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The gold point brought the 10 Miter Cup to life over the weekend and Canterbury’s Isaiah Punivai went from zero to hero in truly impressive fashion.
The outside rookie gave Wellington his first shot at gold after the Premiership clash ended 26-26 after 80 minutes in Christchurch on Saturday night.
Punivai missed the first restart of overtime, but Wellington Jackson Garden-Bachop’s first five-eighths missed a drop attempt on the next play.
Kai Schwoerer / Getty Images
Isaiah Punivai scored the golden try for Canterbury to beat Wellington.
Minutes later, Garden-Bachop threw the interception pass that Punivai gleefully accepted for Canterbury’s second win of 2020 and history was made in the first gold points spell in competition history.
READ MORE:
* Miter Cup 10: North Harbor stuns Tasman champions and ends 15-game winning streak
* Miter Cup 10: Waikato defeats Southland for a valiant victory in the dire conditions of Invercargill
* Miter Cup 10: Northland beat Taranaki to celebrate the brothers’ milestone in style
* Miter Cup 10: Alamanda Motuga’s hat-trick helps Manukau counties beat Manawatū
* Miter Cup 10: Canterbury pip Wellington in the first gold points match
Golden Point has entered the national provincial championship for the first time this season. Fittingly, Canterbury and Wellington had to be separated on the same weekend the NRL finals began in Australia.
Rugby league competition has used the gold point to determine the level of full-time matches since 2003. Like it or not, the concept creates excitement, frenzied finishes and fans love it.
Hannah Peters / Getty Images
Bryn Gatland kicked 20 points when North Harbor surprised Tasman.
Canterbury temporarily returned to the top four after winning 31-26, but Waikato knocked him down to fifth on Sunday.
The Mooloos were mostly horrible in another terrible game involving Southland in terrible weather at Invercargill, but Waikato first five-eighths from Fletcher Smith came off the bench to connect the winning drop goal in the 75th minute.
Waikato won 10-9 to move to third place behind Auckland in second and Tasman, who were unbeatable at the top of the ladder. That was until North Harbor’s surprise win over the Mako in Albany.
Harbor ended his winless start to 2020 with an impressive 40-24 success against the reigning champions. Bryn Gatland’s 20-point streak in the first five led to Tasman’s 15-game winning streak that ended on Sunday.
The weekend ended with Hawke’s Bay challenging Otago for the Ranfurly Shield in Dunedin.
Auckland started the fourth round with a major 20-16 win over the Bay of Plenty after two expert finishes from Hurricanes winger Salesi Rayasi in Rotorua on Friday.
Michael Bradley / Getty Images
Both attempts by Salesi Rayasi led Auckland to victory in the Bay of Plenty.
The Steamers huffed and puffed but failed to take down Auckland’s defense as they tried to win the match in the closing seconds.
Neither team was in top form in a poor game full of errors and Bay of Plenty’s inability to score attempts, given their quality in the backs, remains disconcerting. They have been disappointing on their return to the Premiership.
Taranaki has slumped to two straight losses and lost the Shield since losing the Barrett brothers to the All Blacks after victories in the first two rounds.
Championship rivals Northland rose above them to the top four with a 35-25 win against Taranaki, a fitting celebration for the Ross brothers and Matt Wright at Whangarei. They were playing their 100th and 50th match for Taniwha respectively.
The two winless teams before the fourth round, Manukau and Manawatū counties, met on Saturday and the Steelers snapped an 11-game losing streak thanks to a hat-trick from wide wing Alamanda Motuga.
It was also a first home win for the counties since the final round of the 2017 season and their 36-30 win ensured Manawatū’s 40-year drought at Pukekohe remained intact.
The Turbos fell at the end of the Championship and their quest for a first win of 2020 doesn’t get any easier as Canterbury will visit Palmerston North next Friday.
TAKE A LOOK
Miter 10 Cup, results of round 4
Auckland 20 (Salesi Rayasi 2 tries; Simon Hickey 2 con, pen; Harry Plummer pen) Bay of Plenty 16 (Leroy Carter test; Otere Black with, 3 pens). HT: 17-9.
Manukau Counties 36 (Alamanda Motuga 3, Orbyn Leger, Kirisi Kuridrani tries; Baden Kerr 2 scam, Jason Robertson 3 scam) Beat 30 (Shamus Hurley-Langton, James Tofa, Sam Stewart, Waitokia’s Master, Drew Wild attempts; Ben Wyness ripped off, pen). HT: 20-12.
Northland 35 (Scott Gregory, Josh Goodhue, Jone Macilai, Kara Pryor tries; Dan Hawkins 3 with, 3 pen) Taranaki 25 (Daniel Waite, Jayson Potroz, Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens tries; Potroz 2 scam, 2 pens). HT: 15-7.
Canterbury 31 (Mitchell Drummond, Ngane Punivai, Tom Christie, Isaiah Punivai tries; Fergus Burke 3 pen, with) Wellington 26 (Vince Aso, Naitoa Ah Kuoi, Peter Umaga-Jensen, Tyrone Thompson tries; Jackson Garden-Bachop 2 with). HT: 18-12.
North port 40 (Jared Page, Luteru Tolai, James Little, Teague McElroy tries; Bryn Gatland 4 with, 4 pen) Tasman 24 (Mark Telea, Finlay Christie, David Havili tries; Mitch Hunt 3 with, pen). HT: 16-10.
Waikato 10 (Liam Coombes-Fabling try; Fletcher Smith scam, drop goal) Southland 9 (Greg Dyer 2, pen by Scott Eade). HT: 0-3.
Otago v Hawke’s Bay (Furry shield)
Positions
Premiership: Tasman 15 points, Auckland 14, Waikato 14, Wellington 13, Canterbury 12, Bay of Plenty 7, North Harbor 6.
Championship: Northland 14, Hawke’s Bay 10, Southland 10, Otago 10, Taranaki 9, Manukau 5 counties, Manawatū 3.
