Tasman down Otago to secure home semifinal
TASMAN harnessed the power of their scrum and big wing Leicester Fainga’anuku to muscle their way to a 26-20 win against Otago.
It was rarely pretty but the Mako won’t care: on a weekend of almost endless Mitre 10 Cup permutations the victory guarantees a home semifinal for the defending Premiership champions.
Fainga’anuku bounced off defenders every time he carried the ball – including Otago No 8 Nasi Manu – and when lock Quinten Strange powered over from close range midway through the second half it gave Tasman a handy 26-13 lead and guaranteed they would take some momentum into the finals.
Jona Nareki set up a try to Kayne Hammington with five minutes to go, but Otago will still limp into a home semifinal against Northland or Taranaki next week on the back of two losses, following a heavy defeat to Southland last weekend.
Otago No 10 Josh Ioane struggled to spark their attack, and Otago are clearly missing the injured Liam Coltman and Josh Dickson.
Their defence stood up well and the lineout maul had some good moments, while form Otago wing Freedom Vahaakolo again showed his finishing prowess, grabbing the first try
of the game in the 10th minute.
Otago’s attack was a bit clunky in getting the ball to 23-year-old Vahaakolo but he only needed a bit of space to cause the damage, accelerating past Tasman halfback Finlay Christie with ease on the way to the line in the right-hand corner.
However, Tasman were all over the Otago scrum and Fainga’anuku, Sione Havili and Fetuli Paea were strong with the ball in hand, while David Havili chipped in with some smart touches at fullback.
After taking a 13-10 lead into halftime, Tasman moved up a gear in the 20 minutes after halftime, and Strange’s try was no more than they deserved.
It came on the back of another strong scrum and a series of powerful carries from both backs and forwards.
Fainga’anuku was a genuine handful all afternoon and Mako No 10 Mitch Hunt was determined to give him as much ball as possible, either from wide passes or crossfield kicks.