Otago stun Waikato to stay in finals hunt
Otago midfielder Josh Timu condemned Waikato to their first defeat of the season with a crucial intercept try that has kept his side’s playoffs hopes alive.
With the scores locked at 20-20 with about 10 minutes to go, Timu rushed out of the defensive line and picked off a pass from Waikato No 10 Taha Kemara,
Timu still had plenty of work to do, but he showed good pace to outstrip Mosese Dawai and score in the corner for the game’s deciding try.
The win was crucial for Otago, keeping them in touch with Bay of Plenty and Hawke’s Bay in the race for a finals berth in the Odds conference with two games to go.
Waikato’s loss comes a week before they get a crack at Wellington for the Ranfurly Shield, but they will need to improve considerably.
D’angelo Leuila set up two tries with deft chip kicks over Otago’s defensive line in midfield, with Bailyn Sullivan first supplying the crucial pass to Damian Mckenzie and then scoring himself.
Those five-pointers reflected the early difference in confidence levels between the two sides, with Otago unable to profit from a mountain of possession and territory.
Big lock Fabian Holland made his presence felt upon his return from concussion, but Otago’s backline has failed to consistently fire this year, particularly without the injured Jona Nareki and Thomas Umaga-jensen.
Josh Ioane’s shift to the No 12 jersey offered the home side another running option, but he was outpointed by the hardrunning Leuila in a messy encounter.
However, at the end of their ‘storm week’, the Mooloos were not at their best despite solid efforts from Sullivan, hooker Rhys Marshall and lock Hamilton Burr.
That opened the door for Otago, who scored two tries in the final quarter through Timu and lock Will Tucker, and received plenty of impact off the bench from debutant halfback Kieran Mclea and loose
forward Sean Withy.
In Tauranga, two tries from classy Bay of Plenty wing Emoni Narawa helped to consign struggling Southland to their eighth consecutive loss of the campaign.
The Steamers ran riot in a 54-21 victory and the win lifted them to third in closely contested Odds conference.
North Harbour showed their finishing power to secure a 48-21 win against Northland in Whangārei in the final game of the
weekend, with in-form fullback Shaun Stevenson grabbing three tries.
However, his second fivepointer was awarded in controversial circumstances as it looked like No 10 Bryn Gatland had knocked the ball on in the buildup.
But the try stood after multiple video replays and Harbour then kicked away for a win that sends them into third place in the Evens conference, above Tasman and Northland.