Miter 10 Cup: Tasmanian forwards give Wellington a wet-weather rugby clinic in the capital

Hopefully Wellington will be the master of wet weather rugby, with a gale from the north in the mix.

Instead, it was Tasman, the defending Miter 10 Cup first division champion, who gave his hosts a lesson in tough conditions at Jerry Collins Stadium in Porirua, north of Wellington, on Saturday.

In the battle of second against fourth, and a replay of last year’s deciding match, the Mako outscored their hosts and played much smarter by winning 19-3 to stay on the road to another semi-final at home.

Tasman scored two attempts against neither, both from rolling mauls, as the Lions never entered the game on a poor show for those who braved the conditions in the capital’s first NPC game played outside of Athletic Park or Sky Stadium.

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Wellington must now restart for a big one next Sunday when they challenge Hawke’s Bay for the Ranfurly Shield and try to keep their own playoff hopes intact at home.

There were many stars in the red forward group, with hooker Andrew Makalio, veteran Alex Ainley and wing Sione Havili among their best.

The scrum provided the most alarming difference between the sides, as Makalio and props Isaac Salmon and Isi Tuungafasi, All Black Ofa’s brother, led a demolition of their hosts’ tight five.

With the howl of the north behind him, Tasman led 11-0 at halftime and looked like the defending champs.

His scrum deflected the Lions at will; they disrupted Wellington’s lineout on a difficult day for pitchers, and their quick and muscular defense allowed their hosts minimal excursions into their field. Again it was a slow start for Wellington, now a trademark of theirs.

Wide wing Havili was the dominant figure in the first half. He was strong on the ball and forced turnovers when Wellington tried to lift the ball, then was sent back to his own 22 yards.

Havili also scored the only try of the half, when a Tasmanian rolling mallet smashed through with a bulldozer.

Lock Quinten Strange was a remarkable repairman, four weeks after tearing a ligament in his ankle while at camp with the All Blacks, taking an early memory with a nasty wound on his left cheek. A collision with Lions fullback Ruben Love after 10 minutes saw blood flow and required a heavy bandage, but Strange continued.

A defensive kick from running back Connor Collins summed up Wellington’s troubles as he flew 20 yards back toward his own line.

Then, with the wind at his back, Wellington had to shoot out and for a while they did, mounting some promising attacks, but the defense held on.

Poor discipline took hold of Wellington’s frustration, with center back Billy Proctor penalized for a late tackle on Mitch Hunt, who controlled things well for Tasman.

Then when the Lions seemed to give it a try, No. 8 Teariki Ben-Nicholas got a ping to clear Finlay Christie as the running back rose above horizontal. In the 64th minute, Wellington was scoreless and after that there was little to offer.

Jackson Garden-Bachop opened his account with a penalty with 13 minutes remaining, but Tasman, with some more hungry forwards rumbling off the bench, felt victory when a more powerful push saw blind end Te Ahiwaru Cirikidaveta go down. Game over.

TAKE A LOOK

Tasmania 19 (Sione Havili, Te Ahiwaru Cirikidaveta tries; Mitch Hunt 3 pen) Wellington 3 (Jackson Garden-Bachop pen). HT: 11-0.

MVP: 3 Sione Havili, 2 Andrew Makalio, 1 Alex Ainley.