Ill-disciplined effort heaps pressure on Makos
Ill-discipline and defensive frailty may have cost Tasman the opportunity to shape their own Mitre 10 Cup destiny.
The Makos’ 40-26 loss in New Plymouth on Thursday saw them slip well behind premiership pacesetters Canterbury and Taranaki, who outplayed Tasman six tries to four at Yarrow Stadium.
It also piles more pressure on the Makos as they prepare to host third-placed North Harbour in Blenheim on Wednesday evening.
A fourth defeat will push Tasman perilously close to missing the semifinal cut, leaving them dependent on other results to go their way, a situation they were desperate to avoid.
The early signs in New Plymouth were ominous.
The first tackle from a Makos player, prop Siua Halanukonuka, was high and penalised. Then it got worse. Four minutes later winger Viliami Lolohea was yellow- carded for tackling a player in the air. After having 10 minutes on the side line to think about it, he returned to the fray and, 10 minutes later, repeated the crime.
Lolohea’s subsequent ejection from the game meant his side ended up playing 65 minutes with 14 players.
When Will Jordan joined him on the sidelines 12 minutes into the second spell for knocking down an opposition player’s pass, Tasman were forced to defend for 10 minutes with 13 men.
Against most teams that scenario would be extremely difficult. Against a side as dangerous as Taranaki it was ‘‘game over’’.
On the positive side of a frustrating evening, the Makos’ attacking potential is beginning to be realised, a more patient approach with ball in hand starting to pay dividends.
There is no shortage of creativity among the backline as Mitch Hunt, Alex Nankivell, Trael Joass, James Lowe and Will Jordan become more familiar with each other’s game.
Up front, Jordan Taufua, Alex Ainley, Ethan Blackadder, Shannon Frizell, Andrew Makalio and Vernon Fredericks carried strongly.
When the whole package is in sync, the Makos are as potent as any side in the competition.
Although both sides scored often on Thursday, there was an obvious difference.
While the Makos were forced to create a series of phases to earn their way to the line, the home side scored with limited build-up, often breaking through with ease.
Some of the breaches could be put down to an imbalance in numbers, but personal tackling was an issue.
It would be easy to blame red and yellow cards for the Makos’ demise, but that is too simplistic.
Apart from their issues on defence, the forwards’ lineout work was patchy and they often failed to match their rivals’ aggression at the breakdown.
Coming off a relatively ‘‘soft’’ match, a 50-17 win over Southland, may have also been a factor in Tasman’s horror first half.
The fact they outscored Taranaki in the second 40 minutes underlined the Makos’ resolve, but only earned them a single competition point.
They will need more than that when Harbour come to Blenheim on Wednesday, the first time the team from Auckland’s North Shore have ventured onto Lansdowne Park since Tasman’s inaugural game in 2006.