Tasman must learn quickly
OPINION: New Zealand’s national provincial rugby championship is undoubtedly a tough school.
It’s a competition where eager students of the game thrive and slow learners get left behind.
The Tasman Makos are in danger of joining the ranks of the latter. The lads from the top of the south, who had nine days to digest an unpalatable 39-0 beating by Canterbury, got another bitter pill to chew on as they endeavoured to get their Mitre 10 season up and running on Sunday.
Although they were more competitive on the scoreboard in their 35-20 loss to Manawatu, Tasman again came away pointless. Even more worrying was the fact the Makos repeated many of the same mistakes that plagued their opening effort. Lack of patience, muddled decisionmaking, ill discipline and poor execution of basic catch-and-pass skills combined to allow their rivals back into the game, time and again.
Their inability to bring pressure to bear on the Turbos through lengthy phase play meant the home side were spared long periods of energy-sapping defence, leaving them fresh to mount decisive attacks.
Despite their shortcomings, the Makos played well in patches and were within striking distance as the game entered its final stages. However, the Manawatu forwards took control of proceedings and closed out the game in style.
With all due respect to their opponents, this was a game the Makos could have won. But they never looked composed enough to exert the kind of long-term control through possession and field position that would get the job done.
While Manawatu playmaker Otere Black ensured his side resided in their rivals’ territory for much of the first half, his Makos counterpart Mitchell Hunt battled to do the same, often having to rush his clearance or pass under pressure. They held onto the ball better in the second spell, scoring a couple of cracking tries which underlined their attacking potential, but were always playing catch-up.
Some of the Makos’ malaise could be put down to overeagerness, a willingness to attack at all costs rather than adopt a more measured approach. It is hard to be overly critical of that exciting mindset, which will undoubtedly pay dividends at some stage of the season, but this side is not the established attacking force of recent campaigns, more a work-inprogress.
Shorn of such influential figures as Shane Christie, Marty Banks, Kieron Fonotia and David Havili, the 2017 Makos must shape their own destiny, and certainly will. They have talent aplenty, are creative and committed, but must quickly take heed of lessons learned or get left behind in rugby’s school of hard knocks.