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Auckland did not need to rely on All Black Patrick Tuipulotu to defeat Manawatū 50-12 at Eden Park on Sunday.
The lock received permission from Ian Foster to be a reserve for this 10 Miter Cup game, but when he entered the field in the 53rd minute, Auckland was already up 31-5 and advancing to its second win of the season.
Hannah Peters / Getty Images
Auckland had already won their match against ManawatÅ «when Patrick Tuipulotu entered the field.
Tuipulotu was solid in his 28-minute run, making a couple of good runs, but he knew he didn’t have to be the player to make a difference.
For Manawatū, this is their third loss of the season, and they will desperately need to defeat the Counties Manukau in Pukekohe on Saturday, otherwise they can already say goodbye to their Championship semi-final aspirations.
READ MORE:
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* Auckland coach Alama Ieremia calls up heavy hitters for Miter Cup 10 challenge
All of the Manawatū players wore black armbands for former Palmerston North Boys High School student and police officer Matt Ratana, who was killed in the line of duty at the Croydon Custody Center in the UK this weekend.
This game was played behind closed doors, because Auckland is still at level two of the coronavirus restrictions, but the home team did not really need the crowd to be the 16th man for this victory.
Hannah Peters / Getty Images
Simon Hickey scored two tries in his 50th game for Auckland.
After a mediocre first nine minutes, the game came to life as Auckland started a run deep in its own half and culminated with Teofilo Paulo’s shoulder colliding with the head of Auckland defender Jordon Trainor.
Paulo saw a yellow card and was only saved from being shown a red because Trainor was falling forward at the time of the crash.
Auckland quickly made use of their men’s advantage, with AJ Lam scoring in the right corner.
Tietie Tuimauga joined Paulo on a mischievous chair in the 17th minute, but even playing 13-15, Manawatū scored on an overlap in the 19th minute, when the ball was deflected towards Adam Boult.
Auckland coach Alama Ieremia would have been livid to see his extended defense when he held a two-man lead.
But his team returned to the front in the 22nd minute when Waimana Reidlinger-Kapa took off the back of a scrum under the posts and ran to try.
Hannah Peters / Getty Images
ManawatÅ «’s Adam Boult managed to ground the ball to score a try.
Nine minutes before halftime, Simon Hickey, in his 50th game for Auckland, drifted off a tight ruck and played as a winger to grab the ball from Blake Gibson and circle the defense to score.
Then just before the break, Salesi Rayasi took a pass from running back Taufa Funaki for Auckland’s fourth down.
Hickey made his second attempt three minutes into the second half, receiving a ball inside Rayasi.
Just after the hour mark, Lam picked up a fumble at the midline for his second attempt and with nine minutes to go, winger Gibson capped off a magnificent game with an attempt of his own.
Take a look
Auckland 50 (2 AJ Lam, Waimana Reidlinger-Kapa, 2 Simon Hickey, Taufa Funaki, Blake Gibson, Jordon Trainor tries; Simon Hickey 5 cons). Manawatū 12 (Adam Boult, Kyle Stewart tries; Ben Wyness scam). HT: 26-5
MVP Points: Simon Hickey 3, Blake Gibson 2, Adam Boult 1
