Rugby: Hawke’s Bay claims the Miter 10 Championship title with a deserved win over Northland

Hawke’s Bay won the 10 Miter Cup title Friday night at McLean Park in Napier, defeating Northland 36-24 in the final.

The victory culminates an impressive rise in the three seasons under head coach Mark Ozich, going from semi-finalists in 2018 to finalists defeated in 2019, to surpass the line this season.

It was a well-deserved title, although they were made to work by a Northland team that has also improved this season, with the visitors scoring first, and even holding a surprise 17-12 lead after 30 minutes.

The Magpies counterattacked with a try to winger Lolagi Visinia, and the score of 17 at halftime accurately reflected even competition.

However, Hawke’s Bay started brighter in the second, with Jonah Lowe throwing a shiny mannequin to fool the covering defense into entering for his second try, and in the 51st minute, running back Folau Fakatava made a break and lost to covering. Scott Gregory with a big step. , setting up Neria Fomai to score once again with his ninth assist for the try of the season, the most in the competition.

It was Taniwha’s first final in 24 years after coming close in recent years, and Northland struggled to break out of its own half, while the opposition turned to their traditional ball-in-hand game and hit Northland’s line, with great reward .

Led by their inspiring captain Ash Dixon and Fakatava, the home team forced Northland to make mistakes as the game progressed and were unlucky enough that two attempts were not allowed.

In the end, the floodgates finally opened for Hawke’s Bay, who bagged two more attempts to open a 19-point buffer with 20 minutes to go, and despite a consolation attempt with five minutes remaining, Northland did not come close.

The 7,500 crowd went wild with the final whistle, as Hawke’s Bay claimed its third 10 Miter Cup title in a decade.

Hawke’s Bay 36 (Jonah Lowe 2, Neria Fomai 2, Lolagi Visinia, Ash Dixon tries; Lincoln McClutchie 2 cons, Caleb Makene with)

Northland 24 (Luatangi Li, Will Grant, Tom Robinson, Tamati Tua tries; Dan Hawkins with, Johnny Cooper with)

HT: 17-17

– NZME

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