Waikato made to work hard by gritty Counties
Waikato moved level with Auckland on the summit of the Mitre 10 Cup Premiership last night after eventually seeing off Counties Manukau in Hamilton.
Tasman would return to top spot with a win over Bay of Plenty today but Waikato are ticking along nicely and their 36-13 win at FMG Stadium Waikato was their fourth from five rounds.
Whether the Mooloos are genuine contenders should be clearer after their next two matches on the road: Canterbury and Auckland.
Counties made Waikato work awfully hard for this bonus-point success, though, and it was only wrapped up in the final quarter when replacement Mooloos hooker Steven Misa crashed over the line.
Misa’s clinching try came via a sloppy Counties lineout and Quinn Tupaea’s fabulous finish for a fifth try in the 76th minute from Rivez Reihana’s chipped kick flattered the Mooloos because Counties were right in the contest for 70 minutes.
Counties winger Kirisi Kuridrani was always a threat and the visitors looked dangerous when they moved the ball, but they slumped to a fourth defeat from five and have to improve to boost their Championship semifinal prospects.
Counties started brightly before suffering due to Waikato’s supreme dominance come scrum time.
Steelers prop Conan
O’Donnell’s yellow card was the last straw for referee Brendon Pickerill in one of the final acts of a tedious first half and Waikato forced a deserved penalty try.
Still, Waikato’s dominance was not translated on the scoreboard until veteran loose forward Adam Thomson went over in the 47th minute when Counties were stretched. .
O’Donnell’s 10 minutes out was costly for Counties as Waikato scored 17 unanswered points. Afterwards Counties hung in there admirably and had their chances but Waikato were too good when it mattered.