Tenacious Otago triumphs in trophy game
OTAGO hung around and in the end got the box of chocolates.
The blue and golds scored a try in the 78th minute to beat Wellington 3534 in the capital on Saturday and with the win has given its season a timely boost.
The side nearly blew it at the end as it lost the ball twice in the final couple of minutes but managed to get a turnover and clear the ball for victory.
With it Otago took five competition points and also regained the Mike Gibson Memorial Trophy.
The match seesawed all game but it always looked as though Wellington would have enough. When Wellington halfback Kemara HauitiParapara went over to score with 20 minutes left, his team went ahead 3423 and the victory appeared to be there for the taking.
But Otago rolled its sleeves up and got the job done.
Otago coach Tom Donnelly said the win was a tribute to the way Mike Gibson played.
‘‘We had a presentation from the Gibson family before the game and they talked of the way he played the game — never giving up, always playing to the final minute,’’ Donnelly said.
‘‘And that is exactly what we did.
‘‘The attitude of the guys was outstanding. They got stuck in and never took a backward step. The result was a pretty special one,’’ Donnelly said.
Donnelly praised the Otago set piece which gained the ascendancy as the game went on while the lineout also was assured. The return of experienced lock Josh Dickson helped secure the ball.
The match was one in which neither side could get on top. Part of that was due to both teams struggling to control the ball when it was receiving the kickoff after scoring.
Donnelly said that was something to work on and that contributed to a game in which neither side could get too far ahead of the other.
The Otago scrum went well while the loose forward trio did not back down against a strong Wellington combination.
Otago had scored early through hooker Liam Coltman via a lineout drive replying to a Trent Renata fivepointer.
Wellington looked dangerous at times but errors occurred at the wrong time for both sides.
Otago scored some nice tries and when Vilimoni Koroi scored his second after a slick backline move, Wellington led just 3428 with 13 minutes left.
Then Otago pressed from a scrum 5m out. The ball went into the middle of the field and Dylan Nel made a burst. The ball was ripped from his grasp but it bounced up to Otago lock Jack Regan and the big Irishman could not be stopped from a couple of metres out.
Regan was part of a solid Otago forward effort, while all the backs had their moments, with centre Josh Timu defending especially strongly.
THAT was one Southland had every chance to win.
It had all the ball, all the territory. It just could not turn those into points.
Northland defended bravely to claim an 1814 win in the Mitre 10 Cup in Whangarei yesterday.
Southland trailed by four points when Northland openside flanker Kara Pryor was yellowcarded while hard on defence with 15 minutes left.
A try seemed inevitable as it pounded away at the line with a man advantage.
But Northland just tackled.
And tackled.
And then tackled some more.
It gave away plenty of penalties in that passage.
But Southland continually opted to keep the pressure on.
It was pressure Northland withstood until the end — Pryor coming up with the final turnover on his return to the field.
Southland showed intent to use its backs and play with width early on.
However, it struggled to get continuity, while Northland made use of its possession.
Dan Hawkins gave Northland the lead from a penalty, before Temo Mayanavanua crashed over to score down the blindside a handful of phases after a lineout drive.
That gave Northland an 80 lead inside quarter of an hour, which become 110 as Hawkins added another three from a scrum penalty after 20 minutes.
At that point Southland began to come back into the game as it got field position and looked to build pressure.
The Northland defence held on well, although Southland remained patient and Tony Lamborn finally crashed over five minutes before the break.
Scott Eade converted to make it 117, the score at halftime, although the side lost key lock Manaaki SelbyRickit to injury following the try.
Lamborn was involved in the second try, too.
He snaffled a breakdown turnover inside Southland’s half just after halftime. From there he unloaded and Amanaki Nicole found himself in space up the right wing.
He made a break, before linking with Raniera Takarangi, who kicked ahead for Isaac Te Tamaki to run on to and score in the corner.
The 1411 lead was shortlived, though.
Northland winger Jone Macilai dropped a kick, which fell to Hawkins. He broke up the wing, linking with Rene Ranger and Macilai, before Sam Nock took the final offload to score.
Southland was left trailing by four and while it continued to pound away, it was unable to score.
The win takes Northland to the top of the Championship table, while Southland remains in fourth.
In other games, Auckland edged Taranaki 2928, North Harbour beat Hawke’s Bay 4610, Waikato won 3613 over CountiesManukau and Tasman beat Bay of Plenty 337.