Atiga sneaks late winner
Sat, 22 Mar 2008 08:39
Over: Danny Lee opens the scoring
Ben Atiga kicked a penalty in the 80th minute to secure a fortuitous 17-14 win over the Stormers in their Super 14 Round Six match at Eden Park, Auckland, on Saturday.
In a game of one try each, that late kick was the only difference on the scoreboard.
Even Blues captain Troy Flavell admitted that his team had not played to their true potential, while the Stormers will be asking questions about inconsistent calls from the match officials.
In the end a draw might have been a more accurate reflection of a game in which both teams had their chances, but wasted far more opportunities than what they took.
The Blues were certainly more secure in the set pieces and often had the Stormers' scrum under pressure.
However, the late withdrawal of Nick Evans - who failed to recover from a bad head knock in a collision with teammate Nick Williams in the loss to the Western Force last week - had a disruptive influence on the Blues backline.
Isaia Toeava, who took over in the No.10 jersey, does not posses the sound kicking game of Evans and often the Blues failed to find secure field positions in crucial stage - opting more to carry the ball.
The Stormers got off to a flyer, with an early line-out steal turning into a penalty as Troy Flavell went offside. Peter Grant slotted an easy penalty to make it 3-0 to the visitors.
There were some early opportunities for the Blues as well, but most of their attempts at speeding up the game were undone by poor handling.
The Blues opened their account in the 10th minute, when they countered from a poor kick downfield by the Stormers, who made matters worse for themselves with some ordinary tackling, and Danny Lee sprinted over for the first try. The conversion attempt was wide of the mark.
Two minutes later the Stormers were back in front - another Grant penalty as the Blues went offside again.
The game then settled into a pattern of cut-and-thrust for both sides, with some half breaks, but nothing decisive.
It was not until the 24th minute that the scoreboard changed, with Ben Atiga kicking a penalty to regain the lead for his team as the Stormers were nailed for offside.
And the Australian referee, Paul Marks, continued to whistle the same tune as the Stormers were repeatedly penalised at the breakdown - with Atiga slotting another four minutes later for an 11-6 lead.
Marks, who seemed very trigger happy whenever there was a ruck, then yellow carded Stormers flank Francois Louw for a deliberate infringement - a questionable call at best.
The end result was another three points to the Blues through Atiga's third penalty and a 14-6 lead.
It was soon very obvious how much leeway the Aussie match official was allowing the Blues at the breakdown when the Stormers enjoyed a period of considerable pressure, with no free kicks or penalty for the same offences that saw Louw end up in the sin bin.
In some countries they call that cheating, in the world of Australasian referees it is 'human error'.
The score stayed unchanged till half-time, as the Stormers managed to hold on despite being a man down.
The early stages of the second half saw both teams enjoy a considerable period with ball in hand and while both teams looked threatening, there was always that last pass or desperate tackle that stopped the scoring opportunity.
It was not till the 54th minute before the scoreboard changed - a try to Stormers fullback Conrad Jantjes.
It started from a scrum, with the Stormers first going right, then bringing it back through the phases before a neat inside flip-pass from All Black Tony Brown - who had made his appearance on the field for the Stormers just a minute before - putting Jantjes over.
The conversion drifted wide, but at 14-11 the Stormers were very much still in with a chance of a vital win.
That gave the Stormers the belief that they could actually win and for the next 10 minutes they matched the Blues ruck for ruck, line-out for line-out and scrum for scrum.
Both teams had their moments, but the defence held strong.
The referee's influence were soon felt again, as he made a couple of offside calls against the Stormers - one of which gave Ben Atiga a shot at goal from 35 metres out. However, his attempt hit the upright and the Stormers scrambled to clear their lines.
The match officials' reluctance to act against the Blues, regardless of what the offence, became even more apparent when only a penalty was awarded, despite some blatant punching by Kurtis Haiu - an offence that almost always result in a card and citing when a South African player is involved.
However, Grant made the Blues pay for their tendency towards violent retaliation when he kicked the 72nd minute penalty to level the scores.
Three minutes later Atiga had another shot at goal when the referee ruled that the Stormers went offside - punching and offside now warranting the same punishment in his book - but Atiga hooked it past the left upright, leaving the scores level.
There was another chance for the Blues with just over a minute left, as the Stormers got nailed for offside again. This time Atiga slotted it and, as it turned out, it was the match-winning kick.
The Blues were clearly relieved at getting the win, but the Stormers would have felt they deserved more than just a bonus point for losing by less than seven points.
Man of the match: There were a number of standout players on the Stormers side - Schalk Burger being busy as usual, Luke Watson playing better at No.8 every week and captain Jean de Villiers solid on defence. Blues captain Troy Flavell was his aggressive self, Isaia Toeava had his moments at flyhalf after coming in as a late replacement for Nick Evans, and Nick Williams carried the ball strongly as usual. However, our award goes to Blues flank Jerome Kaino for a allround performance of strong defence and a tireless workrate at the breakdown.
Moment of the match: There is no doubt that this goes to Ben Atiga's match-winning kick in the 80th minute - coming after he had missed an equally crucial kick five minutes earlier.
Villain of the match: Stormers flank Francois Louw may have been yellow carded, but we are making a joint award to both the referee Paul Marks and his touch judge Brett Bowden - who decided that punching is not an offence worthy of being carded - keeping in mind that Louw was sin-binned for hands in sat a ruck. Makes sense, doesn't it?
The scorers:
For the Blues:
Try: Lee
Pens: Atiga 4
For the Stormers:
Try: Jantjes
Pens: Grant 3
Yellow card: Francois Louw (Stormers, 30 - professional foul, deliberate infringement at the ruck)
Teams:
Blues: 15 George Pisi, 14 Anthony Tuitavake, 13 Ben Atiga, 12 Benson Stanley, 11 Rudi Wulf, 10 Isaia Toeava, 9 Danny Lee, 8 Nick Williams, 7 Daniel Braid, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Troy Flavell (captain), 4 Kurtis Haiu, 3 John Afoa, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Nick White.
Replacements: 16 Tom McCartney, 17 Tony Woodcock, 18 Bryn Evans, 19 Justin Collins, 20 Taniela Moa, 21 Jamie Helleur, 22 Joe Rokocoko.
Stormers: 15 Conrad Jantjes, 14 Tonderai Chavhanga, 13 Gcobani Bobo, 12 Jean De Villiers (captain), 11 Sireli Naqelevuki, 10 Peter Grant, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Luke Watson, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Ross Skeate, 4 Adriaan Fondse, 3 Brian Mujati, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 JD Moller.
Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie, 17
Brok Harris, 18 Andries Bekker, 19 Robbie Diack, 20 Conrad Hoffmann, 21 Gio Aplon, 22 Tony Brown.
Referee: Paul Marks (Australia)
Touch judges: Brett Bowden (Australia), Vinny Munro (New Zealand)
TMO: Ben Skeen
