Turbos’ season ends early after Mclean Park debacle

I was fortunate in being half-blinded by the Sun, that it obscured much of the embarrassment of the second half.

A venerable Manawatu¯ gent in his mid 80s sauntered up on Monday and quietly said to me: ‘‘I’m in mourning.

‘‘There was no need to ask. Like all disconsolate Turbos’ fans, he was in a dark head space after what can only be described as a humiliating 36-31 nosedive at Napier that ended Manawatu¯ ’s season at least a week early.

Now we have another 10 months to stew over it, after another fifth place in the Championship, with the same four wins, six losses – 35 tries scored, 40 conceded.

Many green-clad loyalists who trekked to Mclean Park would have also found the benzene to motor to Tauranga for a semifinal. You don’t lose from 17-0 up after the drinks break against a team that had been dog tucker all year and which Manawatu¯ had

whacked in pre-season.

I was fortunate in being halfblinded by the Sun in the Graeme Lowe Stand, that it obscured much of the embarrassment of the second half. This time it killed off the Turbos’ season almost like no other. The drive back to Palmy was excruciating. Saddle Rd seemed twice as tortuous – and torturous.

Like the earlier losses to Bay of Plenty and Counties Manukau, most was self-inflicted, allowing the Magpies to score five tries in 16 minutes amid a cluster of baffling on-field decisions.

It wasn’t Manawatu¯ ’s game plan to suicidally truck the ball out of their 22, when they should have kicked clear with the wind and with the sun in the Magpies’ eyes. Two vital lineout throws in prime positions went up in smoke.

Two Hawke’s Bay tries would have been scrubbed had they gone to the video. Ref Cam Stone should never have heeded the word of Hawke’s Bay flag marshals – Manawatu¯ has a lot of history there and it’s all been bad.

Unforgivably, Stone did not rule a deliberate knock-on, which ended the game. Even so, in that final phase, the Turbos should never have risked going wide because the forwards would have ploughed over.

Admirably, Stone did see red. Magpies puncher Tony Lamborn seemed psyched to the bulging eyeballs and his exit alone would have seen the Turbos home in a doddle.

But it was cancelled by Turbos wing Newton Tudreu, whose dash in with a knee to the head was idiotic, brainless even, worse than Chresten Davis’ flykick that missed against Waikato in 1994, but which also got him dispatched.

There is no place in brawls for wings and referees. Tudreu does weird things on the field and never shows such aggression in defence. Both men deserve to go for a skate.

The camera caught a team-mate and Tudreu seeming to make light of it on the bench. And yet his mad moment essentially cost Manawatu¯ the game, just as his his daft infield pass contributed to the demise against Counties.

Good on the ref for pinging Magpies captain Gareth Evans for heaving the ball at Harrison Brewer to inflame the riot. When Evans scored, he did the same at Tim Cadwallader.

When down to six backs for 46 minutes, the Turbos couldn’t do what the All Blacks did when Sonny Bill was redded – bring on another back to protect the stockade and sub off a forward. Hawke’s Bay thus had an overlap every darned time.

With Otere Black injured, there were only two back reserves. Jason Emery was already on for the injured Willy Ambaka and halfback Jamie Booth, a tyro in the first half, declared himself empty of gas at halftime, his vision blurring.

Even so, conceding 31 straight points in 17 minutes split my head. Lewis Marshall’s legs looked gone as he trucked across field and not until the 73rd minute could Booth be resuscitated.

Going back two weeks, I blame Canterbury – for losing to Taranaki. Once Taranaki won the silly Ranfurly Shield, coach Jeremy Cotter was duty-bound to play his stormtroopers there, most of whom afterwards needed time in the spelling paddock, especially superstar lock Jackson Hemopo.

Worse, the challenge was in midweek in the three-day turnaround week. Many have suggested the big guns should have started at Napier, but the dirttrackers had got 17-0 ahead and Hemopo, the team’s colossus, was in no fit state to start.

When he was summoned, the Turbos were down 31-17 and he played a big part in the comeback.

Meanwhile, Taranaki fielded something resembling a Taranaki team against North Harbour on Sunday. Against Manawatu¯ , it was a Tara-fiji team and importing players from everywhere is counter to what the NPC is about – growing your home game. Colin Cooper has tried to build a virtual Super team up there for years.

If Manawatu¯ did that, they would soon lose home support. The Turbos might not win a lot, but they fling the ball about, they are essentially Manawatu¯ ’s and they produce All Blacks and Super players. It’s just that Sunday’s loss felt more gutting than any other.