Counties steal the win in Dunedin

COUNTIES Manukau were probably due a Get Out of Jail card after their two one-point heartbreakers earlier this season.

They gladly played it in Dunedin yesterday evening to scramble a much-needed 16-14 provincial rugby victory over Otago, keeping their premiership semifinal hopes alive by the barest of margins.

With the victory the Steelers leapfrogged Taranaki, Tasman and Auckland to sit second on the standings on 29 points.

The Steelers had looked to be headed to their first defeat to the blue and golds since 2011 when the home side took a 14-13 lead into the final half-dozen minutes and looked certainties to put the contest on ice.

But first James Lentjes and Michael Collins just misconnected on a clear tryscoring opportunity, and then later the home side was unable to convert a short lineout option into points, with wing Mitchell Scott pinged for an illegal cleanout, and the Steelers able to start the long march upfield.

The Counties forwards put in an excellent drive off the subsequent lineout to work hot on to attack, and when the ball was shifted midfield, in the shadow of the posts, an Otago hand in the breakdown handed Joe Reynolds the easiest of chances to atone for his late miss against Taranaki which coughed up one of those one-point defeats.

For Otago it was a third consecutive loss as their season hits a bad case of the staggers. The bonus point moves them, temporarily at least, a point ahead of Wellington at the top of the championship standings, though that home finals advantage now comes under a real threat.

Both teams played with plenty of intent, and Otago’s defence was certainly vastly improved on what it had been a week earlier when they leaked 54 points against Auckland. More than a dozen handling errors hampered the visitors’ cause, though their capable ball-runners always looked threats.

An entertaining, if not brilliantly executed first half, ended at a try apiece and with the visitors leading 10-7.

Neither team would probably have been happy with their ability to convert chances into points, though the Steelers’ seven first-half dropsies were a big factor in why they weren’t able to take a bigger lead into the sheds.

Earlier, Southland produced their best game of the 2016 provincial season to record a 39-31 win over Northland in Invercargill.

Northland went into the game with plenty of confidence but it was the Stags backline that stood up as they found plenty of holes in the Northland defence.