Mooloos can't stop 'perfect' Lions
Sat, 13 Sep 2008 12:12
Wellington kept up their remarkable perfect run in the Air New Zealand Cup as they picked up another five-point haul in disposing of Waikato 45-33 in Wellington on Saturday.
The Lions scored seven tries to five of the visiting Mooloo men, in a thoroughly entertaining match that gave the Westpac Stadium crowd full value for their money.
The win will also put Wellington in a very positive frame of mind ahead of their Ranfurly Shield match against Auckland next weekend.
Lions centre Tane Tu'ipulotu got the scoreboard ticking when he took a pass from Tamati Ellison to score the opening try, after some strong work by Thomas Waldrom.
That set the tone for the home side, who ran riot in that opening phase to score four tries and grab a bonus point inside 20 minutes against the stunned Mooloos.
Tu'ipulotu's score was followed by tries to through Fa'atonu Fili, Tamati Ellison and fullback Cory Jane, all scoring in a blitz that left Waikato facing a 0-26 deficit, with an hour of the match remaining.
The fact that time was on their side was probably the only positive that Waikato could take after that opening quarter, but to their credit, they pushed hard to try and engineer a way back into the contest.
Waikato wing Tim Mikkelson managed to fire back with a try after some quick thinking from scrumhalf Malcolm Barnes. Centre Callum Bruce managed to convert.
Prominent lock Toby Lynn scored another try for the visitors shortly after, and it was clear that the Mooloos weren't about to go down without a fight, as they finished the first half strongly to go into the break 12-26 down.
The Lions consolidated in the second half, and managed to swing momentum back their way when hooker Dane Coles, recently back from injury, charged down a clearance kick to score.
Waikato hit back briefly through a try from fullback Dwayne Sweeney, but Wellington try-machine Hosea Gear managed to put the Lions back on the attack with his ninth try in seven matches.
It was a gutsy effort from Waikato, and they gave their all in their attempts to recover the damage caused by the Lions. Wing Savenaca Tokula picked off an intercept and fed Trent Renata, who scored again to keep Waikato's slim hopes of an amazing comeback alive.
But Wellington managed to find that extra gear, and responded through Ellison, who notched his second try of the match with the clock winding down.
That score put the match beyond doubt, but there was still time for Callum Bruce to repair some of the damage for the Mooloo men with a try.
Scorers:
For Wellington:
Tries: Ellison 2, Tu'ipulotu, Fili, Jane, Coles, Gear
Cons: Fili 5
For Waikato:
Tries: Mikkelson, Lynn, Sweeney, Renata, Bruce
Cons: Bruce
4
Teams:
Wellington: 15 Cory Jane, 14 Tu Umaga-Marshall, 13 Tamati Ellison, 12 Tane Tu'ipulotu, 11 Hosea Gear, 10 Fa'atonu Fili, 9 Alby Mathewson, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Serge Lilo, 6 Victor Vito, 5 Ross Filipo, 4 Jeremy Thrush (captain), 3 Tim Fairbrother, 2 Dane Coles, 1 John Schwalger.
Replacements: 16 Eugene Smith, 17 Arden David, 18 Api Naikatini, 19 Chris Masoe, 20 Scott Fuglistaller, 21 Tomasi Palu, 22 Michael Hobbs.
Waikato: 15 Dwayne Sweeney, 14 Savenaca Tokula, 13 Roimata Hansell-Pune, 12 Callum Bruce, 11 Tim Mikkelson, 10 Trent Renata, 9 Malcolm Barnes, 8 Faifili Levave, 7 Tom Harding, 6 Liam Messam (captain), 5 Kevin O'Neill, 4 Toby Lynn, 3 Aled de Malmanche, 2 Ole Avei, 1 Hikairo Forbes.
Replacements: 16 Vern Kamo, 17 Toby Smith, 18 Kent Fife, 19 Jordan Smiler, 20 Matt Blain, 21 David Bason, 22 Sam Christie
Referee: Jonathon White
Television match official: Brent Murray
