Rugby: Hawke’s Bay retains Ranfurly Shield with wide win over Manawatū

Hawke’s Bay is one game closer to keeping Ranfurly Shield locked up in Napier for the summer.

In their penultimate home game of the season, the Magpies rejected the Manawatū Turbos’ challenge, being unable to convince the winners 47-12.

Despite the end result, in the first quarter of the game it seemed on its way to being anything but a high-scoring affair, as neither side was able to establish any sort of ancestry.

While both sides showed attacking intentions early on, their execution was poor, each giving the other plenty of chances.

It was the visitors who broke the line first, with the second, in five-eighths, James Tofa crossing wide after 18 minutes of play. The attempt might have presented some hope for the struggling turbos, who haven’t had the Shield since 1978, however it was soon eliminated by the hosts.

A try for Hawke’s Bay second five-eighth Danny Toala five minutes later triggered a forgettable period for the Turbos, who conceded another three tries at half. They were able to score another themselves, but faced a 28-12 deficit at halftime.

Similarly to the first 40 minutes, neither team’s game was overly flattering, with handling errors and poor discipline meant there was little flow to the game, although Hawke’s Bay was getting the best of exchanges when they could keep the game. ball in his hands. .

The Magpies finally broke the line again with 13 minutes to go when hooker Ash Dixon, unsurprisingly, crossed from the back of a starting line and made two more attempts in the final seven minutes to push the score line. to a flattering 35-point buffer.

Hawke’s Bay will face its last challenge of the season in two weeks when Wellington comes to town, and the Lions will have only their second challenge since losing the Shield in 2009. The other was also against Hawke’s Bay, a 36-14 loss at 2014 .

Earlier in the day, Canterbury was defeated by the Bay of Plenty in an unusually poor performance, losing 44-8. It was the Bay of Plenty’s first win over Canterbury since 2011 and lifted them off the foot of the Premiership ladder and turned them into an outside chance for a playoff spot.

For Canterbury, they are now at risk of missing the playoffs as they fall to fifth place and face Premiership favorites Tasman and Auckland in two of their last three games.

A second half comeback from North Harbor stunned Auckland at the Battle of the Bridge, beating their city rivals 23-22.

In a match between the best and last teams in the Premiership, the league leaders Auckland moved ahead to a 15-9 lead at halftime, with Bryn Gatland’s boot keeping Harbor within reach. They took the lead shortly after through a converted try and extended it to eight points with 16 minutes left.

Auckland responded in the final five minutes, but Harbor was able to hold out in the later stages.

Hawke’s Bay 47 (Danny Toala, Devan Flanders, Ben Makene, Brendon O’Connor, Ash Dixon, Neria Formai, Isaiah Walker-Leawere tries; Lincoln McClutchie 4 cons, Connor McLeod 2 cons) Heart 12 (James Tofa, Ben Wyness tries; Wyness against) HT: 28-12.

Bay of Plenty 44 (Chase Tiatia 2, penalty attempt, Joe Webber, Kaleb Trask, Scott Curry attempts; Trask 3 scam, 2 pens) Canterbury 8 (Cullen Grace test; Fergus Burke pen) HT: 22-3.

North port 23 (James Little, Luteru Tolai tries; Bryn Gatland 2 cons, 3 pens) Auckland 22 (AJ Lam, Tumua Manu, Akira John tries; Harry Plummer 2 cons, pen) HT: 9-15