Hawke’s Bay Magpies and Tui take the Sunday double with thrilling wins

Ollie Sapsford scores a try for Hawke's Bay in their 33-32 win over Otago. Photo / Paul Taylor

The Hawke’s Bay Magpies have gone top of the NPC and the Tui are into their first Farah Palmer Cup semifinal with a game to spare.

These are - once again - halcyon days for rugby in Hawke’s Bay, as back-to-back televised games saw the region’s men’s and women’s sides pulling off victory through big adversity.

In front of a faithful crowd, the Magpies defied the challenge of a second game of the week to put Otago aside in a helter-skelter affair that almost ended in heartbreak.

Twenty-six points in the first half and a long-range Devan Flanders try in the second half, his second of a brace, proved too much for Otago to overcome, though the hectic schedule of the Magpies in recent days meant Otago were always in with a chance of a comeback.

When they narrowed the lead to 33-27 with roughly six minutes to play, the Magpies knew they once again would have rise to close out a win, but they ended up conceding a try in the corner as time ran out.

When the conversion from the sideline missed and a 33-32 win was sealed, there were few celebrations, an acknowledgement that this was yet another game where they’d got out of jail.

To go top of the table is no mean feat, however, and they can thank Folau Fakatava, who was excellent in defence in particular, while Chase Tiatia and Ollie Sapsford powered through their work in the centres and earned tries for their troubles.

Earlier, in a Whakatāne mudbath, the Tui shook off the heavy loss to Canterbury last week to outlast a powerful Bay of Plenty Volcanix pack and book their spot in the semis with Waikato, Auckland and Canterbury.

Both sides struggled to take control of the game throughout, and traded tries in what was a surprisingly enterprising opening half given the conditions.

The difference in the second half proved to be the goal-kicking of Krysten Cottrell, who slammed over all five conversions. While Bay of Plenty scored five tries of their own, they couldn’t convert one of them.