Magpies undone by a flying wing
A stunning first-half hat-trick to wing Jared Page has guided North Harbour to a commanding 46-10 win over Hawke’s Bay and off the bottom of the Mitre 10 Cup Premiership table.
Six days after their shock upset of defending champions Tasman, Harbour gave their home fans more reason to cheer, leapfrogging Bay of Plenty in the standings thanks to a superb seven-try display.
They opened their account in the 12th minute when a Jacob Pierce turnover and some good quick ball movement then had Page producing a slick finish down the right touchline.
Hawke’s Bay hit back five minutes later when Marino Mikaele-Tu’u powered over from a lineout.
While Harbour captain Dillon Hunt responded in turn with his own five- pointer in similar fashion, a penalty from Magpies halfback Connor McLeod tied things up at the half-hour.
But a double burst of Page magic in the 33rd and 37th minutes shifted the momentum.
And a few minutes before the break he intercepted a Kurt Baker pass for another brilliant half-field try to bring up his hat
trick, and Harbour’s bonus point.
Down 22- 10 at halftime, the Magpies had further trouble early in the second spell thanks to a harsh yellow card to prop Jason Long.
Hawke’s Bay managed to concede just three points during their time down to 14 men, but just after the hour-mark came the killer blow when Harbour No 8 Murphy Taramai latched on to a loose ball and strolled over.
Gatland’s influence then came to the fore in the final quarter. A brilliant try-saving tackle on a flying Lincoln McClutchie was followed by a huge touch-finder, then soon after he had a try as well, crashing over under the bar.
Then, in the final stages, the classy No 10 sent a pinpoint crosskick to wing Tomas Aoake, who finished in brilliant acrobatic style to put a real exclamation mark on the Harbour humdinger.