Auckland triumph in Battle of the Bridge
Thu, 29 Jul 2010 12:29
On the ball: Chiefs scrumhalf Brendon Leonard
Auckland kicked off their NPC campaign in emphatic fashion, defeating North Harbour 36-14 at North Harbour Stadium on Sunday.
The game, generally referred to as the 'Battle of the Bridge' also saw Auckland reclaim the coveted Brian Purdy Memorial Trophy.
After a disappointing opening 20 minutes, which saw Auckland concede 14 unanswered points, they held the home side scoreless for the remainder of the match as they ran in four tries to secure a bonus point win in an impressive opening performance.
"Obviously Harbour first-up at home in their 25th Jubilee were always going to start well and we made it a bit easier for them," Auckland head coach Mark Anscombe said.
"Our discipline let us down and we were playing at the wrong end of the park. We allowed them to clock up unanswered 14 points but the boys hung in there and credit to them.
"At about the 25th to 30th minute mark we started exerting some sort of control and scored some points to go into half time ahead and with confidence knowing what we had to do in the second half."
The returning trio of Daniel Braid, Brent Ward and Ben Atiga were integral to Auckland's victory, with Braid and Ward both dotting down while Atiga was instrumental in setting up Chay Raiu's try.
Discarded Luke McAlister was one of the stand-out players for North Harbour.
* In other NPC season action this weekend, Waikato hung on for a narrow 13-10 win over Bay of Plenty at Waikato Stadium on Saturday - with out-of-favour All Black scrumhalf Brendon Leonard scoring the game's crucial try.
Bay of Plenty finished strongly, hoping to find a match-winning try against their Chiefs franchise partners.
But Leonard's terrific try just before half-time eventually proved to be the difference between the two sides as they held off a fast-finishing Steamers side.
Bay of Plenty centre Phil Burleigh had the chance to snatch a draw in the dying minutes, but his penalty attempt fell agonisingly short of the posts.
* In other results on Saturday, Counties-Manukau embarrassed Otago with a 29-13 win in Pukekohe. Earlier, Southland showed they will be a strength to be reckoned with this year with a convincing 37-23 win over Manawatu in Palmerston North.
* On Friday, a last-minute penalty goal earned Hawke's Bay a 23-23 away draw to defending champions Canterbury, whilst - on Thursday - Northland turned a half-time deficit into a shock 26-19 win over Taranaki.
All the NPC Round One scores and scorers:
North Harbour 14 Auckland 36
The scorers:
For North Harbour:
Try: Chamberlain
Pens: McAlister 3
For Auckland:
Tries: Raui, Braid, Ward, Thomas
Cons: Moeke, Berquist
Pens:
Moeke 3, Berquist
Wellington 20 Tasman 11
The scorers:
For Wellington:
Tries: Coles, Thrush, Savea
Con: Fili
Pen: Fili
For Tasman:
Try: Malneek
Pens: Alfed 2
Waikato 13 Bay of Plenty 10
The scorers:
For Waikato:
Try: Leonard
Con: Renata
Pen: Renata, Sweeney
For Bay of Plenty:
Try: Latimer
Con: Burleigh
Pen: Waenga
Counties-Manukau 29 Otago 13
The scorers:
For Counties-Manukau:
Tries: Tuala, 2, Piutau, Nanai-Williams
Cons: Cummins 3
Pen: Cummins
For Otago:
Try:
Small
Con: Dickson
Pens: Dickson 2
Southland 37 Manawatu 23
The scorers:
For Southland:
Tries: Wells, Dixon, Mackintosh, Cowan, Wilson
Cons: Robinson 3
Pens: Wilson 2
For Manawatu:
Tries: Smith, Parkes
Pens: Clare 3
Cons: Paku 2
Canterbury 23 Hawke's Bay 23
The scorers:
For Canterbury:
Tries: Maitland, Umaga-Marshall
Cons: Slade 2
Pens: Slade 3
For Hawkes Bay:
Try: Elliot
Pens: Kirkpatrick 3, Horrell 3
Northland 26 Taranaki 19
The scorers:
For Northland:
Tries: Budd,
S Munro, L Munro
Con: L Munro
Pens: L Munro 3
For Taranaki:
Try: Walker
Con: Ripia
Pens: Ripia 4
* For all the team line-ups, CLICK HERE!
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