Cantabs flex their muscles again
The smile on the face of Canterbury captain Tim Bateman said it all. Order had been restored.
Less than a week after a shock 46-point thumping from Wellington, the defending Mitre 10 Cup Premiership champions returned to winning ways with a 41-28 triumph over hosts North Harbour at QBE Stadium on Saturday.
The victory, in what was a top-ofthe-table clash against a resurgent and previously unbeaten home team, was satisfying on two levels for Bateman’s side.
Not only was it a successful bounce back from their 60-14 drubbing in their capital last time out, the red and blacks had been forced to erase an 11-point halftime deficit to prevent their opponents from claiming top spot on the Premiership ladder.
After his side produced a dominant second half display, scoring four tries to power past Harbour, Bateman said the Wellington result had played a part in their motivation.
‘‘It was definitely a knock to our pride but for me it’s always about going back to processes, everything on the outside doesn’t really matter,’’ Bateman said.
‘‘People will talk a lot about pride and getting up. For me it’s not really rising to the occasion it’s actually about being able to sink back to training.’’
Both sides created chances in an open and entertaining first 40 minute but it was the hosts who executed in those moments with more precision, starting with a counter-attacking effort finished off by wing Matt Duffie in just the third minute.
Canterbury soon responded through first five-eighth Richie Mo’unga but Harbour were clearly feeling confident and Blues lock Gerard Cowley-Tuioti and centre Harrison Groundwater both dotted down before the break as their side headed for the sheds with a 21-10 advantage.
Clearly desperate to prevent two straight losses, though, Canterbury were simply too strong and too slick in the second half.
They needed just five minutes after the restart to take the lead, halfback Mitchell Drummond sniping over and centre Bateman scoring on the back of another strong scrummaging effort.
Josh McKay’s five-pointer pushed the buffer out as Canterbury took further control.
Drummond’s second effectively put the contest to bed, meaning it was too little to late for Harbour when Bryn Gatland put on an inchperfect cross-kick for Shaun Stevenson to go over eight minutes from fulltime.
‘‘We felt like our shape was creating heaps of opportunities in the first half, we just let them off the hook a couple of times and we were really disappointed with our defence,’’ Bateman said.
‘‘We pride ourselves on being dominant and that extra little bit of physicality.
‘‘We flicked that switch at halftime and came out really physical in the first 10-15 minutes of the second.
‘‘I said to the boys just before we came out, they’re one pass from breaking. We just all needed to stand up.’’
Canterbury took their lead at the head of the standings to seven points with the victory.
They have a Ranfurly Shield challenge next up against Waikato in eight days time.
‘‘The boys have got to be up that one,’’ Bateman said. for