Steelers salvage some log pride
Sat, 20 Sep 2008 09:43
Counties-Manukau beat fellow-strugglers Manawatu 27-14 in their Air New Zealand Cup clash at Pukekohe on Saturday, relieving the Steelers from the bottom of the tournament log.
The Steelers overcame a seven-point first-half deficit (half-time 7-14) to record their first victory since the opening round upset of Auckland.
The Steelers' five-pointer doubled their log tally to 10 - two clear of Manawatu and Northland - helping them climb from the foot of the competition table.
Counties skipper Tasesa Lavea put the icing on the cake with a try that finally pushed his team in front in the final quarter.
The flyhalf's astute tactical kicking also kept a faltering Manawatu pinned back while adding a last minute drop-goal for good measure to complete an unanswered 20-point surge.
Before Lavea rose to prominence, both sides relied on their New Zealand (NZ) Sevens stars for rare touches of class.
Counties' Cook Islands representative Koiatu scored two tries for the home side, as the error-prone Steelers began to find some cohesiveness.
The fullback bounced back from a 26th minute blunder - his chip kick smartly anticipated by NZ Sevens star Lote Raikabula, who skipped behind the posts to give Manawatu a two-try buffer.
However, Koiatu redeemed himself after NZ Sevens captain DJ Forbes produced a telling break to raise Counties' spirits late in a opening half where they barely threatened.
Forbes shrugged off two defenders before being held up on the line, as Manawatu skipper Josh Bradknock almost secured a turnover but the flank lost the ball forward for Koiatu to collect and dive over.
The try invigorated the Steelers, prompting a momentum shift despite Dean Cummins' goal-kicking, which left much to be desired.
The centre missed a handy injury time penalty and then pushed two more penalty attempts and a conversion wide, before Lavea's angled run to the corner gave Counties the lead.
Cummins then missed his fifth of six attempts but Counties retained enough composure to take control.
Centre Siale Piatau also barreled over in the left hand corner with four minutes remaining to seal victory and the bonus point.
Manawatu scored in the sixth minute though flyhalf Isaac Thompson while Raikabula's anticipation and try loomed as a hammer blow for the home side.
Scorers:
For Counties-Manukau:
Tries: Koiatu 2, Lavea, Piatau
Cons: Cummins, Vili
Dg: Lavea
For Manawatu:
Tries: Thompson, Raikabula
Cons: Thompson 2
Teams:
Counties Manukau: 15 Koiatu Koiatu, 14 Lelia Masaga, 13 Siale Piutau, 12 Dean Cummins, 11 Sherwin Stowers, 10 Tasesa Lavea (captain), 9 Samisoni Fisilau, 8 Fritz Lee, 7 DJ
Forbes, 6 Rupeni Nasiga, 5 Andrew Van der Heijden, 4 Jamie Chipman, 3 Tuaefe Palelei, 2 Lance Po-Ching, 1 Simon Lemalu.
Replacements: 16 Ilaisa Maasi, 17 Kojak Faioso, 18 Viliame Fihaki or Gary Saifoloi, 19 Mark Selwyn, 20 Kevin Farrell, 21 Romi Ropati or Tanner Vili or Jason Roache, 22 Ropati or Vili or Roache.
Manawatu: 15 Kurt Baker, 14 Andre Taylor, 13 Junior Tomasi Cama, 12 Johnny Leota, 11 Lote Raikabula, 10 Isaac Thompson, 9 Aaron Good, 8 Hamish Gosling, 7 Josh Bradnock (captain) or Doug Tietjens, 6 Nick Crosswell, 5 James Goode, 4 Hayden Triggs, 3 David Te Moana, 2 Sean O'Connor, 1 Grant Polson.
Replacements: 16 Rob Foreman, 17 Ma'afu Fia, 18 Paul Rodgers, 19 Tietjens or Mitchell Crosswell, 20 Matty James, 21 Aaron James, 22 Francisco Bosch.
Referee: Kane McBride
TMO: Matt Stanish
Assessor: Phil Young, Glenn Wahlstrom
