Shock wins for Auckland and North Harbour

NPC SUNDAY WRAP: Auckland ended six consecutive losses to Canterbury when claiming a 34–29 win in their NPC game in Christchurch on Sunday, the first win in the south since 2007.

The win left Auckland unbeaten in their 2018 campaign, with a game in hand, and in front of the competition, while the loss was Canterbury’s second resulting in Wellington slipping into a share of second place.

Elsewhere, North Harbour has moved off the foot of the table with a priceless, if imperfect, 32-20 home win over the Bay of Plenty Steamers.

It closed out a challenging ‘Storm Week’ for Tom Coventry’s charges, but gives them their first W since round two.

Things were not quite in synch in the first spell, passes not going to hand in midfield or being pushed in contact, while a tricky wind did not make the kick-chase game as straightforward as it might seem.

Canterbury 29-34 Auckland

After the frustrations of recent years for an Auckland side that were in danger of relegation last year, it was a welcome all-round display with a fine forward effort complemented by decisive back play which saw captain and second five-eighths TJ Faiane score a hat-trick of tries.

Auckland gained early benefit from their ability to hold Canterbury players in tackles resulting in mauls being called by referee Nick Briant and turnovers resulting. No.8 Akira Ioane played a central role in that area along with lock Jack Whetton. They also put in some strong tackles at times which resulted in ball being lost as a result of the force in the tackle.

But equally Canterbury lock Luke Romano was up for the challenge with a powerful game on the charge.

Canterbury were entitled to wonder what they were up against when Faiane scored his hat-trick try in the 48th minute. It came when Plummer kicked from his goal-line after a sustained period of play from Canterbury. But wing Melani Nanai fielded the kick and flung a pass infield which was taken by centre Tumua Manu to carry play forward.

Nanai then made another bust on the blindside from the ruck and he linked with Manu down the sideline to pass inside to Faiane who had come up in support and got over for the try in the tackle.

Flanker Dalton Papalii, given a chance to start due to the belated withdrawal of captain Blake Gibson, pulled off a scrum intercept one minute after the start, getting his hands on a pass from Canterbury halfback Mitch Drummond as the scrum screwed. He raced 65m downfield before being dragged in by wing Caleb Makene. Support came from first five-eighths Harry Plummer who took the ball down the sideline before he flicked it inside to skipper and Faiane.

Four minutes later, Faiane was in again after the tight forwards had hammered the goal-line before finally halfback Jonathan Ruru popped a pass for Faiane to power over when running a close line.

Canterbury seized their moment when hooker Greg Pleasants-Tate finished off some good play by the pack to get them on the board after 12 minutes.

But Auckland played with control to build constructive opportunities and after an impressive build-up through phase play halfback Ruru scored to give them a 22-8 lead after 29 minutes.

As the half wound down Canterbury had the confidence to opt for a lineout from a penalty and instead of opting for a driving maul, they worked a play off the back of the lineout which saw flanker Reed Prinsep make a strong burst and in the supporting action prop Sef Fa’agase scored to pull the halftime margin back to 22-15 to Auckland.

Canterbury had the satisfaction of a strong finish, scoring two tries in the last minute to take two bonus points for their efforts with tries to replacements, prop Chris King and hooker Brodie McAlister.

The Scorers:

For Canterbury:
Tries: Greg Pleasants-Tate, Sef Fa’agase, Chris King, Brodie McAlister
Cons: Brett Cameron 3
Pen: Brett Cameron

For Auckland:
Tries: TJ Faiane 3, Jonathan Ruru, Tumua Manu
Cons: Harry Plummer 3
Pen: Harry Plummer

North Harbour 32-20 Bay of Plenty

Hooker James Parsons drove over from the back off a lineout drive, while halfback Bryn Hall gave the home side the halftime edge after he dived over from quick ruck ball.

Bay of Plenty relied heavily on Mike Delany, who goalkicked well and ran an acute angle for the Steamers’ opening try. But he did not come out for the second half and the visitors missed the direction he would have given them with the wind.

North Harbour had most of the ball, and the likes of No 8 Hapakuki Moala-Liava’a gave them impetus but it was not always matched by accuracy or fluency.

When Delany’s replacement Jason Robertson kicked the bladder out of the ball, a rare event, it was a metaphorical moment for the Steamers going flat. They fell off tackles and could get little going on attack as Harbour, in the theory the more tired team, upped the ante.

Wing Tevita Li had one try ruled out, but was then set up for another by his fullback Shaun Stevenson. Bryn Gatland, who was accurate off the tee, scored the critical bonus point try and compiled 17 important points. In the pack, Dillon Hunt was industrious at the breakdown. His opposite Mitch Karpik was equally industrious but not as effective.

Steamers No 12 Terence Hepetema was direct in midfield, but they were unable to build off his forays.

Today was Club Day so all the North Harbour players wore their club socks.

North Harbour’s next outing is on Saturday in Napier against Hawke’s Bay, while Bay of Plenty welcomes neighbour Waikato to Rotorua next Friday.

The Farah Palmer Cup curtainraiser saw the Harbour Hibiscus convincingly defeat the Tasman Mako 51-14. The Hibiscus ran in nine tries, including doubles to Pia Tapsell and Juliana Newman.

The Scorers

For North Harbour:
Tries: James Parsons, Bryn Hall, Tevita Li, Bryn Gatland
Cons: Bryn Gatland 3
Pens: Brun Gatland 2

For Bay of Plenty
Tries: Mike Delany, James Lay
Con: Mike Delany, Jason Robertson
Pens: Mike Delany 2

@Mitre10Cup