Slick Turbos blow away Magpies
The Manawatu Turbos put in a dominant pre-season display as they beat Hawke’s Bay 38-5 in Palmerston North last night.
Rain throughout the day subsided for the match and the Turbos turned on a slick display of attacking rugby.
It was a match where most offloads stuck for Manawatu which helped them rack up the score.
But equally impressive was their defence, helped by an errorridden performance from Hawke’s Bay.
It was the second win of the preseason for Manawatu, who beat Wellington 28-14 on Sunday and lost to Tasman 40-33 last week. Jamie Booth’s magical run of form in the pre-season continued.
The halfback was subbed at halftime, but not before he shone with his darting runs, strong passing and some well-placed kicks.
If he can maintain the same level for the provincial campaign, a Super Rugby contract will surely be coming his way.
Sione Asi, Hunter Prescott and Fraser Armstrong were the surprise package in the Manawatu scrum as they got the better of the Magpies’ front row.
The quality of Jackson Hemopo was also on display.
The Highlanders lock is not showing any signs of slowing down after his hot finish to the Highlanders season.
The Magpies struggled at lineout time with the Turbos locks contesting well.
The Turbos’ lineout was better with Prescott, but they lost a few on Tim Cadwallader’s throws.
Jade Te Rure put in a cheeky grubber kick off the side of his foot 7m from the line and Te Rangatira Waitokia scooped it up for the opener.
It was part of a mixed bag performance. While he was solid with ball in hand, his kicking for territory was less impressive.
The Turbos made their second visit inside the 22 in the 25th minute and were rewarded with a try from close range to prop Sione Asi.
But there were a couple of bombed tries, including one off a big break from Willy Ambaka where Harrison Brewer’s offload went forward.
Manawatu carried a comfortable 14-0 lead into the break.
And things got better when early in the second half, made a big break and released a miracle offload to Ambrose Curtis.
Cadwallader added the side’s fourth try in the 58th minute with a well-worked lineout move.
From there both teams heavily rolled their subs.
Despite Manawatu going through a couple of periods of being heavily penalised, they were defensively strong.
Fullback Tiaan Falcon grabbed a try back for Hawke’s Bay in the 67th minute.
But Manawatu continued to attack with the Tudreu brothers, Nathan and Newton, combining to set up Kayne Hammington for a try.
Cadwallader bagged his double late in the match to complete the dominating performance.