Hawke’s Bay Magpies clinch local derby for semifinal berth

The Magpies celebrate another try. Photo / Alex Cairns

The Hawke’s Bay Magpies rebounded from a difficult week to beat Bay of Plenty 38-28 in their NPC quarter-final in Tauranga on Sunday afternoon.

It was Hawke’s Bay’s first win ever in Tauranga, setting up their fifth NPC semifinal in Wellington against the Lions next Saturday night.

The scrum had been an offensive weapon for Hawke’s Bay all year, earning them the most penalties in the competition.

But three set inside the first five minutes were dead heats, so the Magpies turned to gain line phase play to get rolling.

From a lineout in Bay of Plenty’s 22, the visitors went through 10 tough phases before a half-break from Tyrone Thompson and offload to Pouri Rakete-Stones brought them to the five-metre line.

The loosehead prop grabbed the game’s first try a couple of phases later in the ninth minute.

Hawke's Bay triumphed in the Tauranga Battle of the Bays. Photo / Alex Cairns

Hawke’s Bay’s lead was short-lived, as Bay of Plenty showed their inclination to attack from anywhere to great success.

Magpies captain Tom Parsons said he was really proud of his team for digging deep and sticking it out for the entire 80 minutes.

“The Bay of Plenty boys came out hot in the first half, and the bounce of the ball went their way,” he said.

Parsons said poor one-on-one tackling before the break allowed the Steamers to make metres, forcing Hawke’s Bay’s defence to tighten up so Bay of Plenty could play around them.

“The boys got frustrated a little bit, and I’m just really proud of the way they cooled their heads at halftime and came and put a performance out like that,” he added.

The Magpies had 69 per cent of possession and spent over four minutes inside Bay of Plenty’s 22 in the first half, but the hosts scored far more efficiently.

Winger Leroy Carter set up back-to-back tries for Naitoa Ah Kuoi and Manaaki Selby-Rickit, then scored one himself in the 22nd minute, with the Steamers making every missed tackle pay.

His opposite Jonah Lowe got Hawke’s Bay’s second try after a dozen phases inside the Bay of Plenty 22.

But the Steamers hit back easily again when Selby-Rickit snuck through the middle of a ruck with the ball and ran their fourth try (and his competition-leading ninth) in untouched.

Bay of Plenty captain Kurt Eklund was penalised for being off his feet at the breakdown, allowing Hawke’s Bay to set a lineout 5m out just before halftime.

The maul rolled forward, and Tyrone Thompson’s try cut the lead to nine at the break.

The contest was more even to start the second half, with both defences on top.

After eight minutes, Pasilio Tosi was caught offside 25m out and the Magpies turned down a kickable penalty goal attempt to go for a 10m lineout.

They set the maul, but Geoff Cridge was penalised for obstruction to let Bay of Plenty off the hook.

Star scrummaging tight-head Joel Hintz was kept quiet in the first half, but he forced the Steamers front row to stand up at a mid-field scrum.

Another penalty at the subsequent lineout maul let Hawke’s Bay set their drive up 5m out and Thompson scored his second in the 55th minute.

Both teams were kicking effectively for territory as the game ticked over the hour mark and Hawke’s Bay turned to their bench.

Melani Nanai’s late no-arms tackle on Lolagi Visinia might have been worth a card, but the penalty nevertheless put the Magpies inside the 22.

They went 12 phases close to the tryline before the Magpies fullback crashed over in the 68th minute.

His try was just reward for an influential second half, but more importantly gave Hawke’s Bay a three-point lead with 10 minutes to play.

Bay of Plenty had the momentum, before Wharenui Hawera stepped out when fielding a kick inside his own 22 to hand the Magpies an attacking lineout.

Second five-eighths Chase Tiatia came back to haunt his old side, skipping through the defensive line for what turned out to be the winning try.

A big Tim Farrell turnover inside the Hawke’s Bay 22 broke up Bay of Plenty’s final chance to keep their season alive.

The Steamers came close to scoring a consolation try, but the Magpies kept them out after the siren, leaving them scoreless after halftime.

Bay of Plenty 28 (Naitoa Ah Kuoi, Manaaki Selby-Rickit 2, Leroy Carter tries; Wharenui Hawera 4/4 cons). Hawke’s Bay 38 (Pouri Rakete-Stones, Jonah Lowe, Tyrone Thompson 2, Lolagi Visinia, Chase Tiatia tries; Lincoln McClutchie 4/6 cons). HT: 28-19.