Beaver’s legend grows as Waikato pride slays Lions
Well might Stephen Donald smile.
The man’s place in New Zealand rugby folklore is assured, thanks to the penalty goal he kicked to win the All Blacks the 2011 World Cup final.
The match-winning deeds haven’t ended there, though, and the 32-year-old made a wee addition to his roll of honour last night by scoring the matchwinning try for Waikato in their come-from-behind 28-24 win over Wellington at Westpac Stadium.
The Lions had the game all-but won at 24-14, but couldn’t close it out. Turns out some people just have a knack for knowing how to win games and the Waikato first five-eighth is definitely one of those.
‘‘The boys have been giving me that much rubbish for the last 20 minutes about that try,’’ a barefoot Donald said, sponsor’s product in hand.
‘‘They thought I was going to have a heart attack with how long I was holding my pose, by the time the boys got there [to celebrate]. But no, I just got on the end of it and just proud that the boys hung in there.’’
Unlikely to make the Mitre 10 Cup premiership semifinals and, having already surrendered the Ranfurly Shield to Canterbury, last night was about pride for Waikato. Eighty minutes later Donald was satisfied they’d shown plenty, by staying in a game that Wellington ought to have won comfortably.
Waikato led 7-0 after an Adam Burn try, before the Lions responded with five-pointers to forwards Vaea Fifita, Hoani Matenga and Reggie Goodes. Wellington should have been up by more than 17-7, but probably weren’t clinical enough and were made to rue that when Jordan Manihera scored a converted try to make it 17-14 at halftime.
The game ebbed and flowed until the Lions’ reserve hooker Asafo Aumua barged over in the 63rd minute. Jackson Garden-Bachop’s conversion made it 24-14 and the game looked over.
But first wing Sevu Reece, then Donald, went in for Waikato, to condemn Wellington to a third loss on the trot. They’ll still host a championship semifinal - against a yet-to-be-determined opponent next week, but you could hardly say this has been the ideal preparation.
‘‘It’s hard to explain. We played quite well for 70 minutes and then in the last 10 minutes the wheels sort of fell off and we weren’t able to get our momentum back,’’ Wellington coach Earl Va’a said.
The fact there’s still a semifinal to prepare is some consolation, as was most of the performance against Waikato. The Lions were awful in the preceding defeats to Manawatu and Taranaki, so competing this time and almost winning represented a vast improvement.
Playing poorly a third time really would’ve been an issue but they can approach next week with a reasonable degree of positivity.
That’s not something Donald’s short of. He knows some folk presume he’s nearing retirement age, but he’s still got a huge amount to offer the game and still getting great enjoyment from it
‘‘People keep asking me: when are you going to finish? When someone tells me,’’ said Donald.
‘‘I’m 33 in a couple of months but I have no thoughts of stopping. I’m loving it and until someone says you’re not needed, that’s probably when I’ll pull stumps. ‘‘But, until then, I’m loving it.’’ Earlier, Bay of Plenty survived a late scare to hold off Hawke’s Bay in Napier and secure a spot in the Mitre 10 Cup championship semifinals.
The visitors to McLean Park managed a 26-24 bonus-point win, which was looking far more safe than the final scoreline, as the Magpies scored twice in the final five minutes to set up a grandstand finish.