Playoffs race goes to the wire
Red cards, penalty tries, intercept scores, a 71-point haul – there was a bit of everything in an eventful penultimate round of the Mitre 10 Cup.
Best of all, the makeup of the premiership division’s semifinals will come down to the last day of the season – next Sunday – when Auckland host North Harbour in a tell-all Battle of the Bridge.
Canterbury, Auckland and Tasman are confirmed for the playoffs, but North Harbour and Wellington are equal on points and battling for the final spot, with Wellington seemingly having the easier final round, away to Taranaki on Friday.
That will be a match the amber and blacks have to win if they are to avoid relegation, but on the evidence of their season they don’t stand much of a shot.
Their wretched run continued in Christchurch on Saturday night, where, exactly one year on from their thrilling Ranfurly Shield-claiming comeback win over Canterbury, they were mauled 41-7 by the home side.
Canterbury’s six-tries-to-one victory was assisted no end by the sixth-minute red-carding of Jarrad Hoeata for punching Tom Christie.
It wasn’t the fiercest act you’ll ever see, but, following a well-involved melee, it was a costly action by the veteran lock.
But just as Hoeata became the first player sent off this season, come the 56th minute he was joined by Canterbury prop Daniel Lienert-Brown, whose headbutt on Taranaki hooker Ricky Riccitelli in retaliation to a push was certainly the uglier of the carded offences.
In any case, by that stage the hosts had built a 24-0 lead and were never going to be troubled.
While James Doleman was playing cards, his fellow referees were also busy around the traps, with a stunning four penalty tries being dished out across the six games on Saturday.
There was one for each team in Harbour’s 36-26 win over Counties Manukau at QBE Stadium.
That keeps Harbour in with a shot of backing up last year’s semifinals showing, while the Steelers aren’t out of relegation trouble, three points ahead of Taranaki and hosting Canterbury in the last round.
Auckland bounced back from their first defeat of the season to remain on track to take top seeding, after they got past Wellington 29-24 in the capital on Thursday night, handing the Lions their second loss on the bounce.
In the championship division, Waikato have secured top billing after their 71-28 demolition of Northland in Whangarei.
The 11-try romp continued the Mooloos’ stunning turnaround, going from a province-worst 10 straight losses to now six bonuspoint victories in succession.
Ironically, Northland’s bonuspoint sealing try late in the piece means they secured an away semifinal berth and ended any hope that Bay of Plenty had of catching them.
The Steamers had earlier been left to rue a 45-34 defeat to Otago in Dunedin on Wednesday night, with the visitors leading 20-14 at halftime before coughing up three intercept tries.
Otago and Hawke’s Bay will jostle for the other semifinal hosting rights, after the Magpies on Friday night came from 17-0 down against Manawatu in Napier to win 45-17.
Southland came close to ending their run of losses yesterday, only for Bay of Plenty’s Kane Leaupepe to scored under the sticks with seven minutes to go.
Southland have now lost 19 on the trot.
In the final match of the round, Otago handed hosting rights to the Magpies, when they failed to fire against Tasman in Dunedin, eventually losing the match 47-21.