Canty win ends Otago’s season
OTAGO have fallen just short of making the NPC quarterfinals after a narrow loss to Canterbury.
Needing a four-try bonuspoint victory to leapfrog Hawke’s Bay into fourth on the Odds conference ladder, Otago had three tries in the bank just before the hour mark as they led 21-15, but couldn’t finish the job against the resilient Cantabrians last night.
Otago led 14-12 at halftime after tries to James Lentjes and Josh Timu, and things were looking promising as replacement halfback Kieran McClea grabbed their third try of the night after 55 minutes in Dunedin.
However, Canterbury roared back with two tries of their own. The second was a real killer for Otago as Manase Mataele sparked and finished a 90-metre try through some poor tackle attempts by several Otago players.
Otago threw everything at Canterbury for the remainder of the game, but they couldn’t make the most of some excellent opportunities and some late scrum dominance.
Jona Nareki made a strong return for Otago after missing most of the campaign with an ankle injury. He carved up Braydon Ennor on the outside in one early break before popping up on the other side of the field to help set up James Lentjes’ try.
Looking fast and powerful, the wing could be in consideration for the All Blacks XV squad despite his lack of recent games.
Canterbury No 10 Fergus Burke also had a good game and Ennor scored his class on attack with a fine individual try, but it was at the scrum where the visitors really exerted some early pressure.
Big Tamaiti Williams, playing in the No 1 jersey, was a powerhouse at set-piece time and managed to get his sizeable frame around the field.
The big moment
Manasa Mataele’s long-range try in the 64th minute gave Canterbury the lead after trailing at halftime and summed up the difference between the two teams on the night.
The visitors were clinical when it mattered, while Otago made too many individual errors on defence and attack.
Match rating: 8/10
With Otago required to chase the four-try bonus point, it was no surprise that attack took priority over defence. It made for an entertaining spectacle as both sides made plenty of line breaks under the roof at Forsyth Barr Stadium.
There was also a nice moment as the Bell brothers, hookers George and Henry, faced each other in the second half.
Otago’s Henry even had the pleasure of running over his younger brother with one powerful surge.
The big picture
Canterbury will host a quarterfinal next weekend, with their opponent to be decided today. If Northland beat the winless Manawatā as expected, they will leapfrog Tasman on the Evens conference ladder to book a trip to Christchurch. However, if they lose that home fixture, the
Mako will play Canterbury.
Otago finished fifth in the Odds conference, meaning another season of what-ifs in the deep south.
MVP
Tamaiti Williams was strong at scrum time and prominent, particularly at the ruck. Otago lock Fabian Holland was also strong. However, the award goes to a veteran, Otago captain James Lentjes. He was everywhere.