Tasman Under-19s beat Canterbury
Tasman have earned a promotion to the top tier of next month’s Jock Hobbs Memorial National Under-19 rugby tournament after snatching a late win over Canterbury on Saturday.
A try to fullback Jamie Spowart with just minutes remaining secured Tasman a 27-24 win over the 2015 national champions at Linfield Park in Christchurch, with Tasman’s final South Island seeding match against Southland in Christchurch next weekend.
It means that with two wins already secured, Tasman will play in the top tier Graham Mourie Cup competition for the first time in the tournament’s fouryear history.
Tasman had led 22-13 at halftime following tries to winger Culainn Stringer and two to centre Timoci Tavatavanawai. But with Tasman a man down following the sin-binning of prop Eden Beech, Canterbury were able to achieve some important momentum heading into the second half.
Two Canterbury penalties and a try later, Tasman suddenly found themselves trailing 24-22 heading into the dying stages. However, they regrouped superbly as Spowart produced the winning try with time almost up.
‘‘It was good travelling to Canterbury and playing them on their soil, it was a good outcome for our boys,’’ Tasman coach Mike Fraser said.
‘‘I thought in the first half we played pretty well ... but towards the end of the first half and going into the second half we were a man down, so the momentum shifted.
‘‘But I suppose what pleased us most, our carries got stronger and we held on. We believed in ourselves and we came back and scored that try which won us the game.’’
Tasman’s forwards backed up their solid efforts from the previous week’s win over Otago with another strong unified display. A superior scrum worked well for them in the first half and although Canterbury managed to disrupt some of their early lineouts, Tasman gradually achieved parity in the second half.
Captain and No 8 Isaiah Miller again impressed with his strong ball-carrying and was well supported by hooker Sam Moli, lock Sosefo Vaka and second half replacement Quinn Harrison-Jones.
First five-eighth Will Havili and halfback Jack Grooby provided another effective attacking platform for the backs, with midfielder Jakob Dabinett also impressing.