NPC Team of week: Round two

OPINION: In such a short competition, every round is meaningful and for several teams their season looks bleak already.

But for others the near-future looks bright and true challengers are materialising.

Bay of Plenty look like real contenders for promotion after beating another Premiership team. They travelled to Counties Manukau beating their hosts, 17-22.

Hawkes’ Bay took down their second far South opponent and are sitting on top of the Championship. This time it wasn’t just their forwards scoring all the tries as they beat Otago, 25-31.

Taranaki rebounded to retain the Ranfurly Shield in their first challenge of the competition, stomping Manawatu, 41-21.

Canterbury returned to winning ways by overpowering Wellington, holding off a late fight-back to win 27-20.

In a game filled with more whistles than cheers, North Harbour held out a plucky Waikato by a single point (28-29) in an error-filled contest in wet Hamilton. They now sit second on the Premiership log.

Southland were barely more than a speedbump to the table-topping Tasman Makos. The Stags picked up a bonus point for four tries but succumbed 45-24.

Team of the Week – Round Two:
15 – Will Jordan (Tasman):
Jordan gathered his own chip and outran four Stags for a 50 metre try to top off a sensational running game from the swift fullback which produced 177 run metres with 12 defenders beaten, two tries and a perfect night on defence. This week’s Player of the Round!
Bubbling Under: Jamie-Jerry Taulagi (Hawkes’ Bay)

14 – Melani Nanai (Auckland):
His direct opposite, Rene Ranger, is known for his defensive prowess. But Nanai still made 147 metres from 11 carries, scored 2 tries and set up another with 1 of his 6 successful offloads. He also nicked a turnover and made 6 tackles without missing any.
Bubbling Under: Declan O’Donnell (Waikato)

13 – Rob Thompson (Manawatu):
It was attack vs defence in the outside centre position this week, with Thompson’s four clean breaks and 107 running metres, up against Tamanivalu’s four breakdown steals and 9 tackles. Thompson edges it for his hand in 2 of the 3 Manawatu tries, including grabbing his own five-pointer.
Bubbling Under: Seta Tamanivalu (Taranaki)

12 – Thomas Umaga-Jensen (Wellington):
His co-hyphenated combination with Garden-Bachop is paying dividends with Umaga-Jensen breaking 6 tackles and making 102 metres. Special mention to Terrence Hepetema (Bay of Plenty).
Bubbling Under: Teihorangi Walden (Taranaki)

11 – Manasa Mataele (Taranaki):
Again this position was a magnet for impressive steel, with Mataele ripping up Manawatu’s backline scoring and assisting in tries and racking up 117 metres with 3 clean breaks and beating 5 defenders. Special mention to Mason Emerson (Hawkes’ Bay), Sevu Reece (Waikato), Caleb Makene (Canterbury) and Tevita Li (North Harbour).
Bubbling Under: Rene Ranger (Northland)

10 – Matthew Lansdown (Waikato):
Did everything he could to get Waikato over the line, but couldn’t quite cross it, literally and metaphorically. Instead, he took on North Harbour 12 times and set up two of his teammates for tries.
Bubbling Under: Latiume Fosita (Counties Manukau)

9 – Brad Weber (Hawkes’ Bay):
Weber found a lot of space around the fringes and so carried the ball up 11 times for 70 metres. He helped his youthful flyhalf with his experienced directing and kicking game.
Bubbling Under: Richard Judd (Bay of Plenty)

8 – Sam Henwood (Counties Manukau):
The workrate of all three #8’s mentioned here was exceptional. Evans made an incredible 21 carries, Halafihi made 12 carries and 14 tackles, but Henwood takes the position for his 11 carries (including a try) and 18 tackles with a 100% success rate. Special mention to Toa Halafihi (Taranaki).
Bubbling Under: Gareth Evans (Hawkes’ Bay)

7 – Mitch Karpik (Bay of Plenty):
A dervish at the breakdowns, Karpik stole a brace and made it hard for Steelers to get quick ball, stifling their attack and killing many movements. Special mention to Dillon Hunt (North Harbour) and Du’Plessis Kirifi (Wellington).
Bubbling Under: Phil Halder (Southland)

6 – Liam Mitchell (Manawatu):
As close to a quintessential traditional blindside performance as you might see in the NPC. Mitchell was the consummate defender, ideal ball thief, errorless carrier in the tight and a link between forwards and backs.
Bubbling Under: Vaea Fifita (Wellington)

5 – Ben Nee Nee (North Harbour):
Busy afternoon in Hamilton with some nifty link play and a couple of effective offloads. Nee Nee stole a line-out and was large on defence.
Bubbling Under: Jack Whetton (Auckland)

4 – Luke Romano (Canterbury):
The old fella had a stellar match getting all round the park making 17 tackles, 17 carries, a breakdown pilfer and a line-out steal. Special mentions for a number of #4 locks this week with Jarrad Hoeata (Taranaki), Tom Parsons (Hawkes’ Bay) and James Blackwell (Wellington) all having big games.
Bubbling Under: Quinten Strange (Tasman)

3 – Angus Ta’avao (Taranaki):
Continuing on from a successful Super Rugby season with the Chiefs’, Ta’avao demolished the Manawatu scrum.
Bubbling Under: Jeffrey Toomaga-Allen (Wellington)

2 – Ash Dixon (Hawkes’ Bay):
Another veteran making a big impact, Dixon had a faultless night throwing in and a flawless defensive effort. Also, snaffled a turnover and was a big part of the Magpies’ upset over Otago.
Bubbling Under: Ricky Riccitelli (Taranaki)

1 – Ross Wright (Northland):
Made the talked-about Auckland pack look a touch silly as he (along with his Northland forwards) shoved them off their own feed. Also had a perfect night on defence. Special mention to Mark Braidwood (Hawkes’ Bay) and super-sub Wyatt Crockett (Tasman).
Bubbling Under: Alex Hodgman (Canterbury)

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 Neal