Cocksedge set for fitting farewell

Kendra Cocksedge will have a chance to mark her 100th and final appearance for Canterbury with a title.

Canterbury will host Auckland in this week’s Farah Palmer Cup final, a fixture set up by their 31-3 win over Wellington in Christchurch, and the Storm’s impressive 26-21 victory over reigning champions Waikato in Hamilton yesterday.

A couple of days after Cocksedge confirmed she’d retire after the looming World Cup on home soil, Canterbury weren’t lacking any motivation against the Pride.

Avenging last year’s defeat to Waikato in the final was one thing, but ensuring Cocksedge’s glittering career for Canterbury didn’t end at 99 caps and a semifinal defeat was another.

Cocksedge was all smiles when she was subbed off in the 65th minute yesterday, knowing she had another week to look forward to with the result assured.

‘‘I was coming into the week and I didn’t want to think too much about it eh, after the announcement in the week I just wanted to come out and enjoy it,’’ she told Sky Sport after the game.

‘‘Halftime the score was pretty close, but we knew with the wind behind us in the second half we could put a lot of pressure on them, and I’m glad we did because we’ve earned another week and that’s exciting.’’

Unbeaten Canterbury blew Wellington off the park in the second half, having taken an unconvincing 5-3 lead into the break. Playing into a stiff breeze, they’d struggled to find their groove, mostly because their lineout faltered when faced with scoring opportunities.

However, on a day their scrum mostly feasted, veteran prop Steph Te Ohaerefox’s 46th-minute try signalled the start of one-way traffic with the breeze at their backs.

Ohaere-fox had a whale of a game, three times ripping the ball clean from the hands of opposition ball carriers and, along with fellow prop Pip Love, dished key passes to help set up the team’s only first half try, a sweeping move finished by flanker Lucy Jenkins.

It was no doubt the pick of their five tries on the day, although centre Amy Du Plessis’ 63rd-minute strike, after she ran a peach of a line off No 12 Chartay Poko and made a defender miss on her way to the line, was also quality.

Now, having won four straight titles between 2017 and 2020, the red-and-blacks will face old foes Auckland, who ensured it wouldn’t be a third straight Canterbury-waikato final. Auckland scored four tries to Waikato’s two, the second of which was a consolation try scored by Esther Tilo-faiaoga with time up.