Mainlanders’ first win a 10-try thriller
Matatā and the Blues traded blows yesterday afternoon at Forsyth Barr Stadium, but it was the South Islanders who narrowly claimed their first Super Rugby Aupiki win.
Steered around the field by first-five Rosie Kelly, Matatā scored four first-half tries on their way to a 33-31 win, finally getting on the board after suffering three defeats in the inaugural season in 2022.
Ruahei Demant sent a matchtying conversion wide to the left after Sophie Fisher scored after the hooter to pull the Blues within two points as the game finished in frenetic fashion.
Kendra Reynolds put Matatā in front after just six minutes, when the Blues couldn’t fully recover the first of several clever kicks Kelly put in behind.
Captain Alana Bremner then doubled their lead after 18 minutes, holding off two tacklers as she completed a solo run from 22 metres out.
It then became 19-0 when Kelly found left winger Martha Mataele with a pinpoint kick, exposing the Blues’ defenders’ tendency to rush up and leave space on the edge.
The visitors hit back for the first time on the half-hour mark when captain Demant went close, setting hooker Grace Gago up to crash over, but Matatā responded immediately through halfback Di Hiini.
Jaymie Kolose scored the first of her two tries just before the break, holding off Mataele after
being freed by Kiritapu Demant down the left.
The second came 11 minutes into the second half, just after Bremner was sent to the sin-bin for entering a ruck from the side.
In between, Matatā had scored their fifth through flanker Lucy Jenkins, which meant they had a buffer, and did not concede points while their captain was off the field.
Damage was done with 17 minutes on the clock when Kiwi Ferns league international Katelyn Vaha’akolo pulled off an intercept and ran 25 metres to score, with the gap closing only to seven points as Ruahei Demant missed the conversion.
The Blues spent the final five minutes on attack and while they got the try they were after, Demant’s conversion was wide.
Demant’s Black Ferns teammate Renee Holmes nailed four of her five conversions and the extra two points ultimately made all the difference.
The big moment
Demant had a chance to level the scores right at the death, but sent her kick wide to the left.
Match rating: 7/10
After a one-sided first-up clash between Chiefs Manawa and Hurricanes Poua, this was a thriller, though some of the set pieces left a lot to be desired.
MVP
Rosie Kelly’s kicking game was a key feature as Matatā built their early lead and she had a strong outing generally for the winning team.
The big picture
With a maiden win under their belts, Matatā will be primed to kick on next week, when they host first-round losers Hurricanes Poua in Christchurch, while the Blues head home to Auckland to host Chiefs Manawa, who looked ominous in their big win in Levin.