Bags all points as Canty power to final
guilty of giving up five penalties in the opening quarter of an hour and fortunate not to have found themselves down 9-0.
That was because Wharenui Hawera – starting at No 10 with talisman Kaleb Trask ruled out – missed two of his three shots at goal, from mid-range, in front. And when Burke then slotted two easy ones, it was Canterbury who instead had their noses in front.
The home side then rumbled into good attacking spots and while the Steamers tackled manfully, the pressure eventually told in the 34th minute when a closerange scrum had Willi Heinz run shortside and feed Burke, who dummied and went over in the corner.
The visitors frustration only amplified in the first half a dozen minutes of the second stanza, when Tamaiti Williams came up with two big steals near his own line, though Bay of Plenty made it third time lucky when Naitoa Ah Kuoi burrowed over in the 52nd minute, and all of a sudden it was a one-point game.
However, then came the brilliance of Poihipi – who Canterbury will cross their fingers for after he then left the field clutching his abdomen – and while the
Steamers had an imediate chance to hit back, a Tom Christie ripped ball near the goal-line snuffed it out once more.
The big moment
Burke’s second try. Nearing the hour mark, after the Steamers had not long prior closed to within one point, Poihipi’s individual brilliance set up one of the scores of the season and kicked Canterbury back out to an eight-point advantage.
MVP
Openside flanker Christie was highly impressive, making a whopping 27 tackles – eight more than any other player – and coming up with some huge plays when his team were on their own line, while No 10 Burke was again superb in running the cutter and scoring all the victor’s points, going 100% off the tee.
Match rating: 7/10
A decent battle between two quality sides, if not punctuated by plenty of Ben O’Keeffe’s whistle, as both teams went hammer and tongs at the breakdown.
The big picture
Canterbury will hostin-form Wellington in the decider this Saturday night. It’s the red-andblacks’ first final since 2018, and first home one since 2017.