Harbour barely survive Turbos charge
Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:35
North Harbour had a fight on their hands but managed to hold off a spirited challenge from Manawatu to claim a 20-17 win their Air New Zealand Cup match at FMG Stadium at Palmerston North on Saturday.
The home side launched a sustained assault on the North Harbour try-line in the closing minutes of the match, but just failed to deliver the knockout blow.
North Harbour got the scoring underway on the day when All Black lock Anthony Boric crossed the paint after some good driving play.
But that setback did not deter Manawatu from persevering with their enterprising game, and their tactics paid off when flyhalf Matty James managed the first try for the home side after 21 minutes.
Lock Hayden Triggs was prominent in the move, and distributed the ball beautifully to create the scoring pass for James.
North Harbour came back through the boot of skipper and flyhalf Jimmy Gopperth, who added a penalty to Boric's try, after missing an earlier conversion. That concluded the scoring in the first half with the visitors leading by a solitary point at 8-7.
The second period saw North Harbour setting the pace, when No.9 Chris Smylie outsmarted the Manawatu defence by tapping a penalty. Smylie's quick thinking allowed eighthman Viliame Ma'afu to cross the paint for another try, stretching the lead to 15-7.
But Manawatu No.10 James pulled the home side back to 10-15 with a penalty goal, and after that, the team had more than their share of opportunities for points. However, Manawatu were their own worst enemies and poor handling meant that those chances were wasted.
But the Turbos kept coming, and finally their persistence paid off when Leota burst through Gopperth's defence to set inside centre Frank Bryant free. The centre made some yards and popped the crucial pass to wing Lote Raikabula, who scored the five points. James was successful with the conversion, and suddenly the Turbos were in the lead 17-15.
To their credit, North Harbour responded in positive fashion, and Viliame Ma'afu scored a second try on the night to regain the lead for Harbour.
Gopperth could not add the conversion, which meant a nail-biting end to the match, as Manawatu bashed and bashed at the North Harbour line.
Unfortunately heartbreak followed for the Turbos, who chose to go for a try instead of a penalty kick, right in front of the posts, that would have levelled the scores.
But from the resultant tap, a handling error by South African Joggie Viljoen scuppered the Turbos last chance, allowing North Harbour to hold out for the victory.
Scorers:
For Manawatu:
Tries: James, Raikabula
Cons: James 2
Pen: James
North Harbour:
Tries: Boric, Ma'afu 2
Cons: Gopperth
Pen: Gopperth
Manawatu: Not available.
North Harbour: 15
Hayden Abercrombie, 14 Viliame Waqaseduadua, 13 Anthony Tuitavake, 12 Mike Harris, 11 Rudi Wulf, 10 Jimmy Gopperth (captain), 9 Chris Smylie, 8 Viliame Maafu, 7 Malakai Ravulo, 6 Chris Smith, 5 Martin Purdy, 4 Anthony Boric, 3 Michael Reid, 2 James Hinchco, 1 James Afoa.
Replacements: 16 James Parsons, 17 Sam Biddles, 18 Richard Mayhew, 19 Tom Chamberlain, 20 Matt France, 21 Jon Elrick, 22 Nafi Tuitavake.
Referee: Josh Noonan
Television match official: Mike Fraser
