Cards mar comfortable win
An at times entertaining but predictable victory for New Zealand Ma¯ori over the United States in Chicago yesterday did not come without some negatives, with three Ma¯ori players sin-binned.
Hooker Ash Dixon, lock Pari Pari Parkinson and replacement hooker Robbie Abel were all sent from the Soldier Field pitch during the win, with skipper Dixon and Parkinson off together at the end of the second half.
Dixon saw yellow for pulling down an attacking maul, with Abel binned for not releasing a tackled attacker, but Parkinson’s action was far more serious, an ugly body slam of a tackle on Shaun Davies which caused the halfback to leave the field for a head injury assessment from which he didn’t return.
There were also strong words directed by the referee to prop Chris Eves because of the way the official was being spoken to, so there will be a spotlight on the visitors’ discipline after this match, the third of a tripleheader after the Black Ferns thrashed their US counterparts and Ireland did likewise to Italy.
The yellow card for Parkinson blighted an otherwise excellent performance, with second row teammate Isaia Walker-Leawere also impressing. Walker-Leawere, a 21-yearold Hurricanes and Wellington player in his first game for the Ma¯ori, scored two tries in five minutes; the first, 18 seconds after halftime, via a spectacular 50m run.
If the All Blacks have an area they want to strengthen, it is lock, so the performance by the pair was both timely and encouraging.
The Ma¯ori had won their previous four matches against the US and there was little chance of an upset yesterday by an understrength home side, who rallied after the break but were swamped by the weight of possession and firepower from the opposition.
Left wing Regan Ware was lively early on, with first-five Otere Black directing play well and Rob Thompson a force in the midfield. Right wing Jonah Lowe’s break after the restart led to Walker-Leawere’s superb try.
Up front, Ben May put in a brilliant shift defensively in front of the standout second rowers, with flanker Mitch Karpik busy. No 8 Akira Ioane continued his excellent form and firstfive Josh Ioane, the 23-year-old Highlander, impressed with his composure and attacking instincts when replacing Black.
The US hung in there but were too often guilty of naive decisions on attack which left them under near constant pressure.
NZ Ma¯ori 59 (Isaia Walker-Leawere 2, Regan Ware, Mitchell Karpik, Ash Dixon, Ben May, Rob Thompson, Jonah Lowe, Shaun Stevenson tries; Otere Black 5 cons, Josh Ioane 2 cons)
United States 22 (Ryan Matyas, Tim Maupin, Cam Dolan tries; Will Hooley pen, 2 cons). Halftime: 26-8.