Tasman register perfect 10
Tasman have made it a perfect 10 from 10 in the regular season, after beating Hawke’s Bay 47-28 in their Mitre 10 Cup crossover clash in Napier yesterday.
Already assured of top spot in the Premiership division, the Mako powered to another big victory, which sees them become the first team in 12 years to enter the playoffs undefeated.
No team had managed a perfect regular season since 2007, when Auckland achieved the feat and went on to win the title.
And it’s going to take something special to stop this Tasman side from doing likewise, after they finished with a staggering points differential of +277 from their regular season, after their seven-tries-to-four victory at McLean Park.
Hawke’s Bay needed a win to overtake Bay of Plenty and take top seeding in the Championship division but they will have to settle for second, still with a home semifinal secure, which will be against Otago next weekend.
The home side opened the scoring in the sixth minute through flanker Marino MikaeleTu’u, then had another go-ahead score from No 8 Devan Flanders halfway through the first half, and scored another two tries over the final 15 minutes. But in between times they were well outplayed.
Tasman had actually struggled to get themselves into the game, but come the 14th minute, a piece of Alex Nankivell magic saw them back on level terms.
Following a huge first scrum, the standout second five-eighth latched onto front-foot ball and ran well, and despite seemingly being tackled, continued to pump the legs, burst further ahead, and then passed to No 8 Sione Havili on his shoulder to finish.
A 28th minute yellow card against lock Geoff Cridge for a high tackle on Nankivell proved a turning point for Hawke’s Bay, as the Mako began to assert their authority.
Wing Leicester Faingaanuku scored off a brilliant set-play from a close-range lineout and the Mako eventually profited out wide after the siren when Mitch Hunt sent a wide pass to Tima Faingaanuku who bust through the defenders to give the visitors a 19-14 halftime lead.
And the second stanza started just as the first finished, with Hawke’s Bay their own worst enemy in fluffing the kickoff receipt.
Tasman didn’t need a second invitation, and after spinning wide, it was Leicester Faingaanuku popping up on the right flank and finishing from five metres out for his double.
With the deficit at 12 points, the Magpies really needed to be the next to score. But with a setpiece struggle, they just couldn’t get their hands on any quality ball, and were left to do plenty of tackling. Or at least try to, as the Mako put on a three-try blitz in the space of seven minutes, either side of the hour-mark.
Hunt started the spree with a jinking run on halfway, then a pacey support run to be on hand to finish after several offloads; then it was Nankivell with a sublime 45m effort where he again left defenders in his wake; before two replacement front rowers conjured the next one – prop Isaac Salmon finding himself in a huge hole and giving hooker Hugh Roach a 10m run-in.
Hawke’s Bay had a double dose of consolations in the final 12 minutes, which saw them earn their ninth four-try bonus point from 10 games.