackadder (Tasman), 5 Aaron Carroll (Bay of Plenty), 4 Quinton Strange (Tasman), 3 Marco Fepulea’i (Auckland), 2 Andrew Makalio (Tasman), 1 Wyatt Crockett (Tasman).
Team of the Tournament – 2017: 15 George Bridge (Canterbury), 14 Monty Ioane (Bay of Plenty), 13 Seta Tamanivalu (Taranaki), 12 Jack Goodhue (Northland), 11 Tevita Li (North Harbour), 10 Richie Mo’unga (Canterbury), 9 Mitchell Drummond (Canterbury), 8 Toa Halafihi (Taranaki), 7 Du’Plessis Kirifi (Wellington), 6 Tom Sanders (Canterbury), 5 Jimmy Tupou (Counties Manukau), 4 Mitchell Dunshea (Canterbury), 3 Alex Fidow (Wellington), 2 Asafo Aumua(Wellington), 1 Ross Wright (Northland).
By Richard Neale
@rugby365com
