Preview: Air NZ Cup, Round Five
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:33
There will be added excitement on New Zealand's domestic rugby scene this week, with a mouthwatering top-of-the-table Air NZ Cup clash on the menu.
All eyes will of course be on the Westpac Stadium in Wellington, where the table-topping Lions will be looking to repel second-placed Bay of Plenty.
The Lions and the Steamers are the only two unbeaten teams left in the competition, a fact that will raise the rivalry even further.
The Ranfurly Shield will be resting safely in Auckland's trophy cabinet this week, and will remain there for at least another week as they travel to Hamilton to face Waikato in a tricky tie.
Let's take a closer look at the awaiting fixtures of Round Five.
Thursday, August 28:
Southland v Counties Manukau
Rugby Park, Invercargill, 19.05 (07.05 GMT)
The Stags take on the Steelers in the opening match of the round, and the feeling is clear in Invercargill that it is time for the home side to deliver.
Southland thus far have the curious record of winning both their away games (to Manawatu and Hawke's Bay), and losing both their home games (to Otago and Wellington) after the first four rounds of competition.
However, coach Simon Culhane feels that failure to win at home for the first time this season could be harmful to the team's support base.
"We want to make it as difficult as possible for teams to come down and get their points in Invercargill," Culhane told Yahoo!Xtra.
"The crowds haven't been too bad. We have only had two home games and we are yet to register a win. So we need to win shortly down here or we may lose a bit of support.
"They (Counties Manukau) are very dangerous. They will be wounded. But they have game-breakers all around the park in their squad.
"We are just on the edges of the top-eight so the points on offer this round are vital for us. So that is our focus."
"Counties will get the utmost respect from us and we will have to bring our A-game to come away with the competition points."
The Steelers currently occupy bottom of the log standings, and are in desperate need of inspiration to resuscitate their season.
Their only win came in the opening round of the competition - a shock win over Auckland - but since then they were heavily beaten by Bay of Plenty and Wellington.
Prediction: The Stags will be desperate to please their home fans this time round, and have a great opportunity to do so against the demoralised Steelers. Southland to win by 10 or more points.
Teams:
Southland: 15 Mark Wells, 14 Matt Saunders, 13 Willie Rickards, 12 Kendrick Lynn, 11 Jason Kawau, 10 Robbie Robinson, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Hua Tamariki, 7 Tim Boys, 6 John Hardie, 5 Hoani Macdonald, 4 Daniel Ramsay, 3 Chris King, 2 David Hall, 1 Jamie
Mackintosh.
Replacements: 16 Matt Holloway, 17 Fai Mika, 18 Josh Bekhuis, 19 Dion Bates, 20 Dane Shelford, 21 Blair Stewart, 22 Willie Rickards/Alesana Muliaina.
Counties Manukau: 15 Siale Piutau, 14 Lelia Masaga, 13 Romi Ropati, 12 Niva Ta'auso, 11 David Raikuna, 10 Tanner Vili, 9 Samisoni Fisilau, 8 Gary Saifoloi, 7 DJ Forbes, 6 Fritz Lee, 5 Andrew Van der Heijden (captain), 4 Jamie Chipman, 3 Jayden Murch, 2 Lance Po-Ching, 1 Simon Lemalu.
Replacements: 16 Rob Katu, 17 Eugene Beneke, 18 Rupeni Nasiga, 19 Viliame Fihaki, 20 Kevin Farrell, 21 Kane Hancy, 22 Tim Nanai-Williams.
Referee: Chris Pollock
Television match official: Todd Pullar
Friday, August 29:
Taranaki v Northland
Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth, 19.35 (07.35 GMT)
Taranaki host Northland in Round Five of the Air NZ Cup as they look to shed their poor performances to date.
The amber and blacks currently hang dangerously close to the bottom of the log standings, with only points difference separating them from the last-placed Counties Manukau.
The main focus for them will be their accuracy, after they dominated large parts of the match against Canterbury last weekend, but still ended the match scoreless.
Visitors Northland find themselves in tenth position on the table, but like Taranaki, have only recorded one win thus far in the competition.
Northland's senior players will have to put their hands up this week and take some pressure off flyhalf David Holwill, who scored all 10 points in last Friday's 10-15 loss to Bay of Plenty.
If history is any indicator of how this clash will unfold, we can expect a humdinger, considering the narrow 22-20 win Taranaki scored last time round the teams met in 2007.
Prediction: If Taranaki can summon the same effort they displayed against Canterbury and add a touch of composure they will surprise a few teams this year, starting on Friday. Taranaki to win by seven points.
Teams:
Taranaki: 15 Aselemo Malo, 14 Paul Perez, 13 Jonathan Spratt, 12 Jayden Hayward, 11 Shayne Austin, 10 Willie Ripia, 9 Brett Goodin, 8 Taiasina Tuifua, 7 Scott Waldrom, 6 Nemia Soqeta, 5 Jason Eaton, 4 Craig Clarke, 3 Hamish Mitchell, 2 Laurence Corlett, 1 Tony Penn (captain).
Replacements: 16 James Annabell, 17 Shane Cleaver, 18 Tom Ryder, 19 Chris Walker, 20 Brendan Hiini, 21 Corey Niwa, 22 Jack Cameron.
Northland: 15 Jared Payne, 14 Rene Ranger, 13 Aden Dewes, 12 Leo Taliu, 11 Fetu'u Vanikolo, 10 David Holwell, 9 James Rodley, 8 Blair Urlich, 7 Hamish Paterson, 6 Justin Collins (captain), 5 Martin Veale, 4 Daniel Goodwin, 3 Bronson Murray, 2 Tyler Ashworth, 1 Tevita Mailau.
Replacements: 16 Francis Smith, 17 Justin Davies, 18 Roy Griffin, 19 John Cocker, 20 Brenton Helleur, 21 Ashley Moeke, 22 Mike Davis.
Referee: Garratt Williamson
Television match official: Brent Murray
Otago v Hawke's Bay
Carisbrook, Dunedin, 19.35 (07.35 GMT)
Otago have made a bright start to this year's Air NZ Cup, and are looking in good shape in fourth place on the standings at this early stage of the season.
The team have of course had to rebuild extensively over the past two years, having lost players of the calibre of All Blacks Nick Evans, Clarke Dermody, Anton Oliver and Carl Hayman in recent times.
But Otago seem to be coping just fine, as a new generation looks to make its mark, and a 13-20 home loss to Canterbury has been the only blotch on their copybook thus far.
They are boosted this week by the return of All Black flank Adam Thomson, who will rejoin captain Craig Newby and No.8 Steven Setephano in an all-Super 14 back row for the clash against Hawke's Bay.
The visitors have enjoyed a reasonably good start to the campaign themselves, and sit just below Otago in fifth spot, despite their record showing two losses and two wins.
But Hawke's Bay should not be underestimated, as they struck a rich vein of form last Saturday to condemn the Tasman Makos to a massive 6-41 defeat in Blenheim.
If the Magpies can reproduce that kind of form in the House of Pain, then Otago will have more than their fair share of problems.
Prediction: On paper the match could be very evenly contested, but we expect Otago to build on their current run of form, especially with a strong looking team and bench at home. Otago to win by 12.
Teams:
Otago: 15 Glen Horton, 14 Karne Hesketh/Lucky Mulipola, 13 Brett Mather, 12 Aaron
Bancroft, 11 Ben Smith, 10 Chris Noakes, 9 Sean Romans, 8 Steven Setephano, 7 Craig Newby (captain), 6 Adam Thomson, 5 Tom Donnelly, 4 Ross Kennedy, 3 Ben Nolan, 2 Peter Mirrielees, 1 Keith Cameron.
Replacements: 16 Jason MacDonald, 17 Jed Vercoe, 18 Paul Grant, 19 Seko Qaraniqio, 20 Toby Morland, 21 Daniel Bowden, 22 Lucky Mulipola/Casey Stone.
Hawke's Bay: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Jason Kupa, 13 Jason Shoemark, 12 Sam Giddens, 11 Zac Guildford, 10 Matt Berquist, 9 Danny Lee (captain), 8 George Naoupu, 7 Karl Lowe, 6 Michael Johnson, 5 Bryn Evans, 4 Matt Egan, 3 Anthony Perenise, 2 Hikawera Elliot, 1 Faka'anaua Taumalolo.
Replacements: 16 Ash Dixon, 17 Josh Keys, 18 Johan Snyman, 19 Adam Bradey, 20 Chris Eaton, 21 Richard Buckman, 22 Mark Jackman.
Referee: Keith Brown
Television match official: Chris Pollock
Saturday, August 30:
Wellington v Bay of Plenty
Westpac Stadium, Wellington, 14.35 (02.35 GMT)
The Lions will claim the home advantage in this early-season joust for supremacy, but both teams will be desperate to cling to their unbeaten status.
From that point of view, there will be more riding on the result than just the log points - one team will become the standout leader in the race for the Cup.
The Lions have been in terrific form thus far in the competition, and a points differential of +103 shows that they have been free-scoring. Their defence has also been on top more often than not, having conceded more than seven points in only one match so far - the 30-27 win over North Harbour in Round Two.
But the Steamers have been no slouches either. They are the second highest scorers in the competition at this stage behind Wellington (joint second with Hawke's Bay).
It is also no surprise that both these teams possess the leading try-scorers in the competition, with the Steamers' Colin Bourke and Lions wing Hosea Gear leading the charts with four scores each.
Bay of Plenty coach Kevin Schuler looked ahead to the clash with interest.
"They can score from anywhere on the park, either through their pace or their power," Schuler told NZPA.
"They have a lot of good players and they back themselves.
The coach also considered a tough series of matches coming up in the next few weeks for the Steamers, who will face Otago, Auckland and Canterbury after their clash against the Lions.
"Traditionally we are expected to at least be competitive against those teams and we are really looking forward to testing ourselves against the Super 14 base sides," he said.
"We'll know more after this weekend - and more again in another month - where we are at."
Prediction: Bay of Plenty have been excellent thus far, but they will run out of, well, steam this weekend against a powerful Lions outfit. Home ground advantage will also help Wellington to win the match by at least 10 points.
Teams:
Wellington: 15 Cory Jane, 14 Tu Umaga-Marshall, 13 Tamati Ellison, 12 Tane Tu'ipulotu, 11 Hosea Gear, 10 Piri Weepu (captain), 9 Alby Mathewson, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Serge Lilo, 6 Victor Vito, 5 Api Naikatini, 4 Ross Filipo, 3 Tim Fairbrother, 2 Ged Robinson, 1 John Schwalger.
Replacements: 16 Eugene Smith, 17 Neemia Tialata, 18 Scott Fuglistaller, 19 Chris Masoe, 20 Kaipati Gaualofa, 21 Michael Hobbs, 22 Buxton Popoalii.
Bay of Plenty: 15 Zar Lawrence, 14 Lance MacDonald, 13 Cory Aporo, 12 Nigel Hunt, 11 Toby Arnold, 10 Mike Delany, 9 Jamie Nutbrown, 8 Colin Bourke, 7 Tanerau Latimer (captain), 6 Solomon King, 5 John Moore, 4 Culum Retallick, 3 James McGougan, 2 John Pareanga, 1 Joe Savage.
Replacements: 16 Dean Elmiger, 17 Arden David-Perrot, 18 Luke Braid, 19 Josh Hall, 20 Kelly Haimona, 21Teu Nafe, 22 AN Other.
Referee: Vinny Munro
Television match official: Garratt Williamson
Manawatu v North Harbour
FMG Stadium, Palmerston North, 17.30 (05.30 GMT)
Two teams languishing near the wrong end of the table get the chance to up their points tally and move to the safety of the upper half of the log standings, when Manawatu take on North Harbour in Palmerston North on Saturday.
Manawatu will be hoping to earn their first win of the season at home, after coming so close against Waikato in Round Three's 38-all draw.
Unfortunately the momentum is not with the home side after their 3-25 Ranfurly Shield reverse last week at the hands of Auckland, and the team will have to rediscover the grit they displayed in their shock win over Canterbury on the opening day of the season if they are to register a win at the FMG Stadium.
Fortunately for them, visitors North Harbour are in a similar funk, with only bonus points keeping them afloat at this stage.
But a massive mental stumbling block for the home side is the fact that they have never won a competitive match against North Harbour.
And with the lack of Super quality in their squad, they seem unlikely to do that now against the underperforming Harbour.
Prediction: Manawatu will once again be outdone by the superior All Black firepower that North Harbour possess. North Harbour to win by 15.
Teams:
Manawatu: TBC
North Harbour: TBC
Referee: Josh Noonan
Television match official: Mike Fraser
Waikato v Auckland
Waikato Stadium, Hamilton, 19.35 (07.35
GMT)
The Mooloo men have arguably been the disappointment of the season thus far, having failed to record a single win after four rounds of competition.
Twelfth spot in the table is not good enough for the Hamilton faithful, and the team will have to put up a brave fight against Auckland this weekend if they are to win back their fans.
Auckland are of course fresh from a Ranfurly Shield defence against Manawatu, and will be cock-a-hoop going into this match against a Waikato side struggling for results.
However, both sides will have the services of some of their All Black players, which should even up the contest.
Waikato will be looking to senior players such as Stephen Donald, Sione Lauaki and captain Liam Messam to gain the ascendancy over their provincial rivals.
In turn, Auckland will be hoping that Isaia Toeava, Ben Atiga, Daniel Braid, and Anthony Boruc can level the playing fields in this crunch clash.
It has been four years since the teams last met at Waikato Stadium. That match in 2004 saw Waikato beat Auckland by a record margin of 59-11 - the most points Waikato ever recorded against Auckland.
Prediction: History could well repeat itself if the Mooloo men manage to wake from their slumber. They certainly have the players to do it. Waikato to win a close one by five points.
Teams:
Waikato: 15 Sosene Anesi, 14 Tim Mikkelson, 13 Jackson Willison, 12 Callum Bruce, 11 Henry Speight, 10 Stephen Donald, 9 Malcolm Barnes, 8 Sione Lauaki, 7 Tom Harding, 6 Liam Messam (captain), 5 Kevin O’Neill, 4 Toby Lynn, 3 Toby Smith, 2 Vern Kamo, 1 Hikairo Forbes.
Replacements: 16 Ole Avei, 17 Josh Hohneck, 18 Kent Fife, 19 Faifili Levave, 20 Josh Sutherland, 21 Dwayne Sweeney, 22 James Kamana.
Auckland: 15 Lachie Munro, 14 Simon Munro, 13 Ben Atiga (captain), 12 Benson
Stanley, 11 Joe Rokocoko, 10 Isaia Toeava, 9 Taniela Moa, 8 Peter Saili, 7 Daniel Braid, 6 Kurtis Haiu, 5 Jay Williams, 4 Chris Lowrey, 3 John Afoa, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Nick White.
Replacements: 16 Tom McCartney, 17 Paea Fa'anunu, 18 Dean Budd, 19 Onosa'i Auva'a, 20 Grayson Hart, 21 Jamie Helleur, 22 Winston Stanley.
Referee: Steve Walsh
Television match official: Ben Skeen
Sunday, August 31:
Canterbury v Tasman
AMI Stadium, Christchurch, 14.35 (02.35 GMT)
Tasman might get the chop next year, but that hasn't stopped them from performing well in the initial stages of this year's Air NZ Cup.
Wins over Taranaki and Waikato have reflected well on the Makos, and things could have been really rosy had they not dropped a heartbreaker to Bay of Plenty in the first round.
But they face a very difficult challenge in the shape of Canterbury at the AMI Stadium this Sunday - a match that will prove exactly what calibre of team they are this season.
Canterbury are of course sitting pretty in third position on the table, and will see this as the perfect opportunity to gain ground on the teams vying for top spot in the week's big match at Westpac Stadium.
Canterbury started slowly, but shrugged of their shock defeat to Manawatu in Round One and have picked up pace over the next rounds.
They crushed Auckland 34-3 in their last home game, and kept Taranaki scoreless last week, an ominous sign that they have drastically improved their form.
Prediction: Expect the Cantabrians to continue their destructive ways against a side that has possibly overperformed thus far. Canterbury to win comfortably by 15 points or more.
Teams:
Canterbury: 15 Paul Williams, 14 Scott Hamilton, 13 Adam Whitelock, 12 Tim Bateman, 11 James
Paterson, 10 Colin Slade, 9 Tyson Keats, 8 Mose Tuiali'i, 7 Hayden Hopgood, 6 Kieran Read (captain), 5 Isaac Ross, 4 Michael Paterson, 3 Campbell Johnstone, 2 Ti'i Paulo, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements: 16 Steve Fualau, 17 Owen Franks, 18 Nasi Manu, 19 George Whitelcok, 20 Steve Alfeld, 21 Ryan Crotty, 22 Kosuke Endo / Stephen Brett.
Tasman: 15 Paul Williams, 14 Scott Hamilton, 13 Adam Whitelock, 12 Tim Bateman, 11 James Paterson, 10 Colin Slade, 9 Tyson Keats, 8 Mose Tuiali'i, 7 Hayden Hopgood, 6 Kieran Read (captain), 5 Isaac Ross, 4 Michael Paterson, 3 Campbell Johnstone, 2 Tii Paulo, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements: 16 Steve Fualau, 17 Owen Franks, 18 Nasi Manu, 19 George Whitelock, 20 Steve Alfeld, 21 Ryan Crotty, 22 Kosuke Endo/ Stephen Brett.
Referee: Brent Murray
Television match official: Vinny Munro
Heartland Championship - Round Two
Saturday, August 30:
West Coast v North Otago
Greymouth, 14.30 (02.30 GMT)
Sth Canterbury v Wairarapa Bush
Timaru, 14.30 (02.30 GMT)
Buller v Horo-Kapiti
Westport, 14.30 (02.30 GMT)
Thames Valley v Wanganui
Paeroa, 14.30 (02.30 GMT)
King Country v East Coast
Taupo, 14.30 (02.30 GMT)
Poverty Bay v Mid Canterbury
Gisborne, 14.30 (02.30 GMT)
