Taranaki edge wet weather match
When the pitch is so submerged, those at the bottom of a ruck might fear drowning, the rugby itself isn’t going to be much of a spectacle.
But to Taranaki and Manawatu’s credit, they did what they could to make the best of a bad situation in Palmerston North yesterday.
After battling to a stalemate in the first 40 minutes, Taranaki scored the only three points of the second half to win 13-10.
“We knew it would be tough coming down here. We had a big focus on our set piece and we were really pleased with the way that went,” Taranaki captain Mitchell Brown said after the match, wearing a mask of mud and grass.
“We knew it would be an 80-minute performance that was needed, and it was, so bloody stoked to come away with the points down here, it’s always tough.”
Taranaki opened the scoring in the 11th minute from the back of a lineout drive, which saw a penalty try awarded when Manawatu collapsed the maul at the line. The hosts hit back quickly, as Hamish Northcott scooped up a Taranaki knock on and toed the ball into the corner for Ben Werthmuller to pounce on.
The hosts went ahead just five minutes later when Jamie Booth crossed the stripe but a Daniel Waite penalty just before halftime locked the scores at 10-10.
As the rain pelted down, the teams still tried to play running rugby in the second half but eventually succumbed to the conditions and played the territory game. Another penalty from the boot of Waite in the 55th minute turned out to be the final scoring play, as Taranaki dominated the late territory to secure their second win of the season.
Further south, Otago thumped Southland 41-22 to retain the Ranfurly Shield, led by a double to Jona Nareki. The hosts got off to a fast start and never looked back against their southern neighbours, exploding in the second half to pull away.
Down 17-3 at the break, Southland scored three tries in the last half hour but were generally playing catch-up. No 8 Dylan Nel provided the highlight with a 40m run for a superb individual try early in the second half.