South prevails but little in game
WELLINGTON: Winger Will Jordan scored his second try of the game five minutes into extra time to give the South a 3835 victory over the North in New Zealand’s first interisland match since 2012 on Saturday.
Nepo Laulala, Jordie Barrett and Tyrel Lomax also scored tries for the South, which had taken a 3121 lead midway through the second half only to squander the biggest advantage of the match.
Centre Rieko Ioane scored two tries for the North while Damien McKenzie, Aaron Smith and Ash Dixon also crossed in the match between composite sides representing the country's two main islands.
The game was once a regular fixture on the New Zealand rugby calendar but had only been played twice since 1986 before Saturday’s game at Sky Styadium
All Blacks coach Ian Foster said before the game that it would probably have little impact on his final selections.
Several players, however, continued their strong form from Super Rugby Aotearoa, with Auckland Blues No 8 Hoskins Sotutu making a massive impression after almost two months out due to a knee injury.
The 22yearold produced several important tackles, was strong with the ball in hand and secured turnovers at the breakdown and proved he could step into the spot vacated by Kieran Read after last year’s World Cup.
Ioane’s elder brother, Akira, and Blues winger Caleb
Clarke also impressed.
The match had already been postponed once and moved to Wellington from Auckland because of Covid19 restrictions. It was also played without a crowd.