TEMPERS FLARE
Ugly finish to Turbos campaign
A stunning Hawke’s Bay second half display slammed the door shut on Manawatu¯ ’s semifinal chances with a 36-31 in a match marred by two red cards in Napier yesterday.
The result helped Northland claim the final spot in the championship semifinals.
Both Hawke’s Bay and Manawatu¯ spent 46 minutes with just 14 men after an ugly brawl late in the first half.
It was sparked when Hawke’s Bay’s Gareth Evans threw the ball at the feet of a Manawatu¯ player after a dominant scrum before flanker Tony Lamborn came in with a punch the the face of Harrison Brewer.
Lamborn kept firing punches, then Manawatu¯ wing Newton Tudreu came in with a knee to the head of Lamborn.
Referee Cam Stone issued both men red cards and both are certain to cop unhappy visits to the judiciary.
That moment sparked the match to life.
For Hawke’s Bay they produced the kind of second-half performance they have been searching for all season; for Manawatu¯ it could only be described as a complete meltdown in an effective knockout match.
Manawatu¯ had not won in Napier since 1955 and they needed to end that drought for a spot in the semifinals.
At halftime Manawatu¯ looked to be cruising.
But they were met by a Magpie ambush in the second half.
Hawke’s Bay bounced back with a try to Gareth Evans, one of the best on the park, just one minute into the half.
And they were back on the scoresheet moments later as Brad Weber crossed off a scrum 15m out.
Mason Emerson then crossed to put Hawke’s Bay in front, despite replays suggesting he was out.
Richard Buckman then added more pain with the side’s fourth try in 13 minutes.
Three minutes later, Jonah Lowe continued the onslaught with an intercept and 80m sprint.
Emerson scored 25 minutes into the half, once again having a degree of fortune with replays revealing a Hawke’s Bay player ripped the ball out on the ground to set it up.
It was not until the 70th minute of the match that Manawatu¯ managed to stop the bleeding as Jason Emery finished off a perfectly worked set piece move.
Jade Te Rure scored with one minute to play to make the match close, but it was not enough.
The first half was a rather different match with Hawke’s Bay errors helping Manawatu¯ take control.
The deadlock was broken in the 16th minute when Lewis Marshall,
who played for Hawke’s Bay last year, latched onto an Ihaia West pass and sprinted 50 metres for a try.
But the game was turned on its head in the 34th minute as Tudreu and Lamborn were sent for early showers.
Manawatu¯ hooker bagged a try after a maul from a 5m lineout which came from the ensuing penalty.
The Magpies looked to rebound with a quick Ihaia West kickoff which caught Manawatu¯ napping.
But Emery pulled off a desperate trysaving tackle on Jonah Lowe as everything appeared to be falling in the Turbos favour.
That was soon to change.