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Waikato rose to Auckland’s level at the top of the 10 Miter Cup Premiership on Saturday night after finally beating Counties Manukau in Hamilton.
Tasman would return to first place with a win over Bay of Plenty on Sunday, but Waikato is progressing very well and their 36-13 win at FMG Stadium Waikato was the fourth of five rounds.
If the Mooloos are true contenders for their first provincial title since 2006, but for a Championship win in 2018, it should be clearer after their next two games on the road – Canterbury and Auckland.
Michael Bradley / Getty Images
Liam Coombes-Fabling scored Waikato’s first try.
Captain Luke Jacobson, an outsider from the broader All Blacks squad soon to head to Australia for the Rugby Championship, and older brother Mitch were excellent on loose forwards, but it was the Waikato front row that swept. with the counties.
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However, the counties put Waikato to work very hard to achieve this bonus point success, and it only ended in the fourth quarter when Mooloos replacement hooker Steven Misa crashed over the line.
Misa’s decisive attempt came through a sloppy lineout from Counties and Quinn Tupaea’s fabulous finish for a fifth attempt in the 76th minute with a Rivez Reihana kick that flattered the Mooloos because Counties was right for 69 minutes.
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Support from the counties Conan O’Donnell’s yellow card was costly.
Counties winger Kirisi Kuridrani was always a threat and the visitors looked dangerous when moving the ball and unloading, but they fell to a fourth loss from five and have to improve to boost their Championship semi-final prospects.
Waikato needed a bonus point win to equal Auckland with 19 points at the top of the ladder and the Mooloos started the game outside of the top four despite Wellington’s surprise home loss to Otago.
The counties ended an 11-loss streak by beating their fellow Manawatū last week and got off to a brilliant start before suffering due to Waikato’s supreme dominance at the time of the scrum.
Steelers mainstay Conan O’Donnell’s yellow card was the final straw for referee Brendon Pickerill in one of the final acts of a tedious first half and Waikato forced a well-deserved penalty shootout at half time.
The counties were lucky Pickerill showed leniency, but the Waikato group pushed the Steelers back in nearly every scrum in the first 40 minutes. The first in the eighth minute led to the play for the locals’ first attempt and the signals were dire for the county forwards.
Still, Waikato’s dominance didn’t translate to the scoreboard until veteran forward Adam Thomson passed in the 47th minute when Counties stretched.
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Adam Thomson scored his second try for Waikato.
O’Donnell’s 10 minutes were costly for the counties, as Waikato scored 17 unanswered points. Their confidence seemed low when, trailing by 12 with 27 minutes to go, they opted for three points with a lead at the Waikato try line after torching the Mooloos.
The next 10 minutes of the second half were the most dominant for the counties in the entire game, but they only had one penalty goal to show for it and the hosts crossed the finish line.
Earlier, the powerful push from Waikato prop Josh Iosefa-Scott forced the scrum penalty that led to Liam Coombes-Fabling’s first try after a delicious looped basketball pass from Fletcher Smith.
Michael Bradley / Getty Images
Counties running back Jonathan Taumateine throwing a pass wide.
Counties responded via Jason Robertson’s first penalty goal in the former Waikato’s first five eighths and led when Etene Nanai-Seturo swooped in for a breakaway attempt.
Waikato’s first attempt at the loose prop Robb Cobb after a 40-meter run was ruled out for a forward pass, but a bigger concern for the Mooloos was poor shots from Samisoni Taukei’aho, a problem with which the promising hooker has struggled throughout 2020.
The counties held out admirably and had their chances, but Waikato was too good when it mattered in the second half.
TAKE A LOOK
Waikato 36 (Liam Coombes-Fabling, penalty, Adam Thomson, Steven Misa, Quinn Tupaea tries; Fletcher Smith with, pen; Rivez Reihana 2 with) Manukau Counties 13 (Test by Etene Nanai-Seturo; scam by Jason Robertson, 2 pens). HT: 12-10.
MVP: Luke Jacobson 3, Mitch Jacobson 2, Josh Iosefa-Scott 1.
