Semi-satisfied: One to come
Magpies make it all the way to the NPC final this weekend
AChase Tiatia hat-trick helped the Hawke’s Bay Magpies end their 47-year chase for an NPC final berth in Wellington on Saturday night.
They defeated the Lions 25-24 in the second semifinal at Sky Stadium to book a shot at their maiden national title against Taranaki in New Plymouth next Saturday afternoon.
It was Hawke’s Bay’s second win in Wellington over the number one seeds inside a fortnight, having taken the Ranfurly off them in the final round-robin game.
That makes four straight away wins for the Magpies, the first time they have achieved that since 2005.
Prior to kickoff, the Magpies were hit with two late injury scratchings, loose forward Marino Mikaele Tu’u and halfback Brad Weber, in what would have been his 50th game for the province.
That contributed to a scrappy start, although both teams struggled to deal with the swirling Sky Stadium wind early.
The Lions earned a couple of penalties at the breakdown and, while Aidan Morgan missed his first shot at goal, he converted his second to give Wellington a 14th-minute lead.
With their first genuine attacking
possession, the Magpies put their hosts under pressure and Brad Shields’ high tackle saw him receive a yellow card and Lincoln McClutchie tie the game with a penalty goal.
With Shields absent around the fringes, the Magpies ran a strike play
for Tiatia from an attacking lineout and the second five-eighths grabbed the first try of the game in the 22nd minute.
It was all Hawke’s Bay through the half-hour mark as Devan Flanders had a try disallowed for a forward pass before a seatbelt tackle from
Dom Bird allowed McClutchie to extend the lead to eight.
Wellington responded strongly but Tiatia scored his second try against the grain, sprinting 60 metres untouched after Folau Fakatava stripped the ball in a tackle.
McClutchie nailed a difficult sideline conversion just before the end of a half Hawke’s Bay dominated, despite having less possession and territory.
Wellington earned themselves a lifeline with a Billy Proctor try in the 47th minute and built some momentum at set pieces.
But it was Hawke’s Bay’s day as Tiatia wriggled through from close range for his hat-trick try seven minutes later.
Flanders and DuPlessis Kirifi traded penalties for holding on as the hour mark ticked by with both defences on top.
Ahead by three scores, Hawke’s Bay knew they only had to stay solid defensively to close the game out and both teams made several handling errors over the next 15 minutes. The Magpies’ discipline faltered towards the end as Wellington desperately attacked the tryline but it was too little, too late.
Sam Wye was yellow carded for slowing the ball down at a ruck with a minute to play, and Dominic Ropeti scored a consolation try just before the final siren.
Riley Higgins scored with time up to make it a one-point game but the margin did not tell the story of the game.