Taranaki geared for 'Hurricanes trial'
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:09
Taranaki's rugby quarterfinal hopes were all but dead and buried until Northland kicked a last-minute penalty goal on Sunday to knock Auckland out of the Air New Zealand Cup (NZ) finals and open the way for the amber and blacks.
But it's no easy road for Taranaki - a showdown with top qualifier Wellington in Wellington on Saturday.
The Wellington boys are sure to dub the match as a Hurricanes trial as the 'Naki faithful will know what has happened in these matches in recent years - the boys from the capital flog Taranaki to prove they deserve the bulk of the spots in the Hurricanes outfit for Super rugby.
But this year it could be different.
The Taranaki players had resigned themselves last Saturday night to watching the play-offs from their couches. Suddenly they've been given a lifeline and it's up to them to grab it.
This is a chance to redeem themselves for an inconsistent season and win back some of their fans.
Not that they will be short of support in Wellington. Taranaki showed against Waikato it can up the tempo and play attractive, mistake-free rugby - well, for 50 minutes at least. The last 30 weren't so hot and that's an area the players will look to improve on.
Taranaki has nothing to lose. Everyone is tipping Wellington to go all the way and claim the title.
But anything is possible - just look at the results from the weekend. You can't win a championship title if you don't make the play-offs. Auckland, Otago and other teams which missed out would vouch for that.
Courtesy of the Taranaki Daily News
