Upwards and onwards for Canterbury
Sun, 31 Aug 2008 10:37
Tasman put up a brave fight but were simply overpowered 44-15 by a slick Canterbury outfit in an Air New Zealand Cup match at AMI Stadium on Sunday.
The visiting Makos gave as good as they got in the opening period, and were still in with a shout at half-time, going into the break ten points adrift of Canterbury.
But the home side turned on the power in the second half to leave their visitors for dead, running in seven tries in total to race clear into second place on the Air NZ Cup log standings.
Tasman flyhalf Miah Nikora and Canterbury counterpart Colin Slade both kicked early penalties to get the scoreboard ticking, before the Canterbury machine clicked in gear.
Wing James Paterson was the beneficiary of some great play by lock Isaac Ross, who found space to release the wing to score under the posts.
Pivot Slade added the extra two points, and the early rhythm was set for this encounter.
Things got even rosier for the flying Paterson a few minutes later, when a loose ball found its way out to Paterson's wing. He gathered, stepped, and raced over half the field to score his second try. This time Slade could not convert, but Canterbury held a healthy 15-3 lead after only 22 minutes.
And that lead got even bigger seven minutes later, when Super 14 star Scott Hamilton cut through the Tasman defence to put flank Hayden Hopgood in the clear. Hopgood popped the final pass over to lock Isaac Ross, who crashed over in the corner for his side's third try. Once again Slade failed to add the extras, but things were looking ominous for the Makos, who were trailing 3-20 with 10 minutes to go in the first half.
To their credit, Tasman hit right back to keep their receding hopes alive in this match, when scrumhalf Kahn Fotuali'i set fullback Robbie Malneek on his way with a great pass. Malneek cracked on the pace to evade the cross-defence, and score the try for the Makos, which Nikora converted to close the gap to 10-20.
And the Makos even had time to conjure up another score, this time through industrious No.9 Fotuali'i, who spotted a gap and raced 40 metres clear, outstripping the defence to make it a quickfire double for the visitors. Nikora missed the conversion this time, but the Makos were back within five points of their illustrious hosts.
Unfortunately that was as close as the Makos got to the home side, as Canterbury stepped up a gear to score their fourth try just before the interval, through outside centre Adam Whitelock. Again Slade missed the kick at poles, and the teams took the break with the hosts leading 25-15.
The second period saw stubborn resistance from Tasman, as they withstood countless phases of attack from Canterbury.
However, it is usually extremely tiring playing rugby without the ball, and so it proved for the Makos, when lock Michael Paterson barged over for Canterbury after constant pressure on the Tasman line.
That try broke the Makos' resistance in the match, and opened the gates for the big lock to score a second try, after some good interplay between forwards and backs.
There was a seventh try for the home side, when substitute back Ryan Crotty won the race to the loose ball in the Tasman goal area to score the five-pointer.
Slade converted this time to seal the win for Canterbury. They will now look to haul in the Wellington Lions, who are six points ahead in first place on the table.
Scorers:
For Canterbury:
Tries: J Paterson 2, M Paterson 2, Ross, Whitelock, Crotty
Cons: Slade 3
Pens: Slade
For Tasman:
Tries: Malneek, Fotuali'i
Cons: Nikora
Pens: Nikora
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 Robbie Malneek, 14 Blair Cook, 13 Andrew Goodman (captain), 12 Joel Iggo, 11 Kade Poki, 10 Miah Nikora, 9 Kahn Fotuali'i, 8 Mark Bright, 7 Jack Lam, 6 Jonathan Poff, 5 Alex Ainley, 4 Will Crutchley, 3 Ben Franks, 2 Dan Perrin, 1 Ben May.
Replacements: 16 Quentin MacDonald, 17 Tristan Moran, 18 Joe Wheeler, 19 Karl Leary, 20 Lua Vailoaloa, 21 James Marshall, 22 Mike Pehi.
Referee: Brent Murray
Television match official: Vinny Munro
