Last-gasp drama profits Otago
Sat, 13 Sep 2008 11:00
A last-gasp Stephen Setephano try helped Otago snatch a 21-all draw against the Tasman Makos in their Air New Zealand Cup encounter at Trafalgar Park, Nelson on Saturday.
Fine conditions greeted the teams at Trafalgar Park, and both sides set about their task in frenetic fashion in the first half.
Tasman drew first blood in the encounter, when prolific flyhalf Miah Nikora slotted a penalty kick with five minutes on the clock.
The home side looked full of intent in the opening exchanges, and their direct approach paid off again when Robbie Malneek raced 25 metres to finish off a fantastic move started by centre Kade Poki, who broke a tackle expertly.
Nikora, who was not having his best day with the boot, made a hash of the conversion but Tasman led 8-0.
Otago were forced to play with 14 men when lock Ross Kennedy received a yellow card for a professional foul after 24 minutes, but they managed to keep Tasman scoreless during the next ten minutes.
The visitors managed to open their account on 27 minutes when Daniel Bowden slotted a penalty following a late tackle on fullback Glen Horton.
And things started suddenly looked rosy for Otago when wing Karne Hesketh intercepted a pass and sprinted a full 60 metres to score under the posts. Bowden converted and Otago were in the lead by two points, with the scoreline reading 10-8 to the visitors.
Nikora's profligacy with the boot cost Tasman the chance to go back into the lead, and Bowden took advantage of that fact by kicking another penalty to increase the Otago lead to 13-8.
That lead became 16-8 just before half-time when Bowden goaled another penalty, following Tasman hooker Dan Perrin's offside play.
Tasman pivot Nikora finally got a penalty on target early in the second half, reducing the Tasman deficit to 16-11.
Nikora then reverted back to the role of villain when he dropped the final pass over the try-line, butchering what would have been a great try for the Makos.
Both sides engaged in somewhat of a stalemate for a period after that error from Nikora, but the flyhalf cut the deficit again for his side through a penalty conversion with 11 minutes left.
Tasman did seem to create the match-winning opportunity when Mark Bright and Andrew Goodman were prominent in a move which set-up loose forward Daniel Hyatt for a try under the posts. This time Nikora converted to put his side into a 21-16 lead.
But replacement loose forward Steven Setephano had the final say in the match, crashing over after Otago tapped a penalty.
The scores were level, and the result rested on the shoulders of replacement Chris Noakes' conversion attempt right at the death of the match.
Unfortunately Noakes could not guide the ball through the posts, and both sides had to settle for the draw.
Scorers:
For Tasman:
Tries: Malneek, Hyatt
Con: Nikora
Pens: Nikora 3
For Otago:
Tries: Hesketh, Setephano
Con: Bowden
Pens: Bowden 3
Teams:
Tasman: Unavailable.
Otago: 15 Glen Horton, 14 Karne Hesketh, 13 Brett Mather, 12 Aaron Bancroft, 11 Ben Smith, 10 Daniel Bowden, 9 Sean Romans, 8 Paul Grant, 7 Eben Joubert, 6 Craig Newby (captain), 5 Uili Kolo'ofai, 4 Ross Kennedy, 3 Ben Nolan, 2 Jason MacDonald, 1 Keith Cameron.
Replacements: 16 Peter Mirrielees, 17 Jed Vercoe, 18 Seko Qaraniqio, 19 Steven Setephano, 20 Toby Morland, 22 Lucky Mulipola.
Referee: Keith Brown
Television match official: Josh Noonan
