Spirit wins again but work needed Farah Palmer Cup
MUST do better.
It is not what you want to read on your report card. But that sums up how Otago Spirit coach Scott Manson felt about his side’s 3822 win over North Harbour in Albany on Saturday.
The camp struggled with sickness leading into the game, so there were mitigating factors for the lacklustre effort.
It was also a dead rubber. The Spirit had already clinched top spot and direct entry into the semifinals in a fortnight.
‘‘Obviously, we’re happy with the result and scored quite few points,’’ Manson said.
‘‘That was good, and it was good to give some people some opportunities. And we had a period where we looked quite clinical and scored points quite easily.
‘‘But if we play like that against tougher opposition, we’re not going to win. It is pretty simple.’’
The set piece did not go well. Some of the tackles drifted too high and the defence leaked a few too many points.
That said, the Spirit is still unbeaten this season and is still scoring some quite superb tries.
Sheree Hume had a solid game at first five. Her kicking game was excellent.
The scores
Otago ...................................... 38 Cheyenne Cunningham 2, Kiana Wereta, Olivia Fowler, Keely Hill, Te Atawhai Campbell tries; Georgia Cormick 4 con
North Harbour ......................... 22 Hailey Beale, Ciara O’Connor, Louisa Tubailagi tries; Hayley Hutana 2 con, pen
Halftime: Otago 263.
The veteran was playing fullback but has to moved to pivot following the seasonending injury to Maia Joseph.
Halfback Georgia Cormick had another top performance. She has been a good addition to the Spirit this season.
Keely Hill carried strongly and got on the score sheet. Fellow midfielder Cheyenne Cunningham bagged a brace but got herself yellowcarded as well.
Cunningham’s first try came after 14 minutes when she got herself on the end of the chain.
Fullback Kiana Wereta added another when she ghosted through a rather large hole in the defence from 10m out.
Winger Olivia Fowler found herself in space. The defence had rushed up and she had an open run to the line to extend the lead further. And Hill finished off a nice team try to take the Spirit to a 263 lead by the break.
Hailey Beale crossed to cut the gap for North Harbour. But midway through the second half, the Spirit went the length of the field to score.
Cunningham made a nice carry during the move and was in support to crash over. Te Atawhai Campbell put the game out of reach when she barged over five minutes later.
The home side rallied with late tries to Ciara O’Connor and Louisa Tubailagi against a 14women Spirit side. Cunningham was in the bin at that stage.