Hawke’s Bay win but promotion to top tier uncertain
Hawke’s Bay shouldn’t have to wait long to know exactly what their Mitre 10 Cup championship triumph means.
Their 36-24 win against Northland in Napier last night ensures they are kings of the NPC’s second tier, but whether there is a premiership to be promoted to won’t be known until New Zealand Rugby reveal if they’re revamping the competition.
Regardless of the decision early next month, nobody could argue the Magpies aren’t worthy winners.
The Ranfurly Shield holders were the superior championship team all season and, to be fair, wouldn’t look out of place in the premiership final tonight.
Five years after last winning the championship section, they didn’t save their best for the final and were made to work for the silverware, which could potentially be theirs for keeps.
Inaccurate and over adventurous in the first half, they did not lead the side they beat 33-17 during the regular season until the 45th minute.
Tied 17-17 at the split, wing James Lowe’s second try of the night gave the Magpies the go-ahead score.
They did not look back in the six tries to four win.
It was the first of three blows in the space of 13 minutes, as midfielder Neria Fomai and captain Ash Dixon also dived over, blowing the Magpies out to a 36-17 lead with a shade over a quarter of the match to play.
Halfback Folau Fakatava was
again outstanding, sparking the Magpies with his electric running game and ultra-quick service at the ruck.
But he’s more than just a livewire on attack. It was his huge hit which led to the turnover in the lead-up to Fomai’s second try.
Fakatava then took a pass and split the Taniwha down the middle, before he made a fool of Highlanders teammate Scott Gregory, stepping him and offloading to Fomai.
Hawke’s Bay were also in a giving mood early, inviting the underdogs early chances to strike through reckless play inside their own 22.
Fullback Kurt Baker, pivot Lincoln McClutchie and No 8 Marino Mikaele-Tu’u were all guilty of being too adventurous and throwing poor passes, leading to a pair of Northland 5m scrums.
The Taniwha needed no invitation. Prop Luatangi Li powered over to put his side 7-0 in as many minutes.
Hawke’s Bay hit back through wing Jonah Lowe and Fomai, who was setup by a storming Solomone Funaki run, to put the hosts 12-7.
However, Fomai backed up his try by coughing up the restart and gifting the visitors another golden opportunity.